What Sergey spoke about.

3 Oct

2023

DE Speech

Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack and the continuing threats against Armenia (debate)

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Madam President, We do not believe when Azerbaijan says that Nagorno-Karabakh will be integrated into a multinational Azerbaijan. We cannot believe this when cultural development and civil rights protection are verbally promised. No, what we are seeing is cultural annihilation and ethnic cleansing, if not by proven violence – some doubt – then certainly by proven threats of violence and physical a…

12 Sep

2023

DE Speech

Combating the normalisation of far-right and far-left discourses including antisemitism (debate)

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Madam President, I am one of many who have consciously decided for a future in Germany, in the EU. For years I was asked how it could be that I lived in the country of the perpetrators. For years I have answered proudly that, precisely because of Germany's past, I look confidently into Germany's future, that, like so many of us, I feel confidence in German democracy precisely because this society …

12 Sep

2023

EN Speech

2022 Report on Türkiye (debate)

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Mr President, here we go again: another year, another report on Türkiye, another time to congratulate the rapporteur for his great job. Thanks for holding us together and finding solutions for everything. Once again, we assessed if our Turkish partners came closer to us and we to them. We rely on Turkey and now we rely on Turkey even more, as a neighbour, as a NATO partner, and Türkiye relies on u…

12 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Ukrainian grain exports after Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (debate)

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Madam President, Vladimir Putin doesn’t use the internet. But if he did, he would be able to visit the site of the World Food Programme and read the very first sentence: ‘Today, 828 million people around the world will go to bed hungry.’ 828 million people: the equivalent of six Russias are starving in the world. And Putin’s ultimatum will add yet another Russia to it. Over 100 million more would …

13 Jul

2023

DE Speech

Global Convergence on Generative AI (debate)

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Mr President! The AI Regulation was not even adopted yet, as the European Commission has already launched initiatives that are overtaking it. In any case, this could misunderstand the Commission's overzealous public relations work on the AI Pact. We must agree on a common cause, dear friends and colleagues. I hope this is undisputed here. The AI law we just passed is the foundation of our AI strat…

12 Jul

2023

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine and in Russia (debate)

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Mr President! One can disagree on the wisdom of NATO's decisions these days, including how realistic the Ukrainians' expectations were. But there are two things that are clear: It is now also our responsibility, the EU's responsibility, to give the Ukrainians what has been lost for many of them these days. We need to start a process, an accession process that is seriously and clearly planned. In t…

14 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Torture and criminal prosecution of Ukrainian minors Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov by the Russian Federation

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Madam President, names matter. Just today, we had the ceremony of reading names of many victims of those who were persecuted, who were tortured, who were expelled by the Soviet regime from the Baltic states, from Eastern Europe. Names matter, and that’s why when I’m asked why we’re mentioning these two names, I know why. Because by mentioning them, we do not just remember that they exist. We give …

13 Jun

2023

DE Question

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

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Mr Colleague, one question: Do you think it's okay to fall in the back of your own rapporteur - both rapporteurs? And secondly: Do you know the cases where in Russia, with the help of facial recognition in the middle of the streets, people were practically dragged out of the metros, out of the streets and arrested just because they were traveling in public space with their faces, were recognized a…

13 Jun

2023

DE Speech

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

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Mr President! Many thanks to the rapporteurs. Thank you for your honesty, reliability and trust in the cooperation. We have created a good compromise, and we must respect it and - I say this to the EPP colleagues - respect it and not counter it. Honesty, reliability and trust are also the three cornerstones of this Regulation. AI in Europe needs consumer confidence. Entrepreneurs need reliability.…

13 Jun

2023

EN Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides (debate)

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Madam President, I thank the President for the visit. This union is a union of equals, but yours – yours is a special case. For decades, your country has been in the epicenter of so many challenges; some imposed from outside, others self-inflicted: fossil explorations, golden visas, implementation of sanctions against Russia and holding against foreign threats. This made you the epicenter of histo…

13 Jun

2023

DE Speech

Humanitarian and environmental consequences of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam - Sustainable reconstruction and integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic community (debate)

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Mr President! While in Russia yesterday the national holiday, Russia Day, was celebrated extensively, Russia in Ukraine continued the shelling of volunteer rescuers in small boats who wanted to rescue people from the flooded area, people who wanted nothing more than to help others. In a small village alone, there were three dead and ten injured rescuers. The Russian propaganda machine is trying to…

12 Jun

2023

DE Speech

Electronic evidence in criminal proceedings: legal representatives directive - Electronic evidence regulation: European production and preservation orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I wonder, frankly, whether we are talking about the same law or the same text here, because I cannot agree with Mr Körner at all. A review: When the Commission adopted the e-evidence package in 2018, this package, it had just launched the rule of law procedure against Poland. And now, just as we see countries, governments, one by one, demolish and domesticate th…

