Speeches

Madam President, I have just returned from Jordan, where the Muslim Brotherhood has made a historic breakthrough. Why? Because images of Gaza flood the world and break the heart. At the same time, we all saw the demonstrations in Israel. At present, there is no release of hostages, there are only hostage deaths and this too breaks the heart. To support Israel, as I do, is not to give in to its security, but it is not to support the blind forward flight of Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies who are setting fire to the West Bank at the same time as they are destroying Gaza. Supporting the Palestinians, and this is also my case, is not taking the side of Hamas terrorists or Iran's allies who are wreaking havoc throughout the region. Nor is it to turn a blind eye to the inadequacies of the Palestinian Authority, which has authority only in name. To support peace, and I hope this is the case for all of us, is to be able to speak to Israelis and Palestinians alike in the language of truth. We Europeans must be able to do this without waiting for the United States to decide in our place, because the Middle East is at our doorstep and the misfortune that strikes it will always resonate louder at home than anywhere else.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to address all Western politicians and say bluntly: You're not up to it. Helping Ukraine is not about taking selfies in Kiev or repeating empty speeches. To help Ukraine is to provide it with what it needs, when it needs it, without restriction and without delay. The restrictions imposed on Ukraine to defend itself make no sense. He is forced to fight with his hand tied behind his back. Why stop her from hitting where the shots are coming from? What's Joe Biden thinking? Why deny him long-range missiles? What is Olaf Scholz playing? Why turn a blind eye to sanctions circumvention? What are we all playing? Meanwhile, Moscow is sourcing heavily from North Korea and Iran. We don't even measure up to North Korea and Iran. Do we realize what that means? We have chosen to help Ukraine. We did well. This choice forces us to succeed, otherwise we will offer Russia not only a victory, but our own erasure.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us be aware. Here in Strasbourg, in this Parliament chaired by Simone Veil, we have to face the facts: Anti-Semitism has not been defeated in Europe. Worse, he's soaring again. In my country, France, anti-Semitic acts are up 73% for the first six months of the year. This is called the "October 7" effect, as if the bloodiest pogrom in recent history had unlocked the lowest instincts. To fight without weakness against the return of this poison, we should be able to count on all political parties, without exception. Unfortunately, this is not the case. On the far left, some play with matches by their words as much as by their silence. Support for the Palestinians is turning into overt anti-Zionism and masked anti-Semitism. The far left believes that helping Muslims is hating Jews. The extreme right wants to forget its past while the present remains dotted with SS caps or anti-Semitic disguises among activists or those who do not dare to be called responsible. The far right supports Jews only to attack Muslims. Fighting anti-Semitism is quite the opposite. It is to defend universalism and concord against sectarianism and discord. This is my fight and I will never let it go.

Madam President, on 24 July, one of our colleagues, Rima Hassan, threatened another of our colleagues, François-Xavier Bellamy, on social media. I quote: For now, François-Xavier Bellamy and his boyfriends close to the Israeli genocidal regime sleep well at night. It's not going to last." End of quote. These threats are both unacceptable and irresponsible. We can have all the disagreements of the world in this Parliament, but the ethics and the exemplarity that are expected of us demand that we respect ourselves. This Parliament, this Chamber, is not an octagon, and we have a responsibility in an increasingly violent society: not to participate in it, not to encourage it. By his words, Rima Hassan put a target in the back of our colleague. François-Xavier Bellamy is not from the same political group as me. I don't necessarily adhere to his ideas, but I don't want him to be threatened. Madam President, I urge you to punish Rima Hassan without delay and without trembling, and thus to dissuade anyone in this Parliament from following his pitiful example.

Madam President, as we have said, Flight MH17 was shot down exactly ten years ago. Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for 10 years. And we, here in the European institutions, pay ourselves words. So there are all the words in our speeches, but there are no weapons, there is not enough ammunition to allow Ukraine to win. There is not enough political will. There is not enough financial means to allow Ukraine to prevail. Yet, for the past decade, we have known that Russia’s attitude towards Ukraine is a security risk for the European Union, for our citizens. And now we know that Donald Trump can be the president of the United States again and that he chooses as a candidate for vice-president someone who wants to abandon Ukraine and who wants to abandon Europe. Building the European Defence Union has never been more urgent.

