Speeches

Madam President, "Essentially, we are mowning the lawn, but the time will come when we will also tear down the roots," Israeli Defense Minister Galant told military representatives on 4 September, referring to Israel's actions in the West Bank. What is yet another announcement for the West Bank is already brutal policy and reality of the Israeli army in Gaza. Not only hospitals, the entire infrastructure, homes were destroyed, but also 80% of all educational institutions. Not a single university has Gaza anymore. If you want to deprive a nation, an identity of any future and past, then you destroy its cultural sites, destroy its educational institutions. Nothing else is done by Israel. For a year now, Israel's genocidal war against the Palestinian people has been underway. For a year now, Germany has been building the narrative that it would be a legitimate war against Hamas. There is no Hamas in the West Bank. The German government has a co-responsibility with the innumerable arms deliveries to the Israeli army. History and peoples will...

(Start of speech with microphone switched off) ... now that you have again used two narratives – the first is to the left, which is actually unbearable – I wanted to ask you why you think that you can still defame every voice for peace as an understanding Putin and a Putinist. Have you not noticed that in the Federal Republic of Germany a majority of the population now says that it is enough? The course of traffic lights, the course that you have repeatedly represented in the Federal Republic of Germany, especially in the Technical Committee, is not shared. How long will you defame any opinion other than your own as a Putin understander, Mrs. Strack-Zimmermann? How long do you want to defame people? Do you think you'll get support?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, billions – tens of billions – have been invested in weapons and sent to Ukraine. A wave of militarism was launched. For example, Germans train Ukrainian soldiers. With the calls for the battlefield, even parties such as the Greens, who once called themselves the Peace Party, are attuned to the chorus of militarism. But the ongoing demand for more and more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine will not decide the war in favor of Ukraine, it will not bring more security to Europe. We have to face the realities: War means death, suffering, misery, destruction, yes, and devastation. And there is no solution on the battlefield – on the contrary. At the moment, Germany is discussing the possibility of deploying medium-range missiles. An arms race without end. Colleagues, we are at a point where we have to take a different direction. With more and more guns, there will be no solution. Calling now for Ukraine to be able to hit targets in the middle of Russia will not stop the spiral of escalation – on the contrary. The NATO countries are in a dilemma with their previous strategy. They know that Ukraine alone can no longer win this war. You all know that a few more guns won't do. Dear colleagues who are calling for the battlefield: Do you want NATO to intervene not only indirectly as before, but directly in this war? Do you really want World War III on the European continent? I firmly believe that the majority of the population does not want it, so stop! It needs a policy of détente, it needs a policy of peace. There will be a big demonstration in Berlin on October 3rd, and I would like to call on all people to take part in it. For the rulers do not understand that our desire, the desire of the workers and poor in Europe, is peace.

Madam President, I heard the terrible news and reported directly to my office manager. She and her family live in Solingen. She had left the place shortly before the assassination, friends and acquaintances were still there. An Islamist killed people, wounded many. I grieve for the victims, I feel for the relatives. Radical Islamists terrorize and kill people because they live and believe differently. They stir up fears and spread incitement. There is nothing to relativize about this. But these Islamists are brothers in the spirit of the European fascists, who also do nothing else. The traffic light now wants to reject refugees, deport them to solve the problem. I ask you: What do you want to do with the thousands of EU citizens who have participated in IS jihad in Syria? The Kurds have been appealing for years to the European states to bring these people back and rightfully condemn them; You're sitting this out. You are now pretending to take people's fears and worries seriously; But you don't. You don't want to get to the real causes. Or what do you do about wars to end or prevent them? Against the sponsors and donors of the jihadists? Nothing. You say the perpetrator of Solingen was a refugee in a refugee shelter, so you don't want to let anyone in now. This is dangerous, cheap controversy. Why were there cuts in deradicalisation measures, cuts in integration measures? Why are our cities and social infrastructure being bled to death? Yes, colleagues, we need perspectives, we need to take the problems seriously. But they all don't. Because those who take problems seriously are committed to peace, to social security. For a good life, there is also diversity.

