Speeches

Madam President, Nika Melia, Nika Gvaramia, Mamouka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, Irakli Okrouashvili, Guiorgui Vacharidze Guiorgui Targamadze, Zourab Japaridze and of course Mikheil Saakashvili: The entire Georgian opposition is now being prosecuted, much of it in prison. Mzia Amaglobeli is in detention. His health is getting worse. She is in detention, like other journalists. Guiorgui Ramichvili, entrepreneur, was arrested. Protesters who, tirelessly, take to the streets every night, risk growing bigger and bigger. What's wrong with all of them? Do not flatten, do not want Georgia to move in a few months from a pro-European democracy to a pro-Russian dictatorship. We must support the Georgian people because they believe in Europe and we have a duty not to disappoint them, and we must completely isolate the Tbilisi regime that stole the elections and wants to turn Georgia into a new Belarus.

Madam President, "Russia is a military power with dreams of empire": this is not mine, I quote Mme Von der Leyen. I can also quote Kaja Kallas, on February 20, expressing doubts about the American mediation or acknowledging, on February 24, in Kiev, that European aid to Ukraine is not enough. So let me ask you a question: What are we doing here, sitting, debating, when we don't have a minute to lose? Ukraine is our first shield against Russian imperialism and Ukraine needs us. But today, no one can say how our military aid to Kiev will be financed in the future. The European defence investment programme submitted to us does not propose any euro for Ukraine. The High Representative's efforts to raise €40 billion for Kiev have fallen to €5 billion and have still not been successful. What are we playing? Why do European leaders continue to ignore this Parliament's calls to use frozen Russian assets? You'll tell me I'm talking about war, not peace. No one more than the Ukrainians wants peace, but no one less than Russia is ready for it. We must step up our aid to Ukraine, our pressure on Russia and create the conditions for a fair negotiation in which we must take our full place. For, let's face it, Donald Trump understands nothing about Ukraine and he understands nothing about Europe. It is therefore up to us to put an end to a war that primarily threatens our security.

Madam President, dear British friends. The EU-UK summit gives us the historic opportunity to repair our relationship. There are thousands of good reasons to do it, whereas there was none to damage old ties in the first place. We share the same aspirations and face the same challenges on both sides of the channel. All leaders have expressed political will to work more and better together. Now is the time to turn words into deeds. A credible European defence must partner with the UK as a priority, building on the coalition of the willing for Ukraine. Let's make it happen. Let's also prioritise the young generations in our decisions. Since Brexit, London deprives itself of talented young Europeans for no reason. Let's build a youth mobility scheme. Every side has to make efforts. We must be more welcoming towards British touring artists. You, dear British friends, must be more welcoming towards European fishermen. Because in both cases, it would make only winners and no losers. Dear British friends, it is time to get out of splendid isolation and to enjoy again a European entente cordiale.

Mr President, I have just over a minute to tell you about more than a million deaths: victims of the genocide committed against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. It would probably take a minute of silence, but not: There is already too much silence. This silence is the one that has been deplored for so long by the Turkish authorities. In this country, which so often refers to its history, it is impossible to talk about the genocide of the Armenians. Those who risk it are prosecuted and convicted. It is true that many people continue and condemn in Turkey, especially for ideas. As the Turks demonstrate in large numbers against the attacks on freedoms in their country, I would like to ask them to look at their past with as much lucidity as their present. One can be a great country by having committed great faults, provided one recognizes them. Armenia is now ready for peaceful relations with Turkey, despite a tragic history that it has not forgotten. In this month of commemoration of the genocide against Armenians, I wish Turkey to face its past and build a harmonious future with Armenia. Turkey has everything to gain from this, starting with its honour.

