Speeches

Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, as we prepare for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Russia continues its work of destruction. Every day, lives are cut, homes are targeted and fields are mined. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia, is occupied by Russia, which has stored military equipment there. She's at a standstill. The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam puts the safety of the plant at risk. Let's talk about this dam. What do we know? That he is in the Russian-occupied area, that a few days before his collapse, Russia had decided to ban any investigation in a similar case, and that there is therefore no Russian investigation, nor is there any Russian rescue on the left bank of the Dnieper. Worse: The Russian army is shooting at Ukrainian rescuers who are trying to save lives. So, they come to us and say: ‘We don’t know who did it.’ Remember that we were told the same thing in 2014, when an airliner was shot down over Donbass. We didn't know. Years later, the truth broke out. Russia was involved, but we looked away. Let us not divert it from the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its consequences. Russia will have to be defeated and Russia will have to pay for the reconstruction of what it has destroyed. There is no other way.

Madam President, today in Chisinau, more than 40 European leaders are coming to express their support for Moldova. But every day in Chisinau, Russia is waging a hybrid war against that country. It is using all the means at its disposal to try to weaken, destabilise and subjugate a sovereign country that has chosen democracy and Europe. Disinformation, cyberattacks, purchase of votes or demonstrators, false bomb alerts, energy blackmail, attempted coup, everything is good. Today, an EU civilian mission is starting in Moldova to help the country tackle hybrid threats. It is an entirely new type of mission. I welcome its creation, but we are under no illusions: What Moldova is going through every day, we are also going through. Foreign interference against our democracies targets us for who we are. Our special committee has made the overwhelming observation over the past two years. I must say to you that I am not yet sure that our Union has moved from observation to action. There are initiatives here and there, but no overall vision yet. I look forward to the Commission's proposals to protect our democracies. I hope that they will be up to the challenge and ambitious enough.

Mr President, Commissioner, on 10 June 1990, a former French Prime Minister, then President of the National Assembly, called for the peace dividends to be resolutely reduced in our military budgets, since, in his view, the Russian army was no longer a threat. Unfortunately, it was heard, as was Francis Fukuyama, who proclaimed the end of the story two years later. Meanwhile, in eastern Europe, the Baltic states were fighting for independence and very quickly alerted to the continuing Russian threat. Unfortunately, they were not listened to. Today, Europe no longer has the right to continue in its disarming naiveté of yesterday. But we have to face up to the obvious: It has largely disarmed. So, of course, countries that can increase their national effort, and that is a good thing. But now is also the time for the European Union to play its part in this effort. This is what the Commission is proposing and I fully support it. ‘ASAP’ is aptly named because we need to act as soon as possible to continue our support for Ukraine and to strengthen our security. Tomorrow, my political group will take responsibility and ask for this new regulation to be examined under the urgent procedure, because neither Ukraine nor our security can wait. Finally, and because we do not do this often enough, I would like to thank Thierry Breton, but also Josep Borrell, both of whom are fully committed to ensuring that the European Union meets Ukraine’s needs and that the European Union moves towards a European Defence Union.

Mr President, Mr High Representative, one minute to talk about China is not much. It is about as rich and nuanced as a tweet. But it is true that sometimes we talk too much and often we pay more attention to words than to deeds. So, since I have little time, let’s talk about the actions. Who pushed the EU to control foreign investment in strategic sectors? France. Who is the driving force in Europe to fight our dependencies on semiconductors or raw materials? The French government. Who is the only European Head of State to have visited Beijing, accompanied by the President of the Commission, whose words I welcome? Emmanuel Macron. Which European ship crossed the Taiwan Strait while the Chinese navy carried out useless and provocative maneuvers? A French frigate, the Prairial. So, I make a wish: that we all know how to be as clear and as firm as Ursula von der Leyen on China and Taiwan and that we are all as committed as France to translating our words into action.