Madam President, Even now, seven months after the war in Gaza, there have been some speeches here in parliament that really speak the language. That is why I want to say it very clearly: What we are witnessing in Gaza has nothing to do with self-defense. If houses, universities, hospitals are destroyed, 33,000 people are killed, if 1.5 million people are actually suffering from starvation, then what is happening there is nothing more than a massacre. If the U.S. has blocked a ceasefire in all these months and Germany and the U.S. have increased arms exports to Israel tenfold, then they actually have a co-responsibility for what is happening in Gaza right now. Some believe that Israel is the only democracy in the region. I want to say it clearly: We are dealing with an ultra-right-wing, reactionary government in Israel. We are not dealing with collateral damage or some small border crossings. We are dealing with brutal warfare aimed at actually preventing an independent Palestine and preventing any will of resistance on the part of the Palestinian population. That is why I say very clearly: If it is claimed here that we stand for a two-state solution, then steps must now finally be taken for an equal Palestine, and months must not be waited for. We need justice for the Palestinians. We need an immediate ceasefire... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker)

Thank you, dear Erik, for allowing the demand. You are right about your comments and criticism of this migration pact. But I remember the Green Foreign Minister, after the agreement was reached, saying that this solution was overdue and urgently needed. I remember the Greens speaking out in favour of CEAS at their party conference. I think it is wonderful if you reject today, but the federal government and the green participation could have actually prevented this pact. How do you feel about that? What do you say to that? Because you're right: Today, the fundamental right to asylum is being buried, and today the wrongs that have existed and were illegal are being cast into law – that is the cynical thing about the whole situation. It is absolutely not a solution.

Mr President! Ms von der Leyen just said that Europe had to wake up and said: We need to be ready to upgrade more. We have to be ready to fight. That is why I would like to say and appeal to the peoples of Europe and say: Awake, peoples of this earth! Because it's days like this that make me very thoughtful. I remember days like this, the novel ‘In the West nothing new’, the scenes of the young men who went to war full of euphoria and then returned from the First World War a few years later, crippled and disillusioned. They are using noble words such as freedom, democracy, security to legitimize rearmament. Armament and war are just the opposite. Imperial wars are nothing more than the greatest barbarism. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, all you have to say is: Get ready! Get ready! Bigger, faster, higher, more! And what does that mean, please? Mr Macron even said yesterday that he had to play the new Napoleon and claim that we must have ground troops in Ukraine. What does this mean other than that the third world war is being prepared here? Dear colleagues! War is the opposite of security. The peoples of Europe long for social security. They want security. That's why I can only say: Peoples, we must actually fall into the arms of the warmongers here and actually build a strong peace movement against rearmament. Because it's about our future, about the future of our children.

Mr President! For years, the EU has been claiming that it stands for a two-state solution. But nothing has been done for a sovereign Palestine in recent years. Most Member States have not even recognised Palestine. For four months now, a brutal war has been raging against Gaza. Even during this debate here, death, suffering, destruction and devastation are taking their course in Gaza. For four months, the Netanyahu government has been making unacceptable statements. Palestine was equated with human animals. Netanyahu himself said there will be no sovereign Palestine anytime soon. This is unacceptable, ladies and gentlemen, and so are the double standards in Europe. Maoz Inon, an Israeli who lost his parents – both parents – on 7 October, appealed to the US and Germany at a peace rally in Israel in February, saying: Don't send us weapons, send us peace aid, because this government uses the weapons not only to dehumanize the Palestinians, but also to deprive us of our democratic rights. What do we answer him? What does Ms von der Leyen answer him, who has just pledged unconditional solidarity to the Israeli ultra-right government?

Mr President! The war in Ukraine has been going on for two years now, and one has the feeling in every debate here: Every day the marmot greets. Because in fact, the only thing you're calling for is the battlefield and the supply of weapons. But the war has its facts. It is clear that the offensive in Ukraine has failed, and yet you are calling for weapons. Let me tell you: Yes, of course, the Putin regime has the blood of the children in Ukraine glued to their own hands. But let me be honest: You too, Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Biden and Mr Johnson, do not have very clean hands, because in fact there were negotiations for a ceasefire. In fact, Mr. Zelenskyy stood here at the beginning and was in favour of a ceasefire. And NATO has said: Fight, boys, keep fighting, you fight for our freedom! And that is your cynicism, ladies and gentlemen! Why do you let the people of Ukraine die for your freedom, for your geopolitical interests and sell it to the people in solidarity with the attacked people? No, the men in Ukraine do not have the freedom to evade war at the moment. The women and children who are afraid for their families have no freedom to evade war. Finally do something for peace! This is solidarity. It's about human rights, it's about freedom. War is never freedom.