Madam President, "you must always be ready. Make sure you look at things from all angles. If you are not prepared, you will fail.” It is not you, Commissioner, who express yourself in this way, it is Benjamin Franklin. If Benjamin Franklin lived today, his appeal would probably be even more pressing. We have just experienced a pandemic, the war has returned to Europe, our democracies are under attack, and climate change is still in its infancy. We Europeans have shown that we are not bad at responding to crises, although we have not learned enough to prevent or prepare for them. This requires us to change our habits and, above all, to come together. As long as public power and the private sector remain at a distance, as long as the state protects citizens without involving them in a necessary foresight effort, as long as we focus on what divides us rather than cherishing what brings us together, our societies will not be ready to face extreme situations. The peoples of Europe are fully aware of the threats they face. They expect us to act, but they also want to take their part. If we come together, if everyone's efforts and responsibility add up, at the most local level as well as at European level, we will be able to ward off fate and preserve what we are most committed to: our freedoms and the future of our children.

Madam President, I only have one minute and I will not go four ways. If Europe wants to remain at peace, there is only one way: We need to support Ukraine militarily, massively and immediately. Unfortunately, the time for peace has not yet come in Ukraine. The lame ceasefires proposed by Washington only emboldened Vladimir Putin. If we want a just and lasting peace, we must allow Kiev to negotiate in a position of strength. We must of course strengthen our European defence against the Russian threat, but we must also reduce this threat by better supporting Ukrainian resistance against Russia, and do so quickly. The failure of the European Council of 20 March, dear High Representative, to agree on additional military aid to Ukraine is a historic mistake. Weakening Russia today in Ukraine is much more effective and less costly than defending against a tenfold Russian threat tomorrow. Finally, let's stop commenting on Donald Trump's latest protrusions. We can no longer count on Washington, which negotiates without us and badly. Ukraine and the rest of the world are wondering if we have finally become adults, finally able to help our allies alone. If we prove it, we will be taken seriously; If we fail, no one will rely on us anymore.

Mr President, we are gathered today to demand the release of the 23 Armenian hostages held by Baku who are facing an unfair trial. I wanted this resolution and I thank my co-sponsors. The current trial has nothing to envy to the Stalinist trials. The accused are deprived of everything and are subjected to ill-treatment. Their only crime is to be Armenians. I would like to address Kaja Kallas, regretting that once again she is not here to listen to us. Madam High Representative, I would like to congratulate you on sending material to Armenia within the framework of the European Peace Facility. I would also like to welcome the extension of the mandate of the European Union Mission in Armenia, EUMA, which is doing an excellent job. I even strongly encourage you to go and see it on the ground for yourself. Madam High Representative, I was in Armenia recently and I hope you will be there soon. You will see a country that wants peace, that dreams of Europe, but is confronted with a neighbor, Azerbaijan, which continues to threaten it and is one of Russia's best allies. I hope you will resist those who advise you the equidistance between Yerevan and Baku. I also hope that you will remember that Azerbaijan is pursuing a policy of hostile interference vis-à-vis France, which cannot remain without consequences. In short, I ask you to listen to and implement what this Parliament has been asking of you for a long time and with insistence.

Mr President, we hear a lot about frozen Russian assets, in particular that their confiscation would be illegal. I recommend reading ‘The Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts’, a document adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Law in 2001. That document recognises the right of an assaulted State to take countermeasures against the aggressor State as compensation for the damage caused. The responsibility of the Russian Federation as an aggressor state has just been recalled by the UN General Assembly, and there is no doubt that Ukraine is entitled to take countermeasures as reparations. It would therefore be up to Ukraine to act; But, here, the Russian assets are elsewhere, especially at home. We cannot seize them ourselves, but we can lend Ukraine an amount equivalent to these assets, guaranteed by Ukraine’s claim to receive compensation from Russia. As for those who fear to scare away investors, I would like to remind them that these investors have seen us freeze Russian assets. They know what to stick to and have not run away. We gave them a clear and, I believe, salutary message: one does not invade one’s neighbour with impunity. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, it is all about political will. When there is a will, there is a way. So let's take this path without delay.

