What Hannah spoke about.

14

Nov

2024

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Enhancing Europe’s civilian and defence preparedness and readiness (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, floods, droughts, pandemics, cyberattacks, a war at our borders: crises are the new normal. And we can keep fixing problem after problem after problem – leading to collective exhaustion – or finally strengthen our preparedness and resilience. President Niinistö, you wrote an excellent report on how to get there, with 80 proposals all boiling down to: let's do it together or we will fail. And with every day we wait, it will just get more expensive. Keeping household water supplies, building central storage houses: these are the more obvious suggestions. But what has far too long been overlooked is the aspect of cyber, and I am glad that you address it. Just last year, hackers breached the community IT systems in south Westphalia in Germany. That meant no ambulances, no birth certificates, no weddings, no passports, no marriages. Some of these services were blocked for months. Supply chain attacks, ransomware attacks, disinformation: if these things were physical, battle tanks would be in our offices and our bedrooms. State-sponsored cyberattacks, dear colleagues, quadrupled in the last 10 years, and our EU response has not. We have the Cyber Solidarity Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, some directives, but the EU still lacks 1 million cyber experts. And cyber threats know no borders: if one Member State gets attacked, it affects us all. So it's good that we have this report, but the actual work is only about to start. And we need to make it happen here, dear colleagues, because Member States individually will fail.

13

Nov

2024

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EU-US relations in light of the outcome of the US presidential elections (debate)

Madam President, if I ever hear again that we have to be careful that mediocre women don't rise too high, I will only say 'Donald Trump'. This man is not merely mediocre: he is a misogynist, a racist, and a convicted criminal. His behaviour and his policies are nothing short of a declaration of war on women, and he seeks alliances with right-wing men around the world, even here in Europe, in this Parliament, even in my home country, in Germany. And what I expect from a President of the Commission in such a moment is not congratulations. We should take note and then commit to strengthening women's rights in Europe, and to standing with our sisters in the US. We might have to cooperate with Trump, yes, but it's not our job to stroke his ego. We are here to ensure that Europe becomes more independent day by day, and that, in four years, at least Europe is still the land of the free.

22

Oct

2024

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State sponsored terrorism by the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of the recent attacks in Europe (debate)

Madam President, countries export what they know best: cars, champagne, sausages. The Iranian regime exports terror and repression. From the moment refugees set foot in Europe, Iranian agents seek to intimidate them. They smear dissidents with lies and death threats, kidnap journalists and even plant bombs in public spaces and these attacks are happening here on European soil. And they don't just stop at their own people, those of us standing against this regime are also targeted: members of the Jewish community, human rights networks, even Members of this very Parliament, including myself and my team. Those they cannot crush within Iran, they seek to destroy abroad. Towards this end, the regime cooperates with organised crime, smuggling weapons and drugs, uses these networks to fund its operations and expands its terror. And let's be clear: Iran is not alone. China, Russia, Türkiye, Eritrea, Belarus, Rwanda all use similar tactics to silence dissent and undermine our security. And while these regimes expand their global web of fear, our security services work fragmented and reactive. In the EU, we have no shared definition of transnational repression, no comprehensive data collection and no joint operational pictures. And with every moment that we hesitate to join forces, we give them more room to expand their brutal repression. So, dear colleagues, we have to protect those being attacked regardless of their passports and share intelligence about transnational repression, regardless of borders.

22

Oct

2024

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Urgent need for a ceasefire in Lebanon and for safeguarding the UNIFIL mission in light of the recent attacks (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, we are safe and free from repression here, and this is a privilege. I said this last session and I might have to say it again next session: we all have a choice to make about how we use this privilege. Will we continue to play into the hands of terrorists and warmongers, accusing each other of anti-Semitism or double standards, using symbols and rhetoric merely to provoke, echoing the deep divisions and escalation in the Middle East? Or will we rise above it? Will we try to understand, to use the different perspectives we have inherited, the deep ties we have with one side or the others as a shared resource to build the bridges so desperately needed? Dear colleagues, beyond the zero-sum game of brutality and retaliation, there are so many people in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran desperately yearning for peace. But if we, secure in this Chamber, can't even bridge our divides, how do we expect them to do so?