Madam President, on Saturday 24 April 1915, in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, 600 Armenians were rounded up and murdered on the orders of the government. This was the beginning of a genocide, in which three quarters of the then Armenian population perished. The international community has not reacted. A few months ago, Azerbaijan forcibly expelled 100,000 Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian people are sadly privileged to have experienced both the first genocide of the 20th century and the first ethnic cleansing of the 21st century. Once again, our reaction was not up to par. So, on this day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, Madam President, I do not ask you for a minute's silence; On the contrary, I call on all Europeans to speak up and act so that the Armenian people are never threatened again.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is a paradox which I cannot resolve and to which I ask you not to give free rein. To hear certain political speeches, all countries in the world would have the right to self-defence – all but Israel. On 7 October, Hamas terrorists killed, maimed, raped and took civilians hostage because they were Jewish. However, an unsubmissive member of parliament from France has been heard talking about acts of resistance. On 13 April, Iran bombed Israel with missiles and drones. Yet the French Socialist Party has called for an arms embargo on Israel. Bashar al-Assad's Syria has always been hostile to Israel. Yet the National Rally blindly supports the Damascus regime. What do Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi Shia militias and Syria have in common? Their submission to Iran, their systematic destabilising role and their hatred of Israel. Tehran and its auxiliaries are multiplying provocations. Today, avoiding escalation in the Middle East is sending a strong message to Tehran. The Revolutionary Guards must be designated as a terrorist entity and severe sanctions must be taken against the drone and missile manufacturers that sow fear in Israel. (The Chairman withdrew the floor to the speaker)

Mr President, right now, in order to know what is happening in our Parliament, you have to read the press. It shows that the Czech services have dismantled a network of Russian influence in Europe. "One more," you say? Not quite. We learn from the Belgian Prime Minister, who was speaking before his Parliament, that (I quote him): Russia has approached European parliamentarians, but has also paid them for promoting Russian propaganda. They are indeed parliamentarians who receive money." The Belgian Prime Minister refers to the state security of his country and does not use conditional or any language precautions. Vladimir Putin’s spokesmen are shameless on the far right of this House, as we have seen. The fact that several of his elected representatives collaborated with an obscure media outlet belonging to a very close friend of Vladimir Putin and specialising in disinformation is uncovered and surprising. But the fact that European politicians have accepted money from a regime that is hostile to us is something else and we are shocked. Ms Metsola has to tell us everything she knows. Services must make public everything they know. In two months' time, our fellow citizens will be called upon to renew this Parliament: they have the right to know whether they vote for honest candidates or for purchased candidates; They have the right to know who of us is acting out of conviction and who is giving in to corruption.

Mr President, if there is one area in which Europe is a sieve, it is in the face of interference from its adversaries – Russia first. Strangely, this sieve, neither the RN nor the AfD ever denounce it. It is true that, in this area, they are at the top of smugglers' networks. Europe needs to defend itself better, and to do so, it needs to give itself the means to do so. In the US, UK and Australia, transparency is required for all foreign interest representatives. I welcome the draft directive presented by the Commission, but I regret the angle chosen, that of the internal market. This makes no sense. Neither our Parliament nor the Council should treat the poisoning of our democracies as a mere problem of harmonising lobbying. Transparency must be a must for all influencers, and we must learn to protect our citizens as much as we protect our consumers. Where are the discussions in the Council, and can the scope of the directive be broadened to avoid typing next to the target?

Mr President, in a few days the Council will meet and it has a more urgent priority than all the others: European defence. It is no longer time for procrastination and it is certainly not time for European disunity, the only one to benefit from which would be Vladimir Putin. No, now is the time for determined action to defend Ukraine. Because defending Ukraine means defending Europeans. We are not safe while Ukraine is under attack. But to defend Ukraine, let’s stop being impressed by our own audacity and Russia’s grunts. It's time for fear to change sides. Let’s not be afraid of Putin, he must be afraid of us. Ukraine lacks ammunition? Let's buy them wherever they are for sale. The Czech president is right. Is Europe looking for funding for its defence efforts? Let's invent them, launch a loan together. The Estonian Prime Minister is right. Let's use the interests of Russian frozen assets. Ursula von der Leyen is right. Europe has set too many red lines while the Kremlin has none. Let us learn to say a little less what we will not do and a little more what we no longer exclude. Emmanuel Macron is right. Strategic ambiguity is not a race forward, it is a way to paralyze and push back the aggressor. This is the only way to achieve peace.

Madam President, our continent is now at a tipping point. The war is raging there through the choice of a man, Vladimir Putin, who wants the capitulation of Ukraine and our enslavement. The United States could make an isolationist and fatal choice in November. Today, it is up to us to choose. Or we take the risk of Russia winning in Ukraine and the United States turning its back on us, and that risk would be considerable for our security. Ou bien nous faisons sans attendre le choix d’une vraie défense européenne. Ce qui nous manque aujourd’hui, ce ne sont ni les idées, ni les initiatives. And I want to welcome here the conference in Paris to accelerate and strengthen support for Ukraine. What we lack is the funding to produce the weapons that will make Vladimir Putin back down and deter him from attacking us. So let’s not wait any longer! Kaja Kallas proposed a common defense loan, let's do it! The EIB could invest in defence, let's give it the mandate to do so! Si nous voulons rester en paix, il nous faut bâtir sans plus tarder l’Union européenne de la défense dans les faits, et plus seulement dans les mots.

