What Sergey spoke about.

10 Apr

2024

DE Speech

New allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament, in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the Union (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. I often talk to people fleeing from Russia, but of course also from Ukraine; And they wonder. You ask me – and many of you too: How can it be that we have fled Putin's propaganda and yet end up with Putin's propaganda? Not somewhere, but in Germany, in Europe. What is happening here is not an isolated case. It's no coincidence either. This is not an isolated der…

10 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Russia's undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, it’s not a matter of politeness. For many people in Ukraine and in Russia, it’s a matter of survival. What we’re talking about here is not elections. It’s a mockery of choice that we’ve been experiencing for the past months and witnessing for the past months in Russia. An election campaign made by the Kremlin – made that political opponents were killed. Also, some of u…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

European cross-border associations (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Thank you, colleagues, and thank you, Commissioner, for discussing this very important issue. I respect the diversity of views and the plurality here, but I think it is important also to base it on facts and on this particular draft. And this draft says – and the Commissioner has emphasised it – this draft is written based on a sincere respect for the national tr…

12 Mar

2024

DE Speech

European cross-border associations (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, For years we have been looking for ways to strengthen our European democracy. It is often about defending this democracy against someone, and less and less about making our democracy European. When we met here five years ago, it was clear: It would be about strengthening EU institutions and pushing back authoritarian rulers. But is that all that ma…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, innovation is always an opportunity, but only if you are able to steer it and you have to do it before it makes you obsolete. You have to steer it in a direction that benefits, not harms, our economy, our society, our humanity. This AI act is our timely attempt to control the future developments before they control us. Yes, this law is weaker than the regulation that we, …

11 Mar

2024

DE Speech

Definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Many people in the EU wonder how it can be that super yachts of Russian war glorifiers are still being brightly polished in Croatian ports, that many a putinfied oligarch with his crooked private jet flies cheerfully from Nice to Istanbul and back, even though the EU airspace should be closed to Russian aircraft. And all this while people are dying in Ukraine! I…

28 Feb

2024

EN Speech

The murder of Alexei Navalny and the need for EU action in support of political prisoners and oppressed civil society in Russia (debate)

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Mr President, 14 years ago, Alexei and myself were riding a bus bringing us back to the Yale University to New Haven. We were discussing prospects for Russian politics. I was sceptical, but Alexei was the one who changed my mind with one simple phrase: we shall convince them if we are able to reach them. This was the essence of his understanding of what it means to be a leader for common good. It …

7 Feb

2024

DE Speech

Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

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– I am curious to see what the consequences of this statement will be for you. I hope you will bring this initiative to your party, and this will affect not only this youth organisation, but all youth organisations that are observed as far-right in Germany.…

7 Feb

2024

DE Question

Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

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– A question also to you, which I have already asked my colleague before: We now get reports about the AfD youth organization from Saxony, which talked about the deportation of the Jews in ghettos and also about anti-Muslim plans during its trip. Doesn't that contradict your ardent appeal to fight anti-Semitism? What conclusions would you draw from this?…

7 Feb

2024

DE Speech

Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

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Madam President, I would like to start by calling on my colleague: Stop playing different groups against each other! We have mass demonstrations of democrats in Germany, and these are people who stand up for the rights of all. This must not be misused for anti-Israeli political rallies. That's not how we're going to get any further. A Jewish student was kicked into hospital a few days ago, in the …

7 Feb

2024

EN Question

Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

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Colleague, thanks for these enthusiastic words on anti-Semitism, but how do you react to the new reports that one of the youth organisations of your group, Alternative for Germany, in Saxony was openly discussing bringing Jews, and people of other origins as well, into ghettos? These are the news items coming in right now from Saxony in Germany.…

7 Feb

2024

DE Speech

The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)

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Mr President! Lisa-Maria Kellermayr was a doctor in Austria and is now dead. Not because of a physical influence, but because of bits and bytes, because of words, because of hatred. During the COVID epidemic, she campaigned for vaccinations and harvested a veritable hate avalanche online. She then took her own life out of desperation. People will hate people and that will not change in the future.…

6 Feb

2024

DE Speech

Russiagate: allegations of Russian interference in the democratic processes of the European Union (debate)

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Mr President! If in June 400 million people decide how this house works for the next five years, how we relate to our neighbours, then I wish that they form their own opinion beforehand, not the opinion of Putin, Erdoğan or Xi; an opinion based on facts, not deepfakes, hate speech and disinformation. And I hope that in July there will be 720 MEPs here in this Chamber who stand up for the interests…

6 Feb

2024

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meetings, in particular the special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, This war will never end until Ukraine gains the upper hand. This war will never end until Ukraine is stabilised and strengthened – by us. If we fail, we have all collectively and collectively failed, and we invite Putin to keep going, to our own limits. And to the Putin friends on the right and left, those who are now thinking of peace negotiations, I say: You don't have to read p…

