Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner! If it pops anywhere in the world, we'll pay the bill here. We noticed this four years ago when Putin plunged us into the gas crisis. And we notice that today. There is an important difference between Trump and us in Europe: Trump's gas buddies earn stupid and stupid every day. And we in Europe pay the price. We don't have oil, we don't have gas. We have families who are afraid of the next gas bill. We have companies that can no longer afford the fuel until the next construction site. We have supermarket prices that know only one direction, upwards. And now we really have to say goodbye to ideology. Oil and gas are the problem. We can all agree on that. And call it whatever you want: sun and wind, renewable energies, freedom energies – these are the solutions. In any case, it is clear that we must now get out of fossil dependency, which is simple:  Pardon my French – arschteuer. And it's ruining businesses and families.

You know, I am very much in favour of a truly European energy system because this is exactly what brings prices down. We know that if we do, for instance, a central grid planning, we save more than EUR 500 billion and I think this is what makes us strong. Working together in Europe – this is what makes us strong. Let me tell you just one thing: as a Green, I like the market. There is no insurance company that insures nuclear power plants. It has to be done by the state. I mean, I would say go ahead, but nuclear power does not function without big state subsidies and that is its biggest problem.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Millions of Europeans are afraid of electricity bills. It's not a coincidence, it's a business model. It is the result of our dependence on oil and gas. And the FDP may have perished, but I want to save Christian Lindner's sentence: Renewable energies are freedom energies. They protect us from dependence on Putin, on Trump, on wars. The cheapest, the best energy is the one you produce yourself. To this end, the EU ‑ Commission has today made good proposals: Electricity tax down for electric cars and heat pumps, it should be quite easy to pack solar on your own roof, and grid charges down for locally produced wind power. But in Berlin, Energy Minister Reiche does the exact opposite on every single point. The rich credo is: More gas instead of sun and wind. And that, ladies and gentlemen, drives up energy prices, and citizens end up paying the bill. My appeal to the federal government: The EU ‑ Commission has given you homework today. Don't say again that the dog ate them.

Dear colleague Wechsler! You have just said that you welcome the package from the Commission. I welcome it too. But the Commission says the electricity tax must go down for E‑ cars and heat pumps. The Commission says it must be made easier to build solar systems on rooftops. The Commission says that we need cheaper grid charges for energy sharing. The Federal Government is not doing these three things – it is doing exactly the opposite. My question to you is: Do you also work with the Federal Government to implement this package, to do the homework that the Commission has written to it today?

Madam President, Madam Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! We need to stop being naive. China is at the same level in all technologies as we are, or further. China is the largest exporter not only of raw materials and electronic equipment, but also of cars and machinery. China is not the Cashcow Europe, but every sector, every large company in Europe must fear that competitors from China will take over their home market in the coming years. We are David, China is Goliath. And we finally need a policy that acknowledges and responds to this situation. Europe must no longer be pitted against each other by China, but must finally implement a common industrial strategy. Cutting red tape is not yet a strategy. If CATL wants to build in Europe, gladly, but 51% of the factory must belong to Europeans for technology transfer to take place. Europe must protect its companies from China and not let itself be kicked over the geopolitical square as a plaything. A European, independent industrial policy is finally needed.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Let's be honest: China is the largest new car market in the world, and it electrifies at a rapid pace. European manufacturers are losing market share every day. The numbers from August: BMW minus 13 percent, Audi minus 9 percent and Mercedes-Benz minus 20 percent. That is the core of the problem. Our industry is not weakening because we were too fast in electromobility. It weakens because others invest faster. And stop denouncing electromobility. I visited the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt yesterday. This is where the new electric CLA is built, and it goes away like hot rolls. They now have to switch to three-shift operation because the thing sells so well and they can't keep up with the production. E-cars are just really good cars, and everyone knows that they are the future. That's why China is investing billions, and you're discussing whether it's right to reverse. If you want to drive fossil fuels forever and question the climate goals, then you are destroying the foundation of successful economic policy. Then there is no investment and planning security. It's clear: In a race where you're behind, you don't slow down. Accelerate to win. And we Greens, we want Europe to win this race.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! We discussed the relationship with China here this morning, and the situation is really frightening. Recently, a boss from a leading electrolyser manufacturer called me. We have the best technologies, but against subsidies from China, they simply don't stand a chance. He told me if we didn't do anything now, he'd have to shut up. Then he has to put people on the streets, and then we lose the technological connection in Europe. In many sectors – heat pumps, wind – this is exactly what it looks like. Dear Commission, we must not let our smart engineers go to the dogs. The truth is: So far, the European Commission has simply not taken care of it. The Clean industrial deal is there, but there is no plan for how we build the clean, how we build the green industry in Europe. For us greens it is clear: We will not allow our brightest minds to stand no chance. That is why we have put forward a plan: Buy European for Clean tech. We need a clean technology policy in the European Union.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Yesterday we decided to stop importing gas from Russia, but we must not just switch to dirty gas from Trump now. We need to seize the opportunities of sun and wind here on our continent. This requires a strengthening of the electricity grids, but also a strengthening of each individual household, because we can all benefit from the energy transition. For this, however, it is necessary to implement what has long been decided at European level. Citizens have a right to a digital electricity meter so that they can use electricity when it is cheap. It cannot be the case that only 4% of households in Germany have such a smart meter. When will it finally be possible for e-car owners to feed electricity into the grid? When is the booster for the batteries coming? These are all points that make network expansion cheaper. People have a right to benefit from the energy transition, and this report says so, so congratulations.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen! Last year, Vladimir Putin received €22 billion from Europeans for gas and oil. And in the same year, Ukraine received €18 billion in military aid from Europeans. The financing of the butcher Putin, the dependency, Nord Stream: This must end once and for all! And now the European Commission is proposing something very courageous: Fossil imports from Russia are banned. That means bluntly and clearly: Nord Stream is over! I demand from this House, from the German Federal Government, from Minister for Economic Affairs Reiche, from Chancellor Merz, that they stand behind the plans of the European Commission without any ifs and buts. There must be no ambiguity in the Nord Stream ban. At the same time, Trump's dirty fracking gas is not a solution either. We have to rely on the expansion of renewables, on the expansion of networks, on storage in Europe. No more dependencies! Decommission Nord Stream and build Europe's green energy!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! With the new law to end Russian gas, we are finally turning the money tap on Putin. You have to be clear and clear: Nord Stream is over once and for all. This is a victory for Ukraine. And it is also a green success, because we have been calling for this for a long time. This frees Europe from fossil blackmail and dependence. But beware! We must not now take the path into the next fossil trap. Expensive LNG imports from the US, from dictatorships such as Azerbaijan, are not a solution. They mean high prices, new dependencies, zero future. You're the next dead end. What we need now is a turbo for the expansion of power grids, of storage facilities, of renewables. The real answer is: out of the fossils and into the European solar and wind power. My expectation for you in Parliament is that you will also vote against Russian gas tomorrow.