Madam President, While The Hague has ruled that South Africa's indictment is admissible because there are signs that could indicate genocide, the Federal Republic of Germany has increased arms deliveries to Israel tenfold. Mr Michel, you stood up and said: We as the EU stand for a two-state solution. But what does this commitment mean when a European member state can actually support Israeli action with arms deliveries? What does it mean if it is actually forbidden in the EU to supply weapons in war and crisis regions? Yes, peace seems to have become a foreign word here in the EU, not only with regard to Ukraine, but also with regard to its cynicism towards the Middle East conflict. They are now sending ships to the lakes there in the region, to the Red Sea, because three merchant ships were attacked. What kind of ceasefire do you do to prevent more people – children, women, mothers and fathers – from being murdered by Israel? What are you doing, Mr. Michel?

Mr President! The question of war or peace is usually a class question. As a rule, in war: Weapons deliver the rich and the poor the corpses. The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for 23 months now, and the US Chief of Staff, Mark Milley, said in autumn 2022 that Ukraine is unlikely to win this war on the battlefield. And yet the NATO countries have made one thing – said: ‘fight, boys, keep fighting’ and supplied weapons. Billions were put into weapons. I understand, ladies and gentlemen, that you want to raise the price of rival Russia. What you do is cynical. Let's look at the reality: It's a positional war. It goes 10 meters in one direction or the other. Meanwhile, thousands die on this battlefield, thousands of poor. And workers around the world are paying the price for this inner-imperial power struggle that is taking place there. And now the people of Ukraine are increasingly realizing that the solution is not on the battlefield. And what does the Zelenskyi government do? She discusses whether or not she may only oblige the men in Ukraine to go to this war who have a certain salary – to tie taxes to conscription, so to speak, that is cynical and this illustrates this class character of the war. No, there is an urgent need for a political solution and an end to the war, and the EU must contribute to this!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Cross-border work is all too often abused for wage dumping. And there are also very often – Commissioner, you know that – unsustainable working conditions here. The tip of the iceberg was probably the truck drivers from Gräfenhausen. But we also saw it in the pandemic among the asparagus workers in Germany. Where law is abused and not respected, there must be control. We need to do two things: clearer rules for people who also work across borders, but also enforce control. Yes, there is the ELA. But the ELA could not actually do anything in the two examples I just mentioned. And Commissioner, the point now is that this lack of rights no longer exists. Workers have rights, regardless of whether or not they cross the border, whether or not they have a migrant background, or whether or not they are Europeans. Third-country nationals have that too. And that is exactly what we are calling for with this resolution.

Madam President, Yes, of course, the attacks of the Houthi militias on merchant ships in the Red Sea must be criticized. But anyone who sharply criticizes this and at the same time remains silent about Israel's crimes in Gaza is playing a hypocritical game and is not contributing to a sustainable solution in the region. And the US even blocked the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza in the UN Security Council. This is unacceptable! The current escalation in Yemen is a threat to the people there. And that's what not only a left-wing MP, Özlem Demirel, says, but also the IRC. Yes, we are talking about Yemen – a country where people who have been battered by war for nine years, where a humanitarian catastrophe exists. And this humanitarian catastrophe was also carried out with weapons. made in The EU is moving forward. And now the federal government in Germany says it also wants to deliver Eurofighter to Saudi Arabia. We need de-escalation. What is happening in the Middle East is exactly the wrong thing. It is contrary to the interests of the peoples of the world.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Christmas is just around the corner – a great time for many to look forward to. But we can't imagine how many families with children and adolescents this time is a challenge. Rising cost of living, rising food prices, horrendously high rents that eat up much of the income: This means uncertainty for many citizens in the European Union. Whether young or old, people can no longer make ends meet. The poor are pushed to the margins of society. The middle classes are eroding. Young people are afraid of the future. Meanwhile, I keep hearing speeches from Mrs von der Leyen in Parliament about how great this Commission is at mastering the crises. Discussions are currently taking place in the Federal Republic of Germany on how social benefit systems can be cut down. No, colleagues! Anyone who takes the concerns and needs of the citizens seriously invests in a social infrastructure, not in rearmament and war. He invests in apartments, affordable for everyone.

Thank you, Mrs Beer, for your comments. But I have a question because you say it is not yet the time for a permanent ceasefire. I would like to ask you seriously: How many more people need to be killed in Gaza? How many children still have to cry for their parents or carry dead themselves through the area, so that the federal government in the Federal Republic of Germany finally says it needs a permanent ceasefire? Don't you realize how cynical that is, what you, your party and the federal government represent in the Federal Republic of Germany? Do not really notice how the peoples of the world must think, while on the one hand for Ukraine ... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President! The right to switch off and thus be able to switch off is not an exotic issue, but a bitterly serious one. More than 300 million people worldwide suffer from depression, mental disorders related to work, every year. The reason: Stress, work consolidation and the absence of the so-called work-life balance. According to a survey, about a third of employees started working from home in the lockdown. Many continue teleworking. Digitalization and modern forms of communication enable teleworking, work from any location, and ensure permanent accessibility. The result of this is actually that the private and the professional are becoming increasingly blurred. The result of this is that more and more people are stressed and become ill. Actually, working hours are regulated, preferably by collective agreement or otherwise also by law. But at the point where the employers' side does not respect this right, Commissioner, new rules are needed and, above all, enforcement of the existing rules. It needs more control. As I said, it is not an exotic issue, but a bitter reality.