9

Oct

2024

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Iraq, notably the situation of women’s rights and the recent proposal to amend the Personal Status Law

Madam President, dear colleagues, forcing a girl into marriage at the age of nine. This is not tradition. This is not religion. This is a crime. Iraq has a proud history of women fighting for equal rights. The Personal Status Law of 1959 was once among the most progressive in the region. Iraq's constitution guarantees that a quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for women, and women played, indeed, a leading role in the recent protests for social justice and against corruption. But apparently this progress has terrified some men so deeply that they are now trying to bypass those constitutional rights, dragging women back into submission. The proposed amendments to Iraq's Personal Status Law would allow religious leaders to override constitutional guarantees, imposing their own interpretation of sharia law on women, which means legalising child marriage and stripping women of their rights to divorce and inheritance. Civil society has been excluded from consultations, and behind the scenes shady deals are indeed being made along sectarian lines. So let me be very clear: this Parliament and this Union stand with those who assault women's rights in Iraq and everywhere else.

8

Oct

2024

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Escalation of violence in the Middle East and the situation in Lebanon (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, as we speak here, we represent nations with deep historic ties to both Israel and Palestine. I'm German. I feel a profound responsibility for the security of those whose parents and grandparents were exiled or murdered by my ancestors. And sitting beside me are colleagues who share close cultural ties to the Palestinian people, burdened by the feeling that for the past decades they have not done enough to protect them. And we all have a choice to make. Will we continue to play into the hands of terrorists and warmongers, accusing each other of antisemitism or double standards, using symbols and rhetoric to provoke, merely echoing the deep divisions and escalating violence in the Middle East? Or will we rise above it? Will we use the different perspectives we inherited and the deep ties we hold to one side or the other as a shared resource to help build the bridges so badly needed. I don't want us to remain stuck, Council after Council, unable to even agree on a statement. I want us to support those who seek an end to terror and violence – and they exist on all sides – and sanction those who fuel the dangerous violence. Because beyond the zero-sum game of brutality and retaliation, there are so many people in Israel, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, yearning for peace – for peace for their families and for their brothers and sisters in the region. And if we, free from repression and secure, can't even bridge our divides, how can we expect them to do so?

18

Sep

2024

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The deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

Mr President, imagine having just given birth to a child in Afghanistan. If this child is a boy, you will have to send him to madrasa, where he will be taught to look down on women, wage war against infidels and be moulded into yet another soldier of the Taliban. If this child is a girl, she'll be forced under a veil by the time she turns six or nine, banned from going to school, disappearing into invisibility – a ghost, an unexisting species unable to speak outside the house, unable to leave the house on her own. And if that's not enough of a prison, she'll be forced into marriage with someone she didn't choose. But if you want to give your child a chance at a different future, one that isn't bleak and brutal, well then you will have to risk everything and illegally find your way to Europe, because doors to legal escape have been slammed shut. You will have to walk across mountains hoping not to be raped. You will have to swim the Mediterranean hoping not to drown, make it through an exhausting asylum process only to face so-called 'Christian' political groups threatening to send you back to Afghanistan because, for domestic reasons, they prefer to declare the hell of Afghanistan a safe place. Dear colleagues, all those who supported the intervention in Afghanistan should feel at least a minimum amount of responsibility for the disaster Afghans are facing today. We tried, we failed. We turned our back. This is no option. I know no one has a master plan on what to do. But there are always steps we can take: strengthen mechanisms that hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable; increase humanitarian aid and make sure it reaches men and women; work towards the qualification of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity; restart visa and resettlement programmes for those most at risk in Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries. And we should never, ever, make ourselves complicit in the Taliban strategy to silence women. Every day, we have to make an extra effort to hear the voices of Afghan women, to seek their advice, to give them a platform to ensure their meaningful participation and representation in international fora and negotiations – so that boys and girls born in Afghanistan tomorrow may have a brighter future. One word to those on my right who don't care about human rights. Let me remind you of the main lesson the Taliban have taught us in the past years: radicalisation happening in Afghanistan won't stay in Afghanistan, no matter how high you build your walls.