Madam President, blood is flowing again in Syria: More than 1,000 deaths between Tartus and Latakia. Supporters of the former regime, suspected to have been armed by Iran and piloted by Russia, cracked the match, and fire caught on. Pro-Turkish militias and foreign jihadists responded with abject ferocity. The violence of the past few days, unashamedly exploited by Bashar al-Assad’s servants, including in this Parliament, while covering half a million dead, speaks volumes about the state in which 50 years of dictatorship have left Syria: torn apart by communal turmoil and plagued by the most toxic foreign interventions. What should Europe do? Helping the exhausted population emerging from years of darkness, ensuring that the power in place aligns its actions with its words, continuing to fight Daesh, which remains a threat, and helping to stabilise Syria. We will have to be all the more committed as the US risks turning away from there as well as elsewhere. The stability of the new Syria is in our interest and that of the region.

Madam President, Europe of defence was born last Thursday. It was unfortunately a labor in pain. It took the rapprochement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to finally listen to those who have been advocating for European strategic autonomy for years. I will not give in to the ease of reminding you that we told you that, because no one imagined that the United States would turn its back on its allies and flatten itself in front of its adversaries. I would rather tell you that there is no longer a minute to lose. I therefore welcome the plan proposed by the President of the Commission, but I warn us all: what Ursula von der Leyen proposes is little and it is late. This is little, as it is almost exclusively based on a voluntary approach by Member States. However, while many have already increased their defence spending, some are stubbornly lagging behind. This is little, because there is nothing to say that we will solve our main weaknesses, those that result from the fragmentation of our defence industries and those that are the result of a toxic paradox: our industries are primarily exporting outside the European Union, and most of our countries are buying mainly from outside Europe. We can no longer afford it and we absolutely have to assume a strong European preference – finally! Ursula von der Leyen’s plan comes after decades of indolence. Above all, it is not clear how we will massively help Ukraine; massively, because our security depends on it; massively, because we are increasingly alone in doing so. So let us salute last Thursday's Council, but let us be lucid: This is only a first step. Defending Europeans is an ardent obligation, which will require efforts and, sometimes, sacrifices. Preserving peace in Europe comes at this price.

Madam President, 'I do not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death so that you have the right to say it'. This phrase, no one knows if Voltaire really uttered it, but it has passed through the centuries as a light passes through the night. Today, it is with Boualem Sansal in mind that I pronounce it. I don't always agree with what he said, or where he said it, and it doesn't matter at all. The place of a writer is not in prison, Boualem Sansal has nothing to do behind bars, it is as simple as that. I don't care if it's the Algerian justice system that keeps him in detention; If he were imprisoned in France or elsewhere, I would like him to be free in the same way. I have no account to settle with Algeria, nor any special duty towards it. I was born after independence and I cultivate my own. I urge you all to ask for freedom for Boualem Sansal, without any ulterior motive and without any reluctance, because what this elderly and fragile man endures is unworthy and unjust, and because through him it is freedom that is muzzled, that of pleasing or displeasing on one side or the other of the Mediterranean. Finally, I would like to quote another Algerian writer, Kamel Daoud: A country that treats its writers badly is a country that misses its future.

Madam President, what if Donald Trump was right? What if we had to do more to defend ourselves? The answer is yes, of course. We do not outsource our security, unless we say that we do not take it seriously. It took the Russian aggression against Ukraine for us to start waking up. It may take a second Trump presidency for us to finally get up. Strengthening European defence is not an ideological marotte. This is what our compatriots rightly and insistently ask of us. Strengthening European defence is also not about doing a little more without changing our habits. With the White Paper on Defence, with the European Agenda for the Defence Industry, we can either make a real change in the right direction or miss the mark. We need to strengthen our defence industry, not by sprinkling our support, but by consolidating European heavyweights. We need to assert ourselves more in NATO, not against it, and make sure that our voice counts. We need to make the Atlantic Alliance what it should always have been: a partnership between allies who respect each other. We must stop expecting everything from the United States, but we must also stop buying American weapons in turn. European defence will only progress at the cost of European preference. Now that we are awake, let us stand up without delay, because it is at our doorstep that war is rumbling.