31 May

2023

EN Speech

Threat to democracy and the rule of law in Poland, in particular through the creation of an investigative committee (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, I would like to make sure that we are all on the same page regarding what the past one and a half years were all about. It was about defending Ukraine, but it was also about defending the aspirations of citizens, of Europeans, aspirations for freedom, pluralism and democracy. Polish society has made an enormous contribution to this fight to our defending Ukraine and democ…

19 Apr

2023

DE Speech

Children forcibly deported from Ukraine and the ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin (debate)

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Mr President! 16-year-old Ihor from Kherson wanted to go on holiday for the first time in his life, and that is why his mother accepted the offer of the Russian occupiers and sent him to Anapa. But when Kherson was freed, the boy was stuck, as were thousands of other children in the camp. After weeks, the mother could only see him after he was told he would be adopted. When I hear what a matter of…

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Cross-border adoptions from third countries (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, we all agree that more transparency and international cooperation is needed from legal and also practical perspective. Let’s not lose sight of a different view. International adoptions are complicated and expensive. They take a long time and the outcome is uncertain. So, for parents-to-be this is a nerve-wracking exercise and this is also not in the child…

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Combating organised crime in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, when it comes to criminal organisations, criminals have one goal in mind: profit. The same is true for corrupt oligarchs from Russia or elsewhere hiding their wealth in the EU. So the most effective response is, to put it simply, to take away their stuff. And this is precisely what we will do. The Commission introduced the directive on assets confiscations and we are working toget…

15 Mar

2023

DE Speech

Conclusions of the Special European Council meeting of 9 February and preparation of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023 (debate)

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Madam President, The focus of the Council meeting was, as it has been for months, the crisis, the war, Russia's inhuman attack on Ukraine. We witnessed demonstrations in Germany a few weeks ago, we also witnessed this here in this hall: People who demonstrate, partly negligently, partly intentionally, empathy towards Ukraine and willingness to show sympathy for Putin. Many of these people, includi…

14 Mar

2023

DE Speech

Data Act (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear friends here in the Chamber! There is no data economy without data protection. For us, it must be clear that nothing about the Internet of Things and nothing about this specific regulation changes or reduces the already existing standards of the GDPR. The personal data remain personal data and the rules for dealing with them remain in place. The fundamental righ…

15 Feb

2023

DE Speech

The recent deterioration of the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexey Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia

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Madam President, What else is there to say on this subject? The inhuman face of the Putin system is reflected in the persecution of Alexei Navalny. I remember this man when he was still free. Big, always smiling, a passionate jogger who knew how to make jokes and enchant people, even in the hospital room in the Charité, where I visited him after his coma. Now I see the people on the screens of the…

13 Feb

2023

DE Speech

EU response to the humanitarian situation following the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria (debate)

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Madam President, Dear friends, dear friends, dear political partners, citizens in Turkey and northern Syria! Dear party friend from Europe, who revealed to me yesterday that she has lost four relatives in Turkey. Dear best friend in Berlin, who confided to me yesterday how much she misses her two cousins, who only survived because they took a smoking break. And she will always miss the other 14 fa…

2 Feb

2023

DE Speech

Preparation of the EU-Ukraine Summit (debate)

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Madam President, Who would have thought that a year ago? This European Union has shown that we are fit for the challenges of the historic moment. Who would have thought that? Now we need to make our EU fit for the important challenge of enlargement and Ukraine – Ukrainian society and economy – fit for the Union. This will be a long way, and our Ukrainian friends know this, but we are going this wa…

17 Jan

2023

DE Speech

The establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, Crimes don't start with ultrasonic missiles on apartment blocks in Dnipro that bury 40 people alive. Crimes do not start with bombs on a maternity hospital in Volnyansk that kill a two-day-old infant. Crimes do not start with the dead in Butsha, not with torture cellars in Kherson, not with filtration camps in Donbass. Crimes started with the Russian troops attacking Ukraine – onl…

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Legal protection for rainbow families exercising free movement, in particular the Baby Sara case (debate)

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Mr President, I wonder if anyone from Bulgarian authorities ever looked into the child’s eyes – into child Sara’s eyes or into eyes of other children who are affected like the one we’ve heard the story today as well, who is risking to end up as orphan because one parent is terminally ill and the other parent is not even recognised as a parent across the EU just because they are of same sex. Have y…

22 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

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Madam President, it’s a nice try to distract the debate here. Of course, we have 50%, more than 50%, of women as part of our population. And I think after the thousands of years of discrimination against this part of our population, our main goal now is to create legislation that will put the numbers right here. And this is what we are discussing. And don’t accuse me of being unbalanced here. I wo…

22 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

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Madam President, numbers do matter. One in ten, less than one in ten board presidents and CEOs are women. Numbers do matter. Ten, ten years this Council has been blocking this project. Ten more years when young female employees, young and old, did not know what are their chances to get into leadership positions. Ten more years when schoolgirls and young women did not know what are their chances to…