Madam President, Mr Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! A year ago, we invited over 50 works councils from the steel industry to the European Parliament and their message was clear: Ensures that the modernization to green steel succeeds. This is the only way for the steel industry in Europe to have a future. That's exactly how it is! Let's not fool ourselves. We will not win the price war with cheap fossil steel from Turkey and China. We have to be able to do things that others can't. And that's to make green steel. This industrial plan – that is not enough. There is a lack of concrete measures. We now need lead markets for green steel, binding quotas for steel from Duisburg in the wind turbines in the North Sea. We now need security for companies that want to modernize, not just in a year. I want the works councils to continue to have work, so that their sons and daughters can also work in the steel industry if they want to. This is possible if we act now, put the laws on the table and invest in modernisation. Therefore, Mr. Executive Vice-President, hurry, the world is not waiting for us.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! No one in the industry denies that the future of the automotive industry is electric. The number of new registrations of electric cars in Europe rose by 37% in February. What are you doing? They are slowing down this trend with an attack on the Green Deal. They bow to a lobbying campaign against rules that have been known for eight years, making themselves small and weak as the EU Commission. They open Pandora's box and put the process in the hands of burner ideologues who want to tear the entire law to pieces. This creates maximum uncertainty among consumers, industry and investors. I mean, you're not even claiming to keep up with the competition from China. Congratulations! This is how your industry can be destroyed. The losers are the workers in the automotive industry. Expect the resistance of us Greens, because we are fighting for the future.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! This industrial deal is not bad, but it lacks something very crucial, namely the direction. If we want a strong, an innovative, a competitive industry, then we cannot rely on oil and gas and combustion engines – Europe has only sun and wind. And dear Mr Ehler, Europe does not have a business model if we do not have climate protection. The business model must be to invest in modernization, in innovation, in climate protection. And to the right, one must ask the question: Who do you want to buy the gas from? Prefer Putin or Trump? What is missing is a truly European industrial policy. If all 27 Member States cook their own soup, it will not work. But there's nothing in your plan about how we get the 27 capitals to pull together. So there needs to be some improvement. Europe can only stand up to Trump and Putin if we speak with one voice, including in industrial policy.