Mr President, in Georgia, the European Union is the only one that does nothing, and that is a disgrace. The elections have been stolen, and neither the new president, nor the government, nor the parliament are legitimate. Commissioner, I am still waiting for you to say this clearly, as our Parliament has been able to say. The population has been demonstrating for fifty-five days. It faces intimidation, brutal repression, arbitrary arrests and violence. The Council has been unable to take serious sanctions, and the states are still too cautious, with the exception of the Baltic countries, which I welcome. The United States has acted, not us. The measures we have taken make no sense. Georgians march in the streets with European flags, they believe in Europe – frankly, they have a lot of merit. President Zourabichvili consistently and accurately warns: What is happening in Georgia is serious, not just for the Georgians, but for the Caucasus, for security in the Black Sea, and therefore for us. At the moment, in Georgia, the score is 1 for Putin, 0 for Europe – and for democracy. The match is not over, let’s make sure we don’t lose it.

Dear Fidias, my question goes to you. A lie is when you go on a mission observation of election in Georgia. You say you see massive fraud, you see a rigged election and then you rush to your favourite social media to say that everything was okay and that this election was perfect. This is precisely what you did. And you were even able to do it because there is freedom of expression in Europe. But this is pure manipulation.

Madam President, the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most valuable human rights. Any citizen can therefore speak and write freely, unless he or she is held accountable for the abuse of that freedom in cases determined by law. Colleagues, it is not the Digital Services Act (DSA) that I am reading to you, it is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789. But what the DSA is responsible for is that those who abuse this freedom must be held accountable. Europe is a land of freedom and a land of rights. Europe is not the Wild West, where everyone can do anything. Europe refuses to wipe its feet on democracy and to manipulate the masses as in the worst moments of totalitarianism. Listen to what Hannah Arendt said about it in the last century: “The purpose of this constant lie is not to make the people believe a lie, but to make sure that no one believes anything anymore. A people who can no longer distinguish truth from lies cannot distinguish good from evil. With such a people, you can do whatever you want. Europe has its rules and requires them to be applied. Whether you are TikTok, Meta or X, the law is the same for everyone, even for the richest man in the world. Freedom of expression is sacred in Europe, and that is why we will not confuse it with the right to hatred, lies and manipulation.

Madam President, when the wise man shows the moon, the fool looks at TikTok. He offers his brain time available to all manipulations. Protection of personal data? None! Compliance with the Digital Services Act? Nenni. Freedom of expression? Depends on who. As shown by the presidential election in Romania, TikTok is capable of the worst, such as creating from scratch a far-right candidate, a plotter and a fan of Putin. Unfortunately, in Romania, TikTok is not the only one involved. Influencers so dubious that they are now on the run have been rampant on other platforms in the service of the same evil genius. In Moldova, Russia spent 1% of Moldova's GNP to buy 10% of the votes in the referendum. Telegram loops have served the most, but hyperrealistic video fakes have been circulating everywhere without being stopped anywhere. In Europe, Elon Musk saturates X with his dubious assessments of British domestic policy or the future of Ukraine. X handles as he pleases the visibility of what we post. Clearly, our public space for democratic debate is now being manipulated. That is why I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to support without hesitation the creation of a special committee on the democratic shield. It's about time!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, have we become deaf? Do we not hear what protesters shout every night in Tbilisi and all over Georgia? I'll tell you what they're shouting! I went to meet them. They were robbed of the elections. They've been rigged. We're robbing them of their future. They dream of Europe, and the ruling party, the misnamed Georgian Dream, has eyes only for Russia. They repeat it without getting tired: Georgia is European, Georgia is not Russia. Colleagues, have we gone blind? Do we not see the repression of peaceful demonstrators, the arrests, the beatings, the journalists and the imprisoned opponents? Do we not see that the Georgian government wants to bring down a screed of lead on the country and align itself with Moscow? Have we become powerless? What are we waiting for to sanction the handful of Georgian Dream givers, who want to put the country to their boot and that of Vladimir Putin? Roberta Metsola invited the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, as many of us have asked her to do. Salome Zourabichvili defends with all his strength the democratic and European future of his country. It has its place in our house of European democracy. She has to speak in plenary. The demonstrators in Roustaveli believe in the power of Europe. For them, as for us, let us prove them right!

Mr President, Madam High Representative, Bashar al-Assad has fallen. The message is strong and applies to all dictators: None is eternal. It also applies to all regimes that rely on an alliance with Russia. Vladimir Putin is not a reliable ally. Bashar al-Assad has fallen, and we are appalled at the sight of the prisoners released from these deaths. We knew, but today we see what the barbarism of Bashar al-Assad’s regime was like. We are ashamed of all those – including here, including the National Rally – who shook hands with the butcher in Damascus. A new Syria is being born. Hope is mixed with uncertainty. That Islamist rebels have taken Damascus is a legitimate concern, especially for Christians in Syria. All components of the Syrian nation must find their place in the new Syria. The fact that Turkey is arrogating entire parts of the country and bombing the Kurds threatens the fight that the Kurds are waging with us against Daesh. The fight against terrorism must continue. We must engage this new Syria, be ready to review the sanctions and help rebuild it by recalling our priorities: fight against terrorism, destruction of chemical weapons, respect for neighbouring countries, end of alliance with Russia, protection of minorities, place of women. Under these conditions, the birth of a new Syria can be good news for the Middle East.

Mr President, ballot box stuffing, lack of secrecy of the vote, confiscation of identity papers, intimidation of voters, vote buying, violence, uncertainty about counting. This is the complete panoply of electoral fraud that I saw in Georgia, where I was on an official observation mission. Since then, the demonstrations have followed and resembled each other. Georgians protest that they have been robbed of their election. They demonstrate peacefully by waving Georgian flags, but also European ones. They believe in us. They hope we won't abandon them as the ruling party has turned into a Georgian nightmare, courting Vladimir Putin and considering banning opposition parties. To date, the European response is both strong and inadequate. We have indeed suspended Georgia's candidacy. This is understood, but must delight Russia and despair the people. We call on the Georgian authorities to investigate fraud, while very few independent institutions remain, apart from the President, whose courage and uprightness I salute. At the last European Council, our leaders did not have time to talk about Georgia and today Charles Michel does not have time to be in this Chamber. Make no mistake, the rose revolution started in Georgia. This is where Putin tested militarily what he was going to try in Ukraine and we did not know how to turn him back. The fate of Georgia will be a symbol of either our weakness or our righteousness and determination.

Madam President, last Wednesday Europe woke up with concern when it learned that the 47th President of the United States would be the same as the 45th President. Since then, Europeans have gone through several phases. Stupor and tremors first, as if the hypothesis of a return of Donald Trump had not been considered or anticipated. Denial and relativism then, between those who try to convince themselves that Europe has already survived a first term of Trump without seeing that the situation is nothing comparable. And those who think they are little European Trumps, we have heard here, and who are indifferent to the risk of a Trump presidency for our fellow citizens. Save who can and everyone for themselves, finally, some already looking for how to please Donald Trump. In reality, it would be in Europe's interest to wake up at all. For once, Georgia Meloni and Donald Trump are right: It is up to us to take charge of our destiny if we want to decide for ourselves. This is the moment of Europe's affirmation and this moment will not come back. Either we are at the table of the great geopolitical players of today's world without waiting, or we will be on the menu tomorrow. The choice is simple: If we do not want to suffer, we must act and build our strategic autonomy.