I have heard several times now from colleagues in your group that the Left would somehow trivialize, trivialize, relativize Hamas terrorism, Islamic reactionism or the like. That's what you said. Are you aware that the left in the Muslim countries is the force that fights against the reactionism of the Islamists as well? Do you realize, dear Mr Bellamy, that it is not the left that are the brothers and sisters in the spirit of the reactionary Islamists, but that there are also fascist forces here in Europe? I would ask and sincerely urge you to refrain from this comparison. It is the left and progressive forces in these countries that are fighting for the fraternity of the peoples. (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker)

Mr President! For an hour now, I've been hearing from over there that migrants are criminals. I would like to say very clearly here: I myself came to Germany at the age of five as the daughter of a political refugee family from Turkey. Me and people like me are not criminals, but how criminal fascists are and were, we know that not least from history, we know that not least from the houses that burned in Germany because Nazis wanted to kill migrants. Mr President! A friend called me last year, an oppositionist from Turkey who was a teacher. He was removed from his job by the Erdoğan government, and so was his wife. Er arbeitete als Tagelöhner auf Tabakplantagen. He called me that his wife has now become ill and he has gone over the Balkan route to Norway. Please note: someone fleeing from someone with whom the EU is making a refugee deal; Someone who is fleeing from the refugee deals that the EU... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Madam President, I am a little surprised at the debate. It is about the grain agreement with Russia, so that the world population can be supplied with food. And I don't understand what you're discussing here. Last week, Mr Guterres made another push to reach a grain agreement with Russia again and is doing something to help Russia because it is about preventing people from starving around the world. The point is that food prices have risen more than 37% since the war and also with your sanctions. I understand that in these days everything is subordinated to geopolitics in this House, and I criticise this massively, because that means that impoverishment, that means hunger, that means that the erosion of the middle classes is also being accepted here. There are reasons why food prices and grain prices have risen. Speculation on the one hand, and your sanctions on the other. And here one would have to do something in the interest of the people of the EU, but also of the global South. Colleagues, have you ever wondered why the majority of the world's population has vehemently condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and also in the UN General Assembly, but does not comply with your arms deliveries and your sanctions? Because collateral damage is not that people around the world have to starve. It is also not collateral damage that the people in the EU are massively impoverished because of their brutal policies.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Whether EU summit or NATO summit, the motto seems to be: ‘Weapons, weapons, weapons. Long live the war!’ The latest escalation is: Cluster munitions from the USA, long-range missiles from France, other tanks from Germany. Let the war take its course. The message to Ukraine is: “Fight, boys, keep fighting! You are also fighting for our freedom." And if necessary, we also arm you like a porcupine so that you can wage this war for years and decades when it comes to our interests. The result in Ukraine: Destruction, death and suffering for the people. The result in Europe: The rich will become richer, middle classes will erode, and the poor will become more numerous. In the context of boosting munitions production in Europe, the Commissioner even says that if necessary, we would also have a war economy. War economy means that all levels of production are aligned with the interests of war. The message to the workers here in Europe is: "If necessary, you also work more for war." After all, geopolitical interests are at stake. It is not about democracy. It is about access to large resources, to large markets. And it is about a robust competition of great powers – a competition of military, economic and political powers in the world, about the division of the world. Including Russia, including China, including the US and including the EU. That's why they're upgrading massively right now. However, this does not only mean that the money for social welfare is missing. This also means that the world is becoming more uncertain. That's why we as the Left say no to this war and why we say: We want peace to be defended in the world. And the only way to do that is not to rearmament, rearmament, rearmament, but diplomacy and political solutions to conflicts around the world. Stop putting geopolitical interests, EU geopolitical interests above people's lives in Ukraine. Solidarity, genuine solidarity, looks really different, colleagues.