17

Sep

2024

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Continued financial and military support to Ukraine by EU Member States (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, we need to support Ukraine as long as it takes, but also as much as it takes so that this war doesn't drag on forever. I was in Kyiv last week, and it was the words of a Ukrainian woman soldier that impressed me most. 'Time is different for us,' she said. 'Every hour that you debate sending weapons more of our friends die. Every day your sanctions are not fully implemented, Russia can build more missiles to kill us.' I feel with every family losing a loved one, Ukrainian as well as Russians, yet the brutal truth is: if Putin stops fighting, this war is over. If Ukrainians stop fighting, Ukraine ends, and Putin won't stop there. And it is Putin who refuses negotiations as of now. Russia's allies, such as Iran, do not put restrictions on how to use their missiles, and the only restrictions we should put on Ukraine on using missiles are those of international law, finally allowing them to attack missiles in Russia aiming at Ukrainians. Weapons, humanitarian aid, preparation for negotiations, supporting Ukrainian refugees. All of this needs to go hand in hand. As much as it takes.

24

Apr

2024

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Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response (debate)

Mr President, Mr Borrell, last week, the Iranian regime celebrated its first direct strike on Israel, and it continuously violates vital provisions of the nuclear agreement. ‘Sit and wait’ is no option and more diplomacy alone will not be enough. We urgently need to work on a plan B: a regional security architecture which addresses the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and preparedness for new attacks by the Iranian regime. Frankly said, what more does this regime have to do until you finally wake up to the harsh realities? The IRGC is a terror organisation and it should be designated as such. The drones and missiles attacking Israel and our ships in the Red Sea are manufactured in Iran, and we should have sanctioned all those involved in that months ago. Last but not least, the regime is not legitimately representing the people of Iran, and you should stop pretending it would. All these demands are included in our joint resolutions and we expect you to finally implement them. Dear colleagues, the Middle East today is just a dangerous miscalculation away from an all-out war. It is on everyone – everyone – to stop repression and work towards de-escalation. And there are so many in the region who want nothing more than peace and an end to the suffering: babies being born orphans after airstrikes; families living in horror whilst seeking refuge from bombs night after night; tormented hostages unable to hear the voices of their loved ones; and so much more. There are strongmen on all sides – Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah – in Israel as well as in Iran that benefit from the recent escalation. It is our collective responsibility, together with the US and regional actors, to move from this deadly balance of deterrence towards a peace-seeking balance of humanity, dear colleagues.

12

Mar

2024

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Question Time with Commissioners - Preparedness of EU governments to combat foreign interference, including from Russia

Thank you for your answer, Commissioner. Would you mind to clearly name some of these domestic perpetrators, so that our citizens are very aware, when they hear them speak, what their message is, and who stands behind those messages?

12

Mar

2024

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Question Time with Commissioners - Preparedness of EU governments to combat foreign interference, including from Russia

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to know what foreign information manipulation and disinformation look like, take a look at the EUvsDisinfo database. There are now 16,000 narratives, mainly sprinkled by Putin's trolls, that have only one goal: Dividing and weakening our society. What you can see very easily when scrolling through this database is, some of it sounds pretty much like the slogans of those who sit here on the far right: Ukrainian agricultural imports would ruin Polish agriculture. Sometimes even conservative politicians become Trojan horses of Russian disinformation, according to Friedrich Merz, when he brags about the social tourism of Ukrainian refugees. My question to you, Commissioner: What insights do you have on the role of far-right and right-wing politicians in spreading Russian disinformation, and how do you plan to combat this form of disinformation?

12

Mar

2024

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Council and Commission statements - Preparation of the European Council meeting of 21 and 22 March 2024 (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, dear colleagues, yes, defence is national responsibility. ‘Responsibility’, the Treaties say, not ‘narcissism’. So why do Member States still compete with each other on the defence market instead of procuring together? Why do they still develop and produce duplicating structures, rather than streamlining the scarce resources? And why the hell is the defence industry in some Member States still exporting ammunition to those first in line and not to those who most need it, namely Ukraine? All of this, dear colleagues, puts the security of European citizens and that of Ukrainians at stake, and we simply can’t afford such national egoism any longer. Last week, the Commission put forward a surprisingly good, I’d say, proposal to fix this mess. It is the European defence industry strategy. There, it invites Member States to produce and procure together and to put the needs of Ukrainians up first. I expect Member States to wholeheartedly accept this invitation next week. This is the only responsible thing to do.