Mr President, pursuant to Rule 180, I would like to table the following oral amendment and I will be obliged to read it in English because it has been tabled in English. ‘Whereas the protests were initiated by women empowered accountability for the death of Mahsa Jina Amini and calling for an end to violence and discrimination against women in Iran, in particular in the form of sustained veiling;’

Madam President, there is fire at our doors and we cannot look elsewhere. Ukraine is under attack and Europe is under threat. We have everything to gain from a victory for Ukraine while a victory for Russia would make us lose our security and our place in the world. In this context, we must use all the levers at our disposal at the same time. Urgently deliver ammunition to Kiev, wherever it comes from, building on the European Peace Facility. Be able to last by increasing our own productions, both to keep helping Ukraine, because the war will be long, and by making sure that we have the equipment we need for ourselves. Our defence industries must be encouraged to produce more by having visibility on orders that we must place together. This is the purpose of Edirpa, an instrument to make us more resilient, sovereign and secure. Peace and freedom have no price, but they have a cost. It is our duty to assume this responsibility and to explain to our compatriots why military assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of our defences require important and indispensable efforts.

Madam President, for more than 90 days Azerbaijan has been blocking access to Nagorno-Karabakh, cutting 120,000 people off from the world. The International Court of Justice has ordered Azerbaijan to end the blockade. He didn't do anything about it. For seven months, Baku's troops have been occupying Armenian lands. The European Union Monitoring Mission has deployed, but Armenian villagers are concerned. And yet, the Yerevan government proposed a peace plan to the president of Azerbaijan, who responded with new threats. Since 1915, Turkey has refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide. In addition, the Ankara regime helps that of Baku. And yet, in the first days after the terrible earthquake in Turkey, Armenia sent aid there. Since 2020, Russia is supposed to help Armenia and yet it does nothing. Undoubtedly, the democratic choice of Armenia displeases Moscow. To talk about Armenia is to talk too often about what threatens it. We should also talk about his courage. Above all, we should speak less and act more to help a country that looks to us and needs us.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear Maroš, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak enthusiastically welcomed the Windsor political agreement on Northern Ireland. I understand that, although his enthusiasm may be a little early. There is still a need for the agreement to be supported by the British Parliament and for us to vote on a number of important points. But finally, I understand Rishi Sunak, because this agreement is likely to end years of uncertainty for the people of Northern Ireland since Brexit, even though a majority of that population had voted to remain in the European Union. This agreement goes as far as we can go. It even goes a long way to limit the negative consequences of Brexit for the people of Northern Ireland. We understand that Rishi Sunak is happy. In his enthusiasm, the British Prime Minister welcomed Northern Ireland's opportunity to have access to both the UK market and the European single market. Rishi Sunak is right, but behind his smile there is a terrible confession. What he touts as an extraordinary opportunity is what the entire UK had when it was a member of the European Union. That's what he lost when he left her.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Renew Europe Group, in accordance with Rule 158 of the Rules of Procedure, I propose that the following debate be added to the agenda of our session: Statement by the Council and the Commission on ‘Strengthening the defence of the European Union in the context of the war in Ukraine: Accelerate the production and delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine’, Wednesday afternoon, as a second point. Indeed, at the European Council on 9 and 10 February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the urgent need for additional military support from us. In order to respond as quickly as possible to this request, last Wednesday in Stockholm, EU defence ministers welcomed proposals to immediately transfer ammunition to Ukraine, to place joint orders with the European defence industry to renew our stocks and to take urgent measures to strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity. We need to act urgently to be able to continue our support for Ukraine, but also to ensure the security of our Union. I believe that the European Parliament must be able to express itself before decisions are taken by the Council. I hope you can support this request.

Mr President, Madam President, Mr High Representative, a week ago, President Zelensky came to us for help. One year after the start of the Russian aggression, Europe must face the facts: We have an interest in a victory for Ukraine and we must do everything in our power to make it win. Doing everything we can means doing more and faster: more deliveries of weapons and ammunition, of those that will give a decisive advantage to Ukraine. No more procrastination, delay, hesitation when human lives are at stake. Doing more means more sanctions against Russia and a more determined fight against their circumvention. Those in Europe who violate sanctions must be prosecuted. Those outside Europe who help Russia bypass them must fear secondary sanctions. Some, even in this Chamber – they have been heard – call for immediate negotiation, but yet the failure of the Minsk agreements should have vaccinated us against ill-chosen odds and the temptation of frozen conflicts. Those who preach appeasement in the face of Russia should remember Churchill’s phrase: "He who practices the policy of appeasement feeds a crocodile hoping to be devoured the last".