Madam President, There is a connection between the planned judicial reform of the ultra-right government in Israel and the latest developments in Palestine. It is no coincidence that the same government that is trying to undermine the justice system is particularly aggressive towards Palestinians. Because an essential goal of this reform is also to circumvent and overcome the legal hurdles in settlement and annexation policy. This settlement policy is a policy that tramples on the rights of Palestinians, disregards international law. Yes, and this policy is one that continues to fuel and escalate the Middle East conflict. Therefore, no silence is required at the moment, but it needs an outcry. Where was the outcry at the pictures from the refugee camp in Jenin? Where was the outcry when journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered? Colleagues, double standards and values are not related. If you advocate value politics, then break your silence about the suffering of the Palestinians, criticize this orthodox right-wing, nationalist government... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President! The solution found by interior ministers to the EU's common asylum system is not a solution, and it is at its core exacerbating misery. The falsehood that already exists is perpetuated, and this system has nothing to do with solidarity. Colleagues, more and more people around the world have to flee and leave their homes. You have to do it because of armed conflicts, which also involve weapons. made in EU be led. They must do so because their livelihoods are being destroyed, including by large EU corporations that are exploiting their countries, plundering their resources and flooding their markets with their garbage. They have to do it because their agriculture is broken, because they can no longer fish, because there are also EU quotas that empty their seas. It is the EU's responsibility to give these people a future perspective, of course. Yes, colleagues, escape is not a solution, but for many people it seems acutely the only prospect. That is why we say very clearly: We defend the right to asylum, but we also question the order you have created with global injustice. We face the right incitement... (The President interrupted the speaker.)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Do you actually notice that? They are currently discussing the reconstruction of Ukraine, euro-transatlantic integration, while a war is raging in Ukraine and is taking on ever more brutal proportions during this war. And you're discussing this without taking a single initiative to end the war. They do this, for example, by putting aside all the peace initiatives - diplomatic peace initiatives - that have existed, whether from Brazil, Africa, China or Mr Guterres. Not only that: They continue to fuel this war with weapons and tell the people of Europe to tighten their belts. Ladies and gentlemen, do you seriously believe that you are going to take Ukraine into NATO or into the EU while there is a very brutal war going on? You have to do something to end this war. And I tell you very clearly: NATO is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem. The US already declares today that it will not only support Ukraine, but will completely reshape it. I thought it was about sovereignty, about self-determination! Where do you get the right to reshape Ukraine? Yes, Russia is waging a brutal and illegal war of aggression, and this is to be condemned, but Russia is doing what NATO has done before in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and other countries of the world. Russia started a war with the same lies. And that is why I say very clearly, ladies and gentlemen: They want people in Europe to get used to war, so there are initiatives like Air Defender. The people will not get used to this war. The longer it lasts, the more the rejection from the population becomes stronger ... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President! In 2012, 259 people died in a Pakistani textile factory. They died in a fire. They produced for the German textile discounter KiK. The relatives, who later sued KiK, were dismissed on their charges. The case was time-barred, he said. What a mockery, isn't it? And Kik is not the only example. In the Global South, Latin America, Africa and Asia, multinationals, Western corporations, including European companies, are brutally exploiting people and nature. They undermine workers’ rights, disregard workers’ protection directives – and they can do so without blinking their eye because they do not have a duty of care. And there must be something done, Mr. Voss! You stand here and say: Then we rely on volunteering. Then we embrace the companies, because they want that too. No, Mr Voss, it is not time to embrace the companies, but to embrace the workers, to embrace the trade unions, to embrace the environmental associations that have been pointing out exactly these violations, the disregard of human rights, workers' rights for years! And that's why this directive is not a revolution, it's the least you have to do. And by the way, it is the workers who actually create wealth and not just the companies. Mr Voss, I ask you, I ask the Conservatives: If you agree to this directive, do not be anti-union!

The Common Position of the European Union in Articles 3 and 4 explicitly states that the Common Position does not allow the supply of arms which prolong the war or which are provided for in war and crisis areas. The cynical thing is that this common position has always been betrayed, and now it is being made open. Mr. Borrell even stood up and said: The taboo has also fallen. Work is being done here all the time to drop taboos in the European Union, because they have long wanted to work on transforming the EU into a military union. But the lesson of the Second World War was that in Europe it was said: We don't want wars anymore! And if you don't want wars, you have to work to make sure there is diplomacy. When was Mrs. von der Leyen's speech where she said: We as the EU see the way out of this war here or there? When did Mrs. von der Leyen ever say anything about diplomacy or peace in this war? If you tell us that arms deliveries end the war: No, they don't end it! They are exacerbating the suffering in Ukraine.