Madam President, Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen! It seems to have passed some, but Monday was an important deadline: According to the rules of the Paris Climate Agreement, the European Union would have its climate goal, its NDC, shall transmit. She didn't do that. It may not be a big offense, but to maintain credibility, we need to uphold and follow these very rules. So, Mrs. von der Leyen: Instead of the Green Deal and to tackle climate change, show the world that Europe leads! This means: Fulfill your international obligations! We now need a law for a new climate target. We have to follow the rules so that others do too. Ladies and gentlemen, at each meeting we are debating the climate crisis, floods, droughts and forest fires. And at the same time, coal, oil, and gas companies are collecting trillions of dollars in profits at the expense of those who are losing their homes, crops, roads, and livelihoods. I'm tired of it. This injustice must end! We must finally ask the polluters, the destroyers to pay. At the last climate conference, Europe and Germany also committed to raising $1 trillion a year for climate protection. Can we finally agree that we can no longer make any profits with climate destruction? The polluters have to pay for their dirty destruction. This mandate from the climate agreement must be implemented, and now.

I want to speak about the political prisoner in Azerbaijan. Roberta Metsola asked to lift the travel ban of our Sakharov finalist, Professor Gubad Ibadoghlu, so he can visit us in the European Parliament and get his medical treatment. The Azerbaijani regime did the opposite. They also cut ... Sorry, Mr President, this is not working right now ... (The President interrupted the speaker).

Mr President, colleagues, Vice-President of the Commission, first of all, I want to remind my colleagues from the EPP, even though Mr Weber already left, that the Green Deal is the idea of the conservative Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – it is your man on the moon project, and now you are stabbing your own Commission president in the back. Remember, it even took the Green votes to get your Commission president elected, so get your act together and support your Commission president, or we cannot take you seriously. I want to ask my ECR colleague to maybe think a little bit more about innovation than about cow farts. Innovation means investment into new technologies, technologies that enable new industries, new manufacturing. But you want to create a business environment of chaos, of unpredictability and of instability. You want to kill innovation. It boils down to the question of if you want to continue with an old business model that keeps us dependent on fossil imports, that gives power to people like Putin to skyrocket inflation in Europe for normal people and for businesses, or you choose a future oriented business model with home-grown renewables produced with European technology that brings down our energy prices, that creates local jobs and prosperity, and empowers our own innovative farmers, engineers, craftsmen and craftswomen. If you go for the past, Europe will lose. We choose the future.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! Yesterday, the heads of state and government met at the climate conference, and the European Union was represented by Viktor Orbán and Giorgia Meloni. I'd like to ask Ursula von der Leyen if she's embarrassed. Europe is the continent that warms the fastest of all. And now, after Donald Trump's election victory, it's up to us! Madam President von der Leyen, you must take the lead now. Unfortunately, you haven't done that yet. This climate conference must be a success. Negotiate with finance ministers so that Europe can put money on the table. And make sure that Europe announces its new climate target in the coming months, so that others follow suit. Frau von der Leyen, leadership means taking responsibility and organizing that it works.

Mr President, dear colleagues, what a shame! The climate conference will once again be held in a fossil autocracy. Azerbaijan profits from fossil fuels while repressing its own people. And it should not be entrusted with the presidency of the climate conference. I know – and we know – that Azerbaijan's security is watching us right now as we expose their dirty business, because President Aliyev is scared of the truth getting out. Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu's case – that we all refer to here – makes it painfully clear: a respected economist who dared to speak out against Azerbaijan's corrupt regime. For this he was imprisoned, he was tortured, and now he suffers from heart failure. President Aliyev, give your citizens the freedom they deserve and release Dr Ibadoghlu immediately. And to my colleagues: Dr Ibadoghlu is a nominee for the Sakharov Prize. Let's award him this prize and save his life.

Madam President, Commissioner! We Greens want the plants to continue to work, for the people in the automotive industry to have work. But anyone who pretends that we can simply continue to build burners does not tell the truth, he scatters sand in people's eyes. Yes, Europe's automotive industry is in crisis, but that's because of the combustion engine, not the electric car. We have to deal with the facts. The central problem of the European automotive industry is that China's car manufacturers are driving away from it. Their lead in battery technology and digitalization is enormous. One third of all German cars are sold in China, where every second new car is an electric car. The automotive industry is doing badly because it has put too much on the combustion engine and too little on e-mobility. What about e-fuels? They aren't even available to buy today. The global planning for e-fuel production over the next ten years is not even sufficient to cover ten percent of Germany's demand in the chemical industry, shipping and air traffic, and automobile traffic is not even included. I'm sorry. Whoever pretends that e-fuels will save the industry ridicules the workers who fear for their jobs. That there will be a transformation of the automotive industry is decided by the market. Global sales of electric cars increased by 25 percent at the beginning of 2024. Ladies and gentlemen, ‘We can't do it!’ must not be the motto of Europe as an automotive location. In order to save the plants and the automotive industry, we now need a feat of strength and technological clarity for the electric car. A European industrial policy for e-mobility must include a law for e-cars in corporate fleets.