17 Jan

2024

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the Special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 - Situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds (joint debate - European Council meetings)

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Mr President! It's October '23 and Ukraine is fighting out of last resort on the front lines in the east and south of the country. In Beijing, a social chat with friends takes place. "It is a great pleasure to see you again," said President Putin, who is bombing Ukrainian cities. "Hungary never wanted to oppose Russia", Orbán replies. “Our aim has always been to expand the best contacts.” I read t…

16 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need to reach a ceasefire and the risks of regional escalation (debate)

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Mr President, we are mourning for countless Palestinian innocent victims. So many children. So many civilians. We are mourning for Israeli victims of Hamas pogroms. Baked babies, women raped to death again and again. Committed by a criminal organisation now hiding behind Palestinian children. Shooting missiles on Israeli civilian cities. We need to ask ourselves where our responsibility lies, for …

16 Jan

2024

DE Speech

Transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, We did not agree with this report. We will not agree with this report either. Why? For two simple reasons: Firstly, I personally do not agree with reports that are eye-wiping, and I do not agree with reports that make civil society the scapegoat of our problems. This report is eye-wiping because it imposes requirements on the NGOs that have been around for a lon…

13 Dec

2023

DE Speech

Jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood (debate)

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Mr President! Baby Sara is now four years old, she likes to laugh, romps around and certainly has her own head. She is raised by two people who love her, who love each other. But love can sometimes be complicated, because Sara does not have the same rights as other children of her age, because her rights and those of her parents Kalina and Jane are curtailed in Bulgaria and in ten other EU countri…

12 Dec

2023

EN Speech

Defence of democracy package (debate)

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Madam President, Madam Vice-Presidents, Madam Commissioner, yes, we have issues with foreign interference, with hybrid interventions from abroad, and with corrupt politicians at home. But frankly, those issues are not quite new. There has always been money that spoke louder than words if paid to the right people. There was always corruption and always politicians for sale to foreign powers. So wha…

23 Nov

2023

DE Speech

Digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation - Digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation (amendment of certain directives and framework decisions) (joint debate – Judicial cooperation)

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Dear Mr President, Vice-President, Rapporteur, Colleagues! The digitalisation of cooperation is urgently needed and it is good that we are pushing it forward. Europe and its justice systems: Yes, we are growing closer together, and digital means are part of it. And yes, it also gives us opportunities. For example, access to justice will be improved in such a way that case-law can become faster and…

19 Oct

2023

EN Speech

The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (RC-B9-0436/2023, B9-0436/2023, B9-0438/2023, B9-0442/2023, B9-0444/2023, B9-0445/2023, B9-0447/2023, B9-0448/2023) (vote)

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Madam President, the amendment addresses the horrific situation around the hospital in Gaza and the tragedy that took place there. It was formulated in consensus with the leading groups in the first hours after the incident news arrived. And now, as more and more news is upcoming and more and more differentiation is there about what happened, we would like to propose an amendment that would focus …

18 Oct

2023

DE Speech

A true geopolitical Europe now (topical debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, So far, we have not considered geostrategy. Now we're trying to spell out geostrategy in analogy. What we're still not doing is developing a geostrategy for the digital space. After all, a true geostrategic Europe does not see digital policy merely as a technical thing. Our future decides on it. There has to be a technology foreign polic…

18 Oct

2023

EN Speech

The despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself in line with humanitarian and international law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza (debate)

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Mr President, my wholehearted condolences to the victims and all those affected by the destruction of the Al-Alhi al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza, no matter how many victims there were, because even one person’s life is a human life. It is tragic that missiles of Islamic Jihad and Hamas are flying over the heads of those whom Hamas has made their hostages, and by that I don’t mean Israelis – I mean Pale…

17 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Effectiveness of the EU sanctions on Russia (debate)

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Mr President, the effectiveness of sanctions is determined by clarity about our sanctions’ goals, and effectiveness of sanctions is determined by the professionalism of sanction policies. This Council and this Commission have lost sight of the main priorities: our priority is to prevent Russian government and Russian machinery from continuing to be able to finance this genocidal war. The goal of s…

4 Oct

2023

DE Speech

The case of Zarema Musaeva in Chechnya

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Mr President! Anyone who has seen pictures of Sarema Musayeva knows what this is all about. It is about inhumane crimes against an innocent woman whose family members have dared to contradict Kadyrov. But it is also about much more: It is a symptom of the disintegration of the Putin system – systemic disintegration, moral disintegration. It's also about a deal, a deal with human lives between Mosc…