Mr President, Europe advances only in crises. As this little phrase has a bitter taste, when it comes to describe what we are experiencing. It took a corruption scandal within our Parliament to finally think about setting ethical rules of common sense. I welcome the proposals made by the President of our Assembly and call for them to be implemented without delay. But I am surprised – to say the least – that they do not go any further. When will we finally start building an independent ethics authority for all European institutions, as we have been proposing since 2019? It seems that the largest group – at least in number – in this Parliament is not in favour, on the pretext of preserving the freedom of mandate. But finally, what freedom are we talking about when it comes to fighting corruption? As a French elected official, I feel no less free in the exercise of my mandate on the ground that I declare my assets and income to an independent French authority, which verifies them. For years, this Parliament has lived in the shadow of the co-management imposed by two political groups, EPP and S&D, on all their colleagues. Appointments, regulations, good and bad practices: Everything was going through them! Given the sinking of the ‘Qatargate’, it is time for our Parliament to have a non-politicised professional administration and for its functioning to be independently audited. This is how we will regain the trust of our voters, which years of neglect have begun.

Madam President, when Qatargate broke out, we were all shocked and we all said that we were going to clean the Augias stables. But very quickly, the natural regained the upper hand. On the far right and far left of this Chamber, only the words ‘Qatar’ and ‘Morocco’ are left in the mouth. No more, no more a word on those Members who travel to Crimea, annexed by Russia, on those Members of our Parliament who find all the charms in Bashar al-Assad or who travel to Iraq with Iranian militias. How do they travel? How do they finance themselves? We don’t hear about it. Nor is there anything about those MEPs who refuse to designate Holodomor as a genocide committed against Ukraine by Russia or who refuse to support aid to Ukraine. At the EPP, we were first told that the best way to combat foreign interference was to stop denouncing human rights violations in foreign countries. That's a good idea! We almost saw our emergency resolutions disappear. In the EPP again, we were happy to say that this story is basically a problem of corruption among socialists. Oh, hey? Is it absolutely certain that nowhere else in this Chamber has anyone ever been wrong? I don’t know. But what I urge us to do is sweep everyone in front of our doors, clean our gardens, finally be worthy of the trust that the voters have given us, of the mandate that we carry, before those same voters finally say to themselves that with our little quarrels, in the end, we would all be rotten.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are all still shocked to learn that corruption has found its way to some of our colleagues. All of us here are determined that this is no longer possible. All right! But then, ladies and gentlemen, I urge us to be consistent. We know that countries in the Near and Middle East, Qatar in the lead, are willing to pay large sums to influence us. So let's not let them do it, whatever their method. It is time to ask ourselves about some Islamist associations that are not only on the street in Brussels, but that our institutions welcome with open arms, legitimize and sometimes even finance. Not a week goes by without Femyso sending us an email, not a year without the European Commission subsidising it. Why? Why choose a federation whose ties to the Muslim Brotherhood make no one doubt? Why fund a religious association to reach out to young people when you are a secular European institution? Another example: Why does Erasmus+ let a brotherly association – Al Sharq – coordinate four, four of its projects? All of these associations have ties to the Middle East or Turkey, or both. All of them are challenging our European way of life. How much longer will the European Union roll out the red carpet for them? Qatargate must also open our eyes to this.

Madam President, when an earthquake causes the deaths of more than 30 000 people, there should no longer be Turks, Syrians, Shiites, Sunnis, Alawites, Christians or Kurds, but only men, women and children to be rescued. When an earthquake causes the deaths of more than 30 000 people, we are moved by gestures of solidarity that transcend conflict: Turkey thus received the support of Armenia and Greece, despite the weight of history and the tensions of the present. Unfortunately, in Syria, the earthquake is just another misfortune. Only one crossing point is open to the north-west for emergency assistance, on the grounds that the area is not under Damascus’ control. Fighting continues, including in areas affected by the earthquake. Bashar al-Assad’s regime blames international sanctions for the slow pace of aid, even though they have never included humanitarian assistance. Given the scale of the damage and the number of civilians at risk, it is time for the Security Council to demand a full ceasefire and unhindered movement of emergency assistance, and for the UN to set up an air bridge to Syria. The life of one child is worth as much as that of another, in Syria or Turkey. It would be time to remember that.