Mr President, thirteen years of bloodshed, half a million dead, 14 million civilians displaced or refugees, an entire country in a humanitarian emergency. This tragedy has a name: Syria, and it has one culprit: Bashar al-Assad. It has accomplices, Russia and Iran. It has consequences, the Syrian chaos has made possible the rise of Daesh terrorism, a terrorism that has also hit Europe. This same chaos has turned Syria into a narco-state that floods its Captagon neighbours, which it produces en masse. Even today, Bashar al-Assad does not control much in his country, except the most lucrative trafficking and the most appalling prisons. He could have been a head of state, he chose to be a gang leader and a butcher. In the face of this tragedy, where are the good consciences, the fierce defenders of human rights, the singers of the freedom of peoples? To denounce the horrors of the Damascus regime, the complicity of that of Tehran and that of Moscow in its endless suffering, the use of chemical weapons, torture, assassinations, arbitrary detentions, where are the demonstrations, petitions, demands for immediate action by the international community? When Syria threatens Israel, lets weapons flow through its territory to Hamas and Hezbollah, when Turkey occupies part of the territory and bombs the Kurds, who cares? Who is trying to put an end to this litany of horrors? Not a lot of people in truth! Worse, there are some here and there, in the Arab world, and even in Europe, and even in this Chamber, ladies and gentlemen, who plead for normalization with a regime that is the executioner of its people. But what standardisation would it be, what renunciation of everything we believe in – human dignity, respect for fundamental values – and what benefits should we expect? That drug trafficking stops? The Arab countries that have bet on it have seen nothing like it – that terrorism is better fought than it is today? Bashar al-Assad is the first to have emptied his prisons of the terrorists they contained when he believed his power threatened. That Syrian refugees return home, when there is no place in Syria where they would be safe today, safe from repression by the regime or violence by armed groups? Those in Europe who claim that there are safe areas in Syria did not have to pay much attention to this issue. No one is holding back Syrian refugee populations abroad from returning to their homes, except for the fear, the immense and legitimate fear of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which is guilty of both its excesses and its shortcomings. Worse, in Europe, there are people in this room who went to Syria at the invitation of the regime and sang their praises. They are known, we know where they sit: the far right and the far left in this Chamber, for the most part. They now affirm their support for Israel, the far-right in its war against Hamas, but they lay down in front of one of Israel’s worst enemies, who does not even recognise the right to exist of the Jewish state. Colleagues, after 13 years of bloodshed, the recommendation I am presenting to you today is simple and clear. It proposes that we do not normalise our relations with the Syrian regime as long as it does not comply with Security Council resolutions and more broadly, as long as it does not respect its people. It proposes that we continue to make progress, as several European states have done in the fight against impunity for those responsible for the Syrian tragedy. It urges us to work to ensure that the humanitarian aid we send can reach everyone and not be taken over and controlled by the regime. She calls on us to do our homework to repatriate the lost children of God-mads who are still languishing in Al-Hol, before they become the cubs of a new caliphate. This recommendation does not have a silver bullet to the Syrian tragedy. It only asks Europe to do what it can and what is its duty. I thank my co-rapporteurs who kindly worked with me on this forgotten tragedy on our doorstep, and I say to the political group that did not join our work and showed its indifference and complicity with the Damascus regime, with Iran and with Russia, that it was born before shame.

I do not know if happiness will be complete, Mr Lacapelle, but I heard you defending Armenia with vibrant accents. I heard you criticise Azerbaijan. So I wonder how the meetings of the National Rally delegations are going and if you can talk to Thierry Mariani, who has been constantly and recently showing his unwavering support for the Baku regime, his many trips, his very special interest in the Baku regime, the Azerbaijani economy, the fact that, while travelling with a delegation from the European Parliament, he embarrassed the European Parliament by criticising Armenia and welcoming Mr Aliev’s regime. All this to say that I wonder how the delegation meetings of the National Rally are going.

Mr President, I have just returned from Armenia. I saw a people who only aspire to live in peace with their neighbours and leaders who know their country is under threat. Azerbaijan’s appetite was not satisfied by its brutal takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh. His army occupies plots of Armenian territory and Baku claims more, more and more. Russia’s abandonment of Armenia is no longer in doubt, nor is Moscow’s desire to attack a government that has committed the unthinkable in Vladimir Putin’s eyes, namely democratising the country, reforming it, supporting the International Criminal Court and freezing its participation in the Russian-dominated security organisation that has brought nothing to it. I have just returned from Armenia proud of what my country, France, has decided to do to reassure Yerevan and help him defend himself. Training, advice and supplies of military equipment, this is what France has chosen to bring to Armenia in order to prevent any further attempts at aggression and to re-establish a balance of power. What France has done, other Europeans must do, and fast! Bringing peace to the South Caucasus requires not only negotiations – ongoing and ongoing – but convincing Baku and Moscow to finally respect democracy and the Armenian people. They rely on us, let's not disappoint them!

Madam President, Ilan Halimi, 24, abducted, tortured and completed in the Paris suburbs in January 2006 because he was Jewish. Jonathan, 30 years old, Gabriel, 3 years old, Arié, 6 years old, Myriam, 8 years old, murdered on March 19, 2012 in Toulouse because of Jews. Mireille Knoll, 85, Holocaust survivor, stabbed to death on March 23, 2018 in Paris because she was Jewish. Every time we cried, we walked and we said: Never again! And then, on October 7, in Israel, Islamist terrorists massacred 1,200 people and took 150 hostages. Men, women, children, because Jews. And there, some would like to tell us: ‘yes, but’, ‘yes, but it was an act of resistance’, or ‘yes, but there was a context’. Killing a man because he is Jewish, there is no resistance, there is no context that is worthwhile. It is a crime, a filthy crime. Anti-Semitism kills. Relativism kills. Indifference kills. Silence kills.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, remember – and if you have forgotten, I remember and can refresh your memory. Remember that after the ‘Qatargate’, both on the far right and on the far left of this Chamber, there was a maneuver to talk only about that, Qatar, to try to put an end to the special committee on foreign interference in the broad sense, not to mention Russian interference in our Parliament. The far-right and far-left amendments to my report at the time are there to testify to this. Above all, it was no longer necessary to talk about Russia. Fortunately, I stood firm, colleagues, and fortunately, the majority of us stood firm. They look thin on the far right and far left, now that we read the details published by the press of a determined action by Russia to use an MEP for propaganda and intelligence purposes. They look smart to those who have always twisted their noses when questioning the links of Catalan separatists with the Russian authorities. Now that the question has come up, ladies and gentlemen, do not do as they do, keep your eyes open. And please remember that Russian manipulation is a weapon of mass destruction of our democracy.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European summit on 1 February was a success, as it confirmed our financial assistance to Ukraine. But let's not veil our face: when it comes to our military aid, this summit is a failure, and in many ways. The eighth tranche of European military aid has been blocked for months because of Hungary. The future of a visible and predictable European Peace Facility for Ukraine is uncertain. Nothing has been decided yet, and most importantly, no funding has been clarified. Rather than taking expected decisions and taking action, our countries accuse each other of not doing enough, when all should do more, much more and much faster, much faster. The ammunition plan does not deliver on its promises: 500 000 rounds of ammunition were delivered to Kiev, half of what was announced, and this is in any case very insufficient. So, thankfully, to all the European leaders I am appealing: for Ukraine, for the security of Europe, you have a duty to live up to it and you are not yet. Never forget: failure is not an option, and self-satisfaction is not a method. Slava Ukraini!

I see, Ms Aubry, that you are talking about a world that does not exist. You have Hamas that doesn't want a ceasefire, you have an Israeli government that doesn't want a ceasefire, and you give yourself a good conscience by calling for a ceasefire. It’s free, it doesn’t eat bread. You are good, you are in the European Parliament. I went to Israel, to the kibbutz where people were massacred, tortured, taken hostage. I have seen UNRWA know that part of its humanitarian aid is now being diverted to Hamas, which wants to continue the war. I simply ask you, Mrs Aubry, to look at what is happening and not let Hamas put forward its plan to destroy Israel. He'll always find me in his way.

Ms Aubry, I note that Hamas, far from calling for a ceasefire, is calling on Muslim countries to supply it with more weapons. So my question, Ms Aubry, is: Do you call on Hamas to finally stop martyring the Palestinian people, and to demand a ceasefire that the Palestinian people so desperately need?

Mr President, what is Gaza's name? A war started on 7 October by Hamas, which knew the consequences and chose to make the Palestinian people a martyr. Prior to 7 October, there were no Israeli troops or settlements in Gaza. There was Hamas and it did nothing for its people. We were responsible for helping the Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas devoted its energy and resources to its one project: the destruction of Israel. This project, this war, is also the war of the Iranian regime. He too is unable to meet the expectations of his people. But one thing he is attached to is his ability to cause harm and he is exercising it as never before. Who supports Hamas? Iran. Who equips Hezbollah in Lebanon? Bashar in Syria? The Houthis in the Red Sea, the militias attacking the Kurds and the anti-Daesh coalition in Iraq? Who supplies weapons to Russia in Ukraine? Iran. So yes, we need to help the Palestinian people get out of the hell they are immersed in. Yes, massive humanitarian aid is needed and for it to be distributed, weapons must be kept silent. Is Hamas calling for a ceasefire? No, he wants to continue the war. The Palestinian people deserve to live in peace, to have a state and to stop colonisation. Supporting the Palestinian people also means helping them to break out of the straitjacket in which Hamas wanted to lock them up. (The speaker agreed to answer a "blue card" question)

Mr President, I hear here and there about a ‘fatigue of Ukraine’ that our countries are suffering from. This expression is obscene. It is the Ukrainians who are fighting, they are the ones who are suffering, they are the ones who are dying. It is the Ukrainians who would have the right to say that they are tired, but on the contrary, they are resisting the deluge of fire imposed on them by Russia. And I am tired because of our slowness, our delays, our softness in supporting them in a war that they are waging for themselves, but also for us, for our security, for our freedom. We have ammunition, we have not delivered enough and not fast enough. From missiles, Kiev expects much more and immediately. Planes, but what are we waiting for? I am tired of hearing that there is always a good reason to do less, and less quickly than we should. The European facility is blocked by Viktor Orban. Shame on him. So let's do something else, but let's do it fast and hard. The arms industry is waiting for orders and our states are tightening their budgets. So let’s launch a big loan together for European defence and military aid to Ukraine. We did it to fight a virus from the end of the world. We need to be able to do that again when we have a threat knocking on our doors. Let us do so without delay, without waiting for Russia to try a new offensive in the spring, without waiting for what comes out of the US presidential election. There is no longer a minute to lose.

Madam President, we have been talking about it for months, that Ms von der Leyen has announced, but still nothing: neither the European Defence and Investment Programme EDIP nor its accompanying strategy are ready. With the war on our doorstep, Ukraine lacking weapons and ammunition, we are reduced to waiting, waiting and worrying. "The ammunition plan is running its course," we are told. Admittedly, but this course does not accelerate and it does not necessarily flow into Ukraine, due to a lack of prioritisation of orders. Joint purchases encouraged by Edirpa? It starts nicely, gently, as if nothing is in a hurry. The last tranche of the European Peace Facility for Ukraine? Blocked by Hungary. The project of a multi-annual facility of 20 billion over five years to provide a European security guarantee in Kiev? Buried without flowers or crowns. Meanwhile, US aid is blocked in Congress, and German aid is threatened by the budget crisis. The revision of the MFF is on the wrong track. Again, war is on our doorstep, and Donald Trump is on the doorstep of the White House. It is not you who are at stake, Commissioner, but please do not tell us that everything is fine when we are making a historic mistake!

Mrs Aubry, it is true that we are far too paid if we spend our time on pickets in Paris or disguising ourselves as Rosie la riveteuse, that is true. But for those who work and advance the law for the benefit of all Europeans, every job deserves a salary.

Mrs Aubry, this is land on which I would not have gone, in your place, because I was a member of the Committee on Interference, a committee where your group was represented by a Member who kept saying that this committee had no reason to be, who tabled amendments to remove any reference to Russia’s interference in the work of this Parliament – I wonder why – and, as regards ancillary work, I do not understand why you think that, when you are a farmer at the same time as a Member of the European Parliament, you are sold to a lobby? You certainly don't know our fellow citizens well.

Mr President, new revelations about the ‘Qatargate’ are stirring up in the press every day like a sad soap opera. I learned that one of our colleagues, charged with corruption, tried to silence me because I was too interested in the plight of migrant workers in Qatar. The good news is that it failed. The bad news is that the behaviour of a few has cast suspicion on all of us. Even before the end of the legal proceedings, for the general public, it is all of us who are guilty, all rotten. I would like to welcome the first steps taken by our Parliament to increase our transparency and better protect our work. Several of these measures are based on the report that I presented to you and that you kindly adopted, ladies and gentlemen. I regret, as you know, Commissioner, that a genuine independent European ethical authority has not yet been established. And I warn, a few months before the European elections: We need to further increase our vigilance and defences against foreign interference, which will multiply in an attempt to manipulate our electoral operations. (The speaker agreed to answer a blue card question)