Madam President, I, like six other colleagues, took part in the election observation mission to Georgia, where we saw a lot of fraud and intimidation. I therefore welcome the fact that there is a debate on this subject here in Parliament. But what is happening right now in Georgia are daily demonstrations of Georgians taking to the streets with Georgian flags and European flags. They expect a lot from the European Union. Unfortunately, the European Council did not find the time to talk about it last time. We are the house of democracy in Europe and we must find time not only to debate what is happening in Georgia, but also to formally adopt our position through a resolution. That is why we are calling, under Rule 164 of our Rules of Procedure, for a resolution to be added to the agenda of the next session.

Madam President, legend has it that a woman, Semiramis, was queen of Mesopotamia and founded Babylon. Today, it is a daily challenge to be a woman in Iraq. It was believed that the time when Daesh committed genocide against the Yazidis and enslaved their women was over. It was believed that the time had passed when Saddam Hussein was cajoling the Iranian sect of the people's mujahideen and letting it carry out forced marriages in Iraq. That was without counting on today's Iraqi parliamentarians, who are preparing in 2024 to legalize the marriage of girls as young as 9 years old and to violate women's rights to divorce and inheritance. There are two lessons to be learned from what is happening in Iraq. The first is the failure of the United States to impose democracy and the price that women pay, as in Afghanistan, for this failure. The second is that, from Kabul to Baghdad to Tehran, a misguided version of a dark Islam is attacking women. Anyone in Europe who claims to be progressive and supports political Islamism insults all women, first and foremost Muslim women.

Madam President, we knew that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime was angry with human rights. We already knew the fate of many political opponents, Kurdish representatives, lawyers, civil servants, intellectuals, patrons and journalists. The case of Bülent Mumay sheds light on another aspect of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime: It's his business aspect. What is the crime that earned Bülent Mumay to be condemned by a justice under orders? To have revealed a vast system of corruption and money laundering, set up in Istanbul by the party of the Turkish president. Until then, Mumay had been unkind to Erdoğan's regime, denouncing the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup or Ankara's support for Hamas. It was when he touched the nerve of war, suspected of corruption, that he was prosecuted and convicted and his articles were censored. That says something about Erdoğan's Turkey. The Ankara regime continues to demonstrate that the values of the rule of law and respect for human rights, which are at the heart of European integration, are not its own. He should go to the end of the logic and assume to withdraw his candidacy for membership of our Union.

Madam President, exactly one year ago today, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh after organizing its blockade. One hundred thousand Armenians were forced to flee leaving everything behind, in what is the first ethnic cleansing of the 21st century. A year later, none of them were able to return home. Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are still being held in Azerbaijan, prisoners of war from the 2020 conflict too, bodies have not been returned. The Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh is threatened, if not already destroyed. The President of Azerbaijan is multiplying the pretexts for not signing a peace treaty with Armenia. In a few weeks, COP 29 will be held in Baku. Those who go there have a moral duty to demand the return of the 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and the release of the detainees. The fight for the planet cannot go against the fight for the rights of those who inhabit it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have just ended. Let me tell you about Zakia Khudadadi. Born disabled in Afghanistan, she fled the Taliban regime with the help of France. She is now a bronze medalist in taekwondo with the refugee team, the ones that some in this House would not like to welcome to Europe. She says she's fighting for all women in Afghanistan. She's extraordinary. I am proud of what my country has done for her. Let me tell you about Marzieh Hamidi, too. She is also a refugee in France, fortunately. She is also a Taekwondo champion. In late August, she launched a social media campaign to denounce gender apartheid imposed on women in Afghanistan. Since then, she has been threatened, harassed, and living under police protection. The hate calls she receives come from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. I am ashamed that this is happening in Europe. She decided to continue fighting for Afghan women. I am ashamed of the indifference of some self-proclaimed feminists, unable to break the silence imposed on Afghan women. I am ashamed of all those who have praised the return of moderate Taliban to Kabul. I am ashamed of the UN that wants to reconnect with the Taliban regime. If our universal values make sense, it is in the defence of Afghan women that we must apply them.