Madam President, more than ever Ukraine needs our help. Here and there, I hear strange noises in Europe. Have we not already done enough in terms of military aid? Those who say we are co-belligerents are brazenly lying and are only those who are linked to Russia. No European has troops in Ukraine. We are simply giving Ukraine the means to defend itself and we need to stop procrastinating: Every day of delay in our military aid is a loss of life in Ukraine. I also hear that Ukraine would be in a hurry to join the European Union, that its ardour should be eased. But finally, in the midst of the war, Ukraine is continuing its reforms. In the midst of the war, President Zelensky is fighting corruption on an unprecedented scale and, let us say, unparalleled in some of our Member States. Finally, I hear that we would struggle to adopt new sanctions against Russia. Yet our economies are resisting better than expected. Yet Russia has not yet given up its military aggression, it is testing our resolve. We would be wrong to give him the right answer.

Mr President, 38. For 38 days, 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh have been cut off from the world, food and medicine have run out, and families have been separated. 38 days, but in truth, much more, to the point that words no longer make sense. Russia claims to maintain peace in the Lachin corridor. In reality, its soldiers are inert and for years the only thing Russia has maintained is a poisoned conflict. Azerbaijan assures that there is no blockade, just the spontaneous presence of environmental activists. Is that why the army came to support them? President Aliev claims to treat the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as he treats all the people of Azerbaijan. But on what part of his territory does he impose a blockade on his people? He just said: Those who do not want to live in Nagorno-Karabakh as citizens of Azerbaijan can leave. It is therefore more than a blockade that it imposes, more than a blackmail to which it engages, it is an ethnic cleansing to which it aspires. What are we Europeans doing? Nothing. Worse than nothing, actually. A pitiful statement by the EU Special Envoy reassuring Baku: our observers have nothing to do with what is happening in the Lachin corridor. I am ashamed. I am ashamed that the President of the Commission has called a country that knowingly organises a humanitarian disaster a reliable partner. I watch the leaders of the European Union imitate the three Chinese monkeys in a hurry to see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing. Let us not be mistaken, ladies and gentlemen, these are not the symbols of our wisdom, only those of our cowardice.

Madam President, Dnipro, at least 40 dead, all civilians, including at least five children. A war crime. One more? One too many. This is not the first time that Russia has knowingly targeted civilians in Ukraine. Irpin, Bucha, Kramatorsk and so many other horrors that have been going on for almost a year leave no doubt: Russia wants to terrorize the population, push them to flee or become discouraged. This is no surprise to those who saw Vladimir Putin’s Russia razing Grozny or slaughtering civilians in Aleppo. And let’s face it, if Russia is fully guilty, we have not reacted sufficiently, year after year, to Russia’s war crimes. This time, this war crime must be one too many. There must be a before and after Dnipro. We must urgently step up our military assistance to Ukraine, provide it with more air defence, more tanks, without delay, without absurd arguments. We must also increase the pressure on Russia. Take new sanctions, certainly, but also relentlessly ensure the proper application of existing sanctions and the fight against their circumvention. Is it true that Russian gas is renamed Azeri gas and imported into Europe? How is it that RT France has started broadcasting again from the suburbs of Paris and that elected representatives of this assembly give interviews? And those responsible for these atrocities will have to be judged, from the bottom up to the top of the Russian chain of command. We owe it to the memory of the victims of Dnipro.

Madam President, Ukraine has entered winter and winter is harsh. Russian strikes against civilians, the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian army on the front line come at a price and it is heavy. For Kiev to win, we need to do more. Produce more military equipment and deliver more to Ukraine. Today, we must welcome what the European Union is doing. Welcome the €3 billion committed under the European Peace Facility and the commitment to do more. Welcome the fact that in a few weeks 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained and commit to training even more. Tomorrow, Europe will have a financial incentive for Europeans to buy military equipment together, so that they can rebuild their stockpiles and continue to help Ukraine. All this is positive, but in spite of everything, the account is not there. In too many Member States, defence spending has not yet reached the NATO target of 2% of GDP. As for arms deliveries, we are still acting too little and often too late. Providing tanks has been paramount since the start of the Battle of Bakhmut, which did not start yesterday. France has led the way. The eyes are on the German Leopard 2 and we hