Speeches

Mr President! 250 million more for humanitarian aid at a time when we can use every penny for it. EUR 60 million more so that young people from low-income families and regions can also participate in the Erasmus programme. And 20 million euros more for our nature and biodiversity. The budget shows whether you are serious about Sunday speeches. During this year's budget negotiations, we MEPs were once again confronted with irresponsible cuts from the Council. We have managed to fend off these cuts and jointly enforce strong political priorities. We are strengthening civil society programmes such as the Rights and Values programme or the Creative Europe cultural programme. We are strengthening the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to take decisive action against corruption and fraud. We are reducing the inefficient ITER merger programme and taking advantage of the room for manoeuvre created by more efficient management. The budget negotiations were worth it. It has also become possible for us to stand together again, and for that I would like to thank our two rapporteurs, Siegfried Mureșan and Nils Ušakovs. Thank you for the good cooperation! We Greens are therefore very, very happy to agree with the budget tomorrow. But, the household remains sewn on edge. The only way out is to revise the multiannual financial framework. The EU needs to be given more flexibility to respond to crises and to invest in our future. The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on the German federal budget will make these negotiations even more difficult in the coming weeks. That's why our appeal goes to Berlin: We need a policy that enables future investments and does not lead to companies migrating and people becoming unemployed. We will fight for this together – here in Parliament, I am sure. The next few weeks will be exciting, and I continue to count on good cooperation here in this House.

Mr President! I do not know how you are doing, ladies and gentlemen, I am still shocked by the brutality with which Palestinian terrorists attacked Israel about a week ago. The Greens condemn Hamas’ horrific terror – our solidarity belongs to the State of Israel and to all people suffering from the Hamas terrorist organisation. Against this background, I will not give an ordinary budget speech today. Every year many rituals are repeated here, and of course it remains important to fight for a strong budget. I want to talk about the fact that there is war in Israel and that our Jewish friends must always be afraid of becoming victims of anti-Semitic violence. It is unbearable when people also celebrate the brutal terror of Hamas on German streets, for example. And it runs freezing down my back when I read that in the meantime stars of David are lubricated on German house walls again. Israel’s right to exist and its right to defence are non-negotiable and the EU must do everything it can to stop anti-Semitism, not only from our historical but also from our political responsibilities. This is where the budget comes into play again. Because we must insist that not only are funds simply not paid to Hamas, but that we also review further funds within the framework of the annual budget and take a very close look at where financial flows are actually going in these years and months in Israel and the Palestinian territories. That is why it is important that we have launched a joint motion for this for tomorrow. We shouldn't be making quick political shots here. We should not engage in actionism. Together, we should think carefully about how we will continue to deal with this issue.

Madam President, thank you so much. Tomorrow we will vote on our mandate for the so-called STEP regulation. A year ago, we collectively realised that it was high time to gear up our European industrial policy. Commission President von der Leyen came with a strong announcement about a huge sovereignty fund. Nobody is waiting for us in the global race about building up a green industry and in the race about a competition, about where the big companies will be. Both the US and China are speeding up – the Inflation Reduction Act is highly attractive for European companies moving their production to the US and China learned a lesson and is already, for example, dominating the market for solar production. Now it’s time for Europe to wake up. We welcome the STEP proposal as a starting point for industrial investments, but because of limited resources, STEP should be concentrated on key sectors like net-zero and green technologies. We should not take money out of cohesion policy to provide funding for big industry, and we also need to have in mind the risk of fragmentation stemming from State aid rules’ relaxation. That is why STEP should pave the way for European regions not benefiting of relaxed State aid rules. We need to avoid that some big countries have the possibility to transform their industry, while others will be left behind. The European project once had been built out of coal and steel. Now it’s time to take the next step. Now it’s time to build it out of green industry. That’s what we as Greens are fighting for, and we ask you also to support our amendments in the vote tomorrow.

Mr President! Gay men are beaten up in the streets, trans people have to fear for their lives, and many young LGBTI people do not dare to live self-determined lives for fear of exclusion and bullying. This is all part of everyday life for queer people in 2023. Violence against queer people is on the rise. In Germany, the number of anti-queer crimes has doubled in recent years. This is not an exception, but unfortunately the sad rule in the European Union. It's people like 15-year-old Transmann Ian, who doesn't dare to leave the classroom during the school break due to fear of right-wing extremist classmates in Saxony. They are people like 21-year-old Enrico, who kissed his partner on the street and was then knocked unconscious. All this is no coincidence. It is the result of right-wing incitement, which unfortunately also right-wing extremist Members spread here in this House again and again. For example, if you dehumanize LGBTI people like the AfD politician Mr. Krah or permanently insult queer people for polemical reasons, then you create a rhetorical environment for violence. This must be stopped! We need to show solidarity with queer people. I'm glad that a majority here in the House... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President! Why has everything become so expensive? I can't afford a kebab anymore. We are at the end of the month, how should I still pay for my energy costs and food? A few days ago, I spoke with young people about their concerns for the future together with our Green Youth Organisation in Wiesbaden. Yes, I have to say that the young people are right: While everything is getting more and more expensive, millions of people are actually suffering from income losses. Conservatives now claim that the European Central Bank with high interest rates can cause prices to fall. However, we say and know that this is currently wrong. The European Central Bank does not have the right tools for this. It cannot ensure that the doner becomes cheaper again or that energy prices become more stable again. It is a scandal that large food companies have been able to exploit their market power and double their profits in recent years. Their excess profits and higher energy prices make food more expensive. The damage caused by the ECB's interest rate policy is greater than its effect on price levels. We don't have too much demand, so there's no point in curbing demand. Instead, we must massively expand renewable energies and significantly reduce our dependence on fossil energy from states such as Qatar or Russia. However, the costs of expanding renewable energies are being massively increased by the ECB's current interest rate policy. Mrs Lagarde, you are wrong about your interest rate policy, now it is time for a change of course.

Madam President, Floods and fires destroying large parts of Europe, wars and global crises, bridges collapsing, schools affected by asbestos and a rail network so dilapidated that in many Member States it is necessary to plan for at least one to two hours of delays. In order to meet the climate targets and guarantee modern infrastructure in Europe alone, we need 620 billion euros of investment annually, according to the EU Commission. Our future is European and we need to organise it now. In Sunday speeches, everyone usually agrees on this: The EU needs to be strengthened so that we all have a good future, we build climate-friendly infrastructure and our prosperity is strengthened. But when it becomes concrete, the European Parliament is usually alone. That's how it threatens to be this time. Unfortunately, in the upcoming revision of the financial framework, we are not negotiating what would be needed, we are talking about what is possible. We need the 50 billion Ukraine facility to deliver on our promise to help Ukraine rebuild and give it a path to the European Union. We need more investment in European innovation and more flexibility to respond to global crises or natural disasters. We need a solution to the exploding interest costs so that youth exchange programmes, environmental programmes or democracy projects are not cut in the next step. Unfortunately, the Council is not yet ready to do so. I must also say quite frankly, Mr Minister, what you said today on the timetable alone was more than disappointing. Do your homework, put the multiannual financial framework on the agenda of the next Council summit or at the latest in November at a special summit so that we can decide in a timely manner.

Madam President, Madam President of the Commission! I am concerned about the future of Europe. I am worried because right-wing radicals and anti-Europeans are gaining influence in many Member States and unfortunately it seems possible again here in the House that they will become part of majorities. And in these times, it is important that you, as President of the Commission, do not duck away from this question, but that you show an attitude. Because a lot has slipped. Many people have existential fears. Rents, fossil energy prices and high food prices: The majority of people suffer from income losses and high prices. Poor despite work has become the reality of many millions of Europeans. The answer is not less climate protection, but a social policy for all people. The EU must provide people with social security. That is why, for example, we should make the EU Minimum Wage Directive binding, so that, for example, the German minimum wage rises to just under 14 euros in a first step. We must make the award of subsidies dependent on whether companies offer fair jobs or not. And we need an infrastructure offensive to keep our ailing infrastructure from rotting. They had set up a sovereign fund. Unfortunately, this has become nothing. We would like you to become more courageous again and to focus more strongly on U.S. President Biden and the Inflation Reduction Act orientate.

Mr President! There must finally be an end to tax tricks and profit shifts by large corporations. As a result, billions are lost to the EU. We need minimum tax rates for multinationals and more transparency. The OECD minimum tax for multinationals is now an important step. Without transparency, everything is nothing. We need to know how much tax companies pay in different countries, and country-by-country reporting is a crucial tool for this. This is why the introduction of country-by-country reporting on tax data is so important. We need more transparency, not less. It is, frankly, a rather big problem and perhaps even a small scandal that you as the EU Commission want to slow down the ambitious Member States. We should be happy if Member States want to move forward in order to achieve tax transparency. Commissioner, you have turned a wrong turn on this question, and it is therefore good that you have to face the debate today in Parliament under pressure from the Greens and many other groups. However, it would be even better if you were to work for more exchanges, including with the involvement of Parliament. That must be the goal.

Madam President, For the first time in 25 years, extreme poverty and extreme wealth have increased simultaneously. For more and more Europeans, at the end of the month there is not enough to pay all the bills. On the other hand, the richest percent is getting richer. 81% of last year's wealth gains went to the wealthiest in our country. The rich are getting richer, and the hard-working population is slipping. What should the postman, the educator or the construction worker think, to whom inflation eats up their salary and who suffers from too low wages? The extremely high costs for one are the profits of the other. 95 food and energy companies doubled their crisis profits last year. This is not only unjust, it is economically nonsensical, and it is a danger to our democracy. That is why we must act. High wealth, financial speculation and excess profits must be taxed more heavily. Small incomes need to be relieved, and we need to invest significantly more in public infrastructure, such as healthcare or education. It's time.

Madam President, Finally, there are climate targets for shipping. This is good news, because the growing sector needs to do much more to meet its climate targets. The FuelEU Maritime Regulation is an entry point to make shipping greener. For the first time, we are formulating binding targets to make shipping emission-free, and we are creating binding expansion targets for renewable fuels. This is not only good for the climate, but also gives the industry a commitment to plan and invest. This is a huge opportunity for our maritime industry: Ships will soon no longer be built where production is cheapest, but where the most innovative propulsion systems are created. The emission-free ships of the future will be built in Sweden, in France or at my home in northern Germany. Well-paid industrial jobs are created locally. But this regulation can only be an entry point. Unfortunately, too many lobby groups have succeeded in formulating exceptions for small ships or ferry traffic to islands into the law. The target of minus 80% greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is not enough. We need 100%! We will continue to fight for the Greens.

Madam President, 11.9 million documents, 29 000 accounts, 330 politicians, but also many businessmen and celebrities such as Elton John or the coach of Real Madrid, Ancelotti. This is the biggest research on tax evasion and avoidance. And it is thanks to the courage of journalists that this fraud - fortunately, I will add - has been discovered. Now is the time for consequences. The business model of tax havens must be destroyed by minimum tax rates, for example on capital gains. Changes from tax administrations to consulting agencies need to be more controlled. That's why we need sharper cooling-off times. The power of large consultancies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, EY, Deloitte or even KPMG must be limited. We evade taxes, commit a crime against our society. Tax evasion is not a cavalier offence. Small people cannot afford tax evasion; It is the great, the super-rich who do not participate in our society. It is time for us to act.

Madam President, Europe is a continent full of opportunities. With the Green Deal, we have the opportunity to modernise our infrastructure and create new prosperity for all. However, strong laws are not enough. We need investment to be successful. The Green Deal must not fail because of insufficient investment. The consequence of this would be devastating. The alternatives are natural disasters, drought, wars, massive poverty and extremely high consequential costs for the economy. Due to a wrong economic and financial policy of the last 20 years, we are driving Europe towards wear and tear. And this policy threatens to get worse. Right now, at the beginning of a recession, budget cuts and lack of investment are poisonous. Unemployment and poverty will rise and infrastructure will continue to deteriorate. It is therefore wrong for finance ministers to focus on cuts and block important investments in the EU. According to the European Commission, climate modernisation alone requires up to €540 billion in investments per year. And private investment in this area will only be possible if we also make strong public investments. The United States is currently showing that things are different. Bidens Inflation Reduction Act This leads to massive, even private, investments by companies. We need a European investment programme that boosts the economy and strengthens public infrastructure. Everyone can become winners. Through innovative research, digitalisation and public green infrastructure, we will become competitive and improve the quality of life of all people in Europe. Instead of unemployment, well-paid industrial jobs are created, as is the case, for example, with the Northvolt battery factory in my homeland in Schleswig-Holstein. To do this, we need an investment-friendly reform of the EU fiscal rules, an investment fund in the EU budget and green energy that is affordable for businesses.

Madam President, The European Central Bank's aggressive interest rate policy is failing to achieve its goal. While a few companies that dominate the energy and food markets are making more and more profits, the majority of people in the EU are suffering from income losses in real terms. Normal life has become unaffordable for many people. The greed inflation of the big food and energy companies is the problem. ECB President Lagarde is mistaken when she claims that she manages inflation through interest rate hikes. Demand is not the problem, on the contrary. We are on the verge of recession. Exports and sales are declining. The ECB is intensifying this development. To fight inflation and make life affordable for people, we need a different fiscal policy instead. We need a tax on excessive over-profits, more investment in the expansion of cheap green energy and targeted social support for people who need our support.

Mr President! "The risk is that we lose sight of the big picture." With these words, economist Sander Tordoir commented on the proposals on the Stability and Growth Pact. The reform of the EU debt rules is not just about how much credit EU countries can borrow. The EU is in an economically tense situation. The social divide is increasing, and many states have put their infrastructure at risk of wear and tear. As poverty rises, we need more investment in social infrastructure. Especially in the coronavirus pandemic, we have all seen the harsh consequences of not investing enough in our healthcare system. The expansion of renewable energies, better and faster European rail connections, a socially balanced transformation of our industries. If we want to achieve Europe's climate goals, we have to invest almost 500 billion euros a year in green transformation. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation, half of the EU Member States will not have sufficient opportunities to invest in green transition through the proposed law. These are the great connections that we are talking about here today. There is no debt on a dead planet. It is not a generational fiscal policy if strict fiscal rules drive Europe towards wear and tear and if the climate crisis destroys our planet. That is why we need a stability pact that is economically, socially and ecologically stable. And to be completely open: The European Commission's proposal is not strong enough. They take the first small steps, but we Greens will fight for us to go all the way together.

Mr President! 95 food and energy companies doubled their profits last year. Of the 306 billion dollars in profits, almost 257 billion were distributed to shareholders. While a few are benefiting from the crisis, life is hardly affordable for the vast majority of Europeans. Empty public coffers – yes, also for us in the EU budget – exacerbate inequality. That is why we need instruments with which we can balance. High corporate profits, wealth or speculation in the financial markets are more heavily taxed. As capital and financial speculation are organised globally, the EU is the right level to act. That is why it is good that we have managed to reach agreement in the negotiations as a group on a financial transaction tax and a levy on share buybacks. However, I am completely obscure as to why conservatives and liberals block an over-profit tax on excessive corporate profits. Profits drive inflation and lead to social division. Therefore, vote in favour of our amendments. Vote for a Europe-wide over-profit taxation! The EU budget is being eaten up by rising interest rates. It is not possible to make the EU fit for the future without fresh money. That is why we need the own resources for the budget. It is therefore good that the European Parliament puts forward proposals for this. We call on the European Commission to be really courageous this time and to propose a package that not only takes care of the rising interest burden, but is also able to finance further future tasks. To this end, we will vote tomorrow on an important report. I hope it will be adopted by a large majority.

Mr President! “This law leaves us with nothing but fear and danger. The best way is to leave this country." With these words, a 23-year-old trans woman describes the fears of the Ugandan LGBTI community. In the city of Jinja, six men were recently arrested for practicing homosexuality. I don't think we can all imagine what it must be like to live with fear of death and how courageous it is to stand up for equal rights in the environment. We stand in solidarity with LGBTI activists in Uganda like Kasha Nabagesera. Ugandan LGBTI people deserve our solidarity for their struggle for freedom. Their struggle for freedom is our struggle. Not only homosexuality, but also the support of LGBTI should be punished under the new hate law. In the worst case, there is even a threat of the death penalty. It is our duty to stand up against it – in diplomatic relations, with economic sanctions and also with easier access to asylum for Ugandan LGBTI people.

Madam President, In your last speech here in Parliament a few months ago, you all reminded us of our common European historical heritage. They have warned and condemned in clear terms that fascism in Europe is being normalised and trivialised. And indeed, we are currently in a very fundamental dispute. In some Member States, alliances are formed with the involvement of parties that have a fascist origin or that have forgotten their history and are fighting against our European democracy. They want a Europe of nations from which few benefit and almost all lose. They start with attacks on minorities and the media – as we are currently seeing in Italy, where rainbow families are discriminated against, absurd nationalist language laws are introduced and free journalists are put under pressure. It must be our common democratic task to stand up against it. It is therefore all the more shocking that conservatives and, unfortunately, some liberals are planning alliances with these parties. The firewall against the right must not fall!

Mr President! This year's budgetary deliberations will be held under the motto ‘And every year greets the marmot’. While EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and any number of heads of state and government never tire of stressing the great challenges facing the European Union, they are always being slackened on the budget. The tasks are getting bigger and our budget is getting tighter and tighter. The fact is: With this budget, the EU cannot fight the climate crisis. With this budget, the EU will not be able to formulate its own foreign and security policy. With this budget, the social divide will not be overcome. Interest rates and inflation alone eat up the programs. Important programmes such as Erasmus, the Horizon research programme or the Life nature conservation programme threaten to be effectively reduced. Instead of budget cuts, we need an EU budget for people and the climate. Climate change programmes need to be scaled up, not cut. We need inflation compensation for social programmes and the Erasmus programme. Inflation threatens the Erasmus programme to become a programme for high-income students from rich EU countries. We want all young people to be able to participate in the Erasmus programme, regardless of their income or place of residence. The EU budget is supposed to improve people's lives in concrete terms and not be a symbolic policy. We therefore strongly criticise the fact that EPP Group leader Manfred Weber calls for the financing of border fences from the EU budget in an alliance with far-right and nationalist parties. Border fences are ineffective symbols. They fake foreclosure and create new problems. Instead of financing fences, we should give more support to municipalities to take in people. And through EU neighbourhood policy, we should enable other states to give people a better perspective. It was precisely for this policy that Greens, Social Democrats, Liberals and Leftists and some Conservatives had a joint majority in the Committee on Budgets. Now is the time to profess the flag in plenary. Vote for our motions and reject the motions of the EPP and the far-right parties here in the House!

Madam President, We are currently witnessing the largest U.S. bank failure since 2008. The bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank has caused a lot of unrest in the European markets, as shown by Credit Suisse's current price losses. The rating agency Moody's has even downgraded the outlook for the U.S. banking system to negative. It seems that many have forgotten the lessons of the 2008 financial crisis. This crisis is largely homemade. It is also a direct result of Donald Trump's deregulation policy. In the quest for ever-increasing profits, effective laws for small and medium-sized banks have been overridden. But we have no reason to point the finger at the United States. Banks are also under increasing pressure. Too many loopholes have been negotiated in some laws. During the negotiations on the banking package, for example, conservatives and liberals here in the House also ensured that exemptions for small and medium-sized banks were drafted into decisions. We need effective regulation, and we need greater responsibility on the part of banks. They must stand straight through risk provisioning for misconduct. The banks – not the taxpayers – are responsible!

Madam President, I believe that the debate here today has given a very good insight into how controversial the discussions we had to formulate my report were among the shadow rapporteurs. I would also like to take the opportunity once again to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their commitment and willingness to compromise at the end, so that we will hopefully vote on this report tomorrow with a good and stable majority on all controversial issues. I would like to return to a debate in particular, because it seems to me to be almost the stronger controversy than monetary policy – and that is indeed the question: What do we think about climate change? Do we need a green monetary policy or not? I believe that we all agree very quickly here in the House that we are concerned about inflation, about the price increases that are hitting people with very little income in particular very, very hard in all Member States during these weeks. But in the analysis – what can be done about it and what, in my view, are obvious links to the area of energy prices, to the area of fossil dependency, which many of our Member States still have on fossil energy, but in this case also on Russian fossil energy – we seem to be somewhat different. And I am also very grateful to President Lagarde for the fact that you made it clear several times last year that there is a connection and that price stability is actually no longer possible without a greener monetary policy. What we are seeing now about fossil price explosions should actually make this clear to everyone, but it seems to me that we will have to discuss this point very intensively in the coming weeks and months here in Parliament. Because there are - and I would also like to disagree with you, President Lagarde - central banks that, in addition to the good things that you have already started, are doing even more. The Central Bank of Japan is an example where green-differentiated interest rates are also being used in a targeted manner. And I believe that we should also go this way and have to discuss this further in the next few weeks. But now I am looking forward to the vote tomorrow and would like to ask you all to agree to the report at the end.

Madam President, dear colleagues, President Lagarde, it is good to see you here in the European Parliament. The Russian aggression against Ukraine, disrupted supply chains and the ongoing climate crisis are threats to our economy and to price stability. With an unstable economic outlook, we cannot be sure that price stability and an economically stable environment for all citizens will be reached. Energy and food prices are still far too high, and our dependence on fossil fuels remains far too strong. While profits of the biggest corporations are skyrocketing, a majority of citizens are suffering from real wage losses. The real wage growth declined in the first half of 2022 to —2.3%. In Germany, my country, the wage loss went to —3.9%. At the same time, we could observe a higher contribution of profits to inflation, for example, from energy companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and others. We need to have a science—based analysis. We therefore call on the ECB in the report to begin to report also on profits contribution to inflation, the same as you are already doing with wages. We are calling on the ECB to take a step—by—step approach. The high inflation is a big concern for the European Parliament and we agree on that the ECB has the tools to bring demand driven inflation down. By accepting the primary mandate, we also need to be very clear: this current price explosion is different. The ECB has limited tools to address it. We are facing exceptional supply shocks in the energy markets. The ECB cannot bring this inflation down at short—term level, but also needs to focus on the medium—term perspective. Our high levels of dependence on Russian imports and skyrocketing prices for fossil fuels are an important reminder how a climate-harming policy is also directly affecting price stability. Green monetary policy is not a nice—to—have but necessary to secure price stability and a prosperous economic outlook. This is why we dedicated an entire section in the report to the ECB’s policies to actions against climate change. We are welcoming the ECB climate roadmap and stress test you put forward last year. We discussed it in the Committee more than once, but we also think that we need to do more and we need to include climate— and environment—related risks through climate stress tests and also other tools. We are inviting you, President, also in the next months to discuss this further with the European Parliament. Climate change is affecting price stability, and ignoring this fact will lead to big problems in the future. From a green perspective, important steps, first steps have been taken also in the report we could agree on in the Committee, but we still need to develop tools so that needed green investments will not be harmed by a tightening of monetary policy. I guess this will also be one of our major priorities for the next debates in our Committee when it comes to central banking and to monetary policy. For the first time, the report also includes a chapter with recommendation for secondary objectives. For too long a time, the secondary objectives have been politically ignored, and let me state this in no uncertain terms: the ECB secondary mandate is legally binding and laid down in the treaties. So we are calling the ECB to explain in a designated chapter of its report how its monetary policy is affecting the general economic policies of the Union, including impacts on sustainable growth and employment or inequality. Dear colleagues, the ECB is accountable to the European Parliament, and I really think we have a strong mandate and important work by calling the ECB to be more transparent and to explain much more on the monetary decision-making. So this report is a chance to go in the next steps in the dialogue together with President Lagarde and the ECB. I’m really looking forward to do this after hopefully a strong vote tomorrow and the debate here tonight. So once again, thanks for the President for attending the meeting, and I’m really looking forward to all of your contributions.

Madam President, Prime Minister Kristersson, you are taking over the Presidency at an extremely tense time. While the EU seems to be getting through the winter better than we all feared, it is not yet the time to breathe. In the coming months, we need a Council Presidency that is ready to leap boldly over its shadow and over national ideologies. We need a Presidency that is clearly committed to European cooperation and delivers concretely. And to be honest: We Greens have strong doubts as to whether you will succeed. Their alliance, tolerating a far-right and anti-EU party, the Sweden Democrats, is destroying a lot of trust across Europe. The good reputation that Swedish governments enjoy in Europe has been destroyed. Now it is up to you to prove to us that you stand in the democratic tradition of your predecessors and deliver concretely for Europe, for the common European cause. We cannot afford a Council presidency in a crisis that depends on Swedish right-wing extremists. We need a Presidency of the Council that is unequivocally behind the European project. We need a Presidency that is clearly on the side of the rule of law, minorities and the strengthening of the European institutions. We need a Council Presidency that is also ready to take new steps. We are pleased that you have identified competition and industrial policy as a priority. We are also pleased that you call innovative Swedish companies like Northvolt. But listen to what these companies are saying! These companies are calling for an active European industrial policy, they are calling for a European fund with joint strategic investments in green technologies and in settlements. Clear the way for this! Don't take the role Sweden usually has on financial issues, just block everything. We need to jump over our shadows and be ready to put new concepts on the table.

Madam President! In Europe, there are over 300 different national minorities. We should be proud of this great diversity that characterises the European Union. Democracy, the rule of law and minority rights cannot be scaled back. States that abuse minorities as an instrument of power and at the same time have a problematic attitude towards the rule of law are a problem for our society. On the other hand, one cannot fight for the rule of law without fighting for the equality of minorities. Equality between minorities should be the main objective of the EU and its Member States. As a minority Dane, I am incredibly disappointed that the new Danish government does not mention minority policy with a single word in their new government basis. It is extremely disappointing that the European Commission does not dare to go into conflict with the Member States. Dear Ms von der Leyen, dear Commissioner Kyriakides, It is time for you to come up with concrete proposals to protect our minorities.

Madam President, With this budget, the EU is not sustainable. That's why we need an update now. Climate neutrality by 2050, the social consequences of the economic crisis, increased security responsibilities, industrial competition with the US and China, active partnerships in the Balkans and the African continent, digitalisation, species extinction – the challenges are great. The answers to the big questions must be European. That's why it's time to turn Sunday speeches into concrete, numerical politics. We need a revision of the financial framework in order to adequately finance common European priorities. But it's not just about more money. It is also about the quality of spending. Far too much European money is still being spent in a climate-damaging way. Through our EU budget, we contribute to promoting climate-damaging infrastructure and advancing species extinction. We must make our climate quotas more binding, non-compliance must have stronger consequences, and we must remove climate-damaging subsidies from the budget. That is why, together with the Liberals, we have put forward concrete proposals for amendments to today's report. In the last hours before the vote, I should like to make my appeal especially to the social democratic colleagues here in the House: You're the star on the scales. Vote for our amendments tomorrow, vote for better climate finance, make the budget climate-compliant with us!

Mr President! The Ukrainian winter is brutal, and therefore the most important message must be that we are helping the many Ukrainians who have been staying for weeks in sub-zero temperatures without electricity and water. Putin is deliberately destroying Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and Ukraine needs our solidarity now more than ever. That's why it's good, and I want to start with praise for the EUR 18 billion in financial aid for Ukraine. Orbán's blackmail has failed, and that's the good news at the end of the year. Democratic Europe must stand together. We need more ways to prevent vetoes by autocrats like Orbán. Unanimity in the Council is a fundamental problem and needs to be overcome. We need more European solidarity, solidarity with the many millions of Europeans who no longer know how to pay their bills this winter. We need a European gas price brake that reduces energy costs for all people and for businesses. We need a European investment fund to strengthen our industry and create green jobs for the future. We need a European response to China and the United States. It is good that the US wants to make its industry emission-free and more innovative. Now we have to retaliate. Madam President of the Commission von der Leyen, it is very good that you have once again underlined here today that you are ready to do so. But now we also need movement in the Council. We need heads of government who are willing to formulate bold European responses and overcome nationalist little ones. This summit must not end in vain.