27

Feb

2024

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Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2023 (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, At every turn we are aware of the attacks on freedom and democracy. Sometimes brutal and visible to all, as in Ukraine, where Putin is waging his barbaric war, sometimes secretly, silently and quietly, as in disinformation campaigns by the Iranian regime designed to sow fear and discord. The enemies of democracy and freedom unite across all ideological boundaries, and we too often remain in small-scale conflict and do not oppose it enough. This is also because human rights violations are still something that happens elsewhere for us. But that is long gone – if our supply chains continue to rely on child labour, if Iranian women’s rights activists are persecuted here, if the hate messages of Putin’s trolls flood our phones, if Afghan refugees cannot register NGOs here to continue their online schools because our rules are so bad. It is time, ladies and gentlemen, for us to overcome this artificial separation and finally address human rights holistically in the Commission and in this Parliament. This is our mission for the next five years.

27

Feb

2024

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War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. What is happening in Israel and Palestine right now is incomprehensible man-made suffering – every loss of life, every family torn apart. Therefore, the call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire is right to allow the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid. I expect that everyone in the European Union will continue to put pressure on those who oppose it. But what is our role here, where this conflict also takes place in our cities, in our schools? Instead of building such bitterly necessary bridges, we too too too often encounter each other without empathy, using stages like these to incite rather than to promote understanding for the other side. Only: That won't save a single life. To put it in the words of Margot Friedländer, who is now 102 years old and survived the Holocaust: There is no Christian blood, there is no Muslim blood, there is no Jewish blood. There is only human blood and human blood, colleagues, is flowing far too much right now. (The speaker rejected a question on the ‘blue card’ procedure by Özlem Demirel.)

26

Feb

2024

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. In Germany, hundreds of thousands of people remind us of our responsibilities as parliamentarians. On the weekend, at one of the demonstrations against the deportation plans of the right-wing extremists, an elderly woman with a looking look stood next to me and asked me: “How do you do that now? Just run away? I've never been to anything like this before.” That gives me courage. And I am even more encouraged by the people who demonstrate in the strongholds of the right – in Anklam, in Torgau, away from the spotlight – who stand together against hatred and hate speech, where discs have been smashed and people threatened for years. Ladies and gentlemen, if "Never again is now" is to be more than a phrase, let us support these associations and organisations. Let's do something about hatred and disinformation and Putin's bots on the net, and let's keep reminding each other: Yes, we are competitors, but the political enemy is fascism. It is the responsibility of all of us to win together over hatred in this year's elections.

16

Jan

2024

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

Mr President, dear colleagues, the beginning of this year mirrors the tragic end of the last one, with people in Gaza suffering and Israelis fearing for their loved ones. What are we doing? Wearing flags or scarves, accusing each other of being loyal to the wrong side. But, colleagues, let’s not lose sight of what is at stake. Hopes for lasting peace in the region are shattered again. Palestinians are dying on an unprecedented scale – survivors facing hunger, disease and cold. Israel has the right to self-defence and to bring its hostages home. At the same time, civilians in Gaza have the right to protection and humanitarian aid. The crucial question is: how can both be achieved? This is the debate we need to have with Israelis, with Palestinians, with our Arab partners – but before all, it seems, among us. Many in the region count on the European Union to play a responsible role. Let’s start to live up to this.

15

Jan

2024

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The need for an EU and international response to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and for continued support to the Yemeni peace process (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, it is crucial that we have a joint European response to the Houthi attacks in the Red sea, but at the same time, it is our duty to safeguard the progress that peace efforts have made in Yemen recently. The European Union indeed needs to play its part to secure a safe passage for commercial ships, to prevent a further increase in commodity prices in the region, and to ensure that the merchant vessel is freed, including its crew, among them EU citizens. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that it took the Council so long to come up with the proposal for an EU mission and hopefully a positive decision will be taken soon. But Commissioner, I was also surprised that you were not sharing any information on this with us here today. So do we really need to rely on political leaks to get the information? What is planned, what the process is, when the mission will be happening. So, maybe in your concluding remarks you could share some more information. At the same time, we have to make sure that the Yemeni people, who have been suffering from war, massive violence, escalation and a humanitarian crisis for 10 years will also be seen and will also be important in our response. I was in Yemen in December as the head of a delegation of this Parliament, and I can tell you, Yemenis want nothing more than this catastrophe to end. And we need to make sure that their voices are also heard in the ongoing debate, that their needs are taken into account when setting up our joint EU response, because otherwise the long-term effects of our policy in the region would be detrimental. Colleagues, allow me to make one more additional remark. All the drones and missiles that are being fired at merchant ships, or in the direction of Saudi Arabia, or even trying to target Israel, they were manufactured in Iran, they were transferred to the Houthis by the Revolutionary Guards, and no one will be able to bring peace to this region unless we finally dare to revise our Iran policy, to take a stance, to revise our relations with this brutal regime and to take a clear stance against the Revolutionary Guards. We must call them and treat them as what they are: a terrorist organisation terrorising its own citizens and the whole region.

13

Dec

2023

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European Defence investment programme (EDIP) (debate)

Madam President, with EDF, EDIRPA, ASAP, EDIP, EDIS frankly said I’m a bit tired of these acronyms trying to disguise the main problem: Member States are simply not willing to move towards a truly European defence industry and market. The communication on EDIP in February surely won’t change that. But I haven’t given up on EDIS, the strategy, yet. Here is what needs to be done. One, let’s pool national defence budgets to buy what we need to guarantee the security of European citizens and that of our closest allies, Ukraine before all. We have to stop competing against each other on the market, because this only increases the profits of the defence industry and decreases the security of Europeans. Two, let’s work on common technical standards to ensure interoperability and economies of scale, and then subsidies and pooled funds should only go to those who produce and procure along these EU standards. Finally, we need to talk about arms exports. Currently, we have common rules but very diverging national export policies. This is a constant source of conflict between EU Member States, and it hampers cooperation – and Mr Breton, don’t tell me it’s complicated. I have the solution in the drawer, I have it on my website, please just reach out. Dear colleagues in the Commission and in the Council, if you want to really move from a national piecemeal to a truly European approach – pooling resources, increasing interoperability, prioritising the security of European citizens over the benefits of those of the arms industry – we are here to support.

13

Dec

2023

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One year after Morocco and QatarGate – stocktaking of measures to strengthen transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Qatar was not the first country to use illegal methods to influence European politics, and it will not be the last. Today, more and more decisions are being taken at European level that are of particular interest to third countries – financial and investment policy, trade policy, visa policy. And just as our responsibilities here are increasing, attempts to influence us legally – but also illegally – are on the rise. That's why, in addition to the rules we've adopted this year, we need to do two more things. Firstly: Keep the store clean here. And I expect everyone here to abide by the rules that we have given ourselves, and that there will finally be painful sanctions if someone does not abide by them. And secondly: equipping the authorities in Belgium and the Member States so that they can finally deal with the whole thing – Mr Körner described the problems. So that third countries do not try at all at some point – not with us, not in the Commission, not in the Council or anywhere else.

22

Nov

2023

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Humanitarian situation in Gaza, the need for the release of hostages and for an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire and the prospects for peace and security in the Middle East (debate)

Mr President, as we debate, families in Israel are mourning children, parents, spouses barbarically killed by Hamas terrorists on 7 October. They fear for the lives of hostages, and they are seeking shelter from ongoing Hamas shelling. In Gaza, people are mourning their children, parents, spouses who have become victims of Israel’s shelling of civilian infrastructure. They fear for those who remain exposed to ongoing airstrikes and suffer under the siege of Gaza. All human beings have the right to live in safety and freedom. Demanding this for one group does not question this right in relation to another group. Empathy is not a zero-sum game. The announced release of hostages linked to a temporary truce offers a new glimpse of hope to end the spiral of violence. The European Union, together with the UN, Arab states and the US, must facilitate a process where both Israelis and Palestinians can work on solutions to live side by side in peace. Hopefully for good this time.

20

Nov

2023

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UN Climate Change Conference 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (COP28) (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, If we want to stop the climate crisis, fossils must remain in the ground. So now we have to talk about the massive expansion of renewables and about climate damage and fair compensation. That is why we need civil society at the table. Thousands of people are already losing their homes. Every other day, a person is murdered who is committed to more climate protection. And in the United Arab Emirates, dozens of human rights activists are still in detention, even after serving their sentences. All of us who are going to COP should remind the UAE of its promises to civil society actors. And also to grant them all political freedoms. And at the same time: Without the Gulf states in the climate protection team, we will not be able to save this world, no matter how much we travel by train. Therefore: Let's use this COP to make the Gulf States pioneers in real climate protection.

17

Oct

2023

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Urgent need for a coordinated European response and legislative framework on intrusive spyware, based on the PEGA inquiry committee recommendations (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, we heard it right now. You know it and we all know it: how widespread the abuse of spyware is. This Parliament has worked hard to develop recommendations on how to fix it that have been carried by a broad majority. Yet, so far nothing happened, although the Commission had promised to pick them up. In the meantime, we keep learning about new revelations. Members of Parliament targeted again, including President Metsola, European companies illegally circumventing export regulations and European stakeholders making money by sending spyware to dictators, who use them to target human rights defenders. Frankly said, it is only a matter of time before military-grade spyware ends up in the hands of terrorists. So what more do you need to finally act? Commissioner, the European Union has one superpower. The superpower is to set standards and regulations that then become global ones. We have managed to regulate the use of ‘ABC’ – atomic, biological and chemical weapons – globally. The EU must now take the lead to also regulate the use of these digital weapons and ban its most intrusive forms. Frankly said, exploring options for a non-legislative proposal is not going to be good enough. So, I have only one question: when is the Commission putting forward a legislative proposal to fix this highly dangerous mess?

4

Oct

2023

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Egypt, in particular the sentencing of Hisham Kassem

Mr President, it’s ten years since the massacre at Rabaa Square in Cairo, where the Egyptian military under al-Sisi’s command killed about a thousand protesters. It has been ten years of brutal repression since, with so many critical voices locked behind bars. Journalists, political activists, human rights defenders, one of them, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the prominent face of the Arab Spring, who has served about ten years in prison combined and has not seen his son for over two years now. Another one is publisher Hisham Kassem, who was imprisoned on charges of defamation shortly after he had helped to form a coalition of opposition parties. It is brutal violence and tens of thousands of political prisoners, this is how al-Sisi secures his power. Yet EU Member States continue lucrative arms deals with this regime. So far, no human rights sanctions have been imposed on high-ranking Egyptian officials. And even worse, right now, the European Commission is preparing a dirty deal with al-Sisi to prevent migration, while human rights defenders in Egypt remain blocked from leaving the country. This hypocrisy must end.

4

Oct

2023

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Human rights situation in Afghanistan, in particular the persecution of former government officials

Mr President, it has been more than two years since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, and they kept none of their promises. Employees of the old regime are under constant threat. Women are not even allowed to go to parks anymore and schools are turned into jihadi madrassas. The situation seems devastating. The media spotlight has shifted, but our attention should not because there are things we can do. We can advocate for gender apartheid to be recognised as a crime under international law. We can make sure that human rights defenders under threat are given flexible visas so they can continue their important work in Afghanistan, yet leave the country when needed. We can ensure that all organisations running programmes for women by women receive adequate and unbureaucratic funding. There is something very concrete all of you can do next week nominate Parasto Hakim, Marzia Amiri and Matiullah Wesa, three education rights activists, for the Sakharov Prize to ensure again that the spotlight is on Afghanistan and to ensure recognition and protection for the many resisting the Taliban. Dear colleagues, however bleak the situation, there are ... (The President cut off the speaker)

12

Sep

2023

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Iran: one year after the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini (debate)

Mr President, High Representative, so, finally, you are here to explain why your Iran policy over the last 12 months has been so different from what this Parliament asked you to do. Yet all I heard was we are trying our best, but it’s complicated. But in the end, Mr Borrell, it’s not the intention that counts, it’s the results. And where are we as of today? The Iranian regime exchanges hostages with convicted terrorists and kidnaps new ones. It becomes more repressive by the day. It is only weeks away from the nuclear bomb. It destabilises a whole region by proxy wars. And Iranian drones are attacking our allies in Ukraine. Mr Borrell, it’s time to clearly spell it out. The EU’s Iran policy of the last 44 years has failed, and it is your job to think about new policies. Stop meeting regime representatives and start meeting the many different people that advocate for a free Iran, stop financial flows of the regime and start exploring avenues for the diaspora to send home remittances for the strike front. Encourage Member States to give more humanitarian visas to those badly injured by regime violence and spell out the truth. This regime terrorises its own citizens and the whole region. It systematically uses rape to force political prisoners into confessions, and it is already preparing to crack down the protests planned for 16 September. Mr Borrell, you have to stop stabilising a brutal regime while the people in Iran are prepared to die for its downfall. (The speaker used a slogan in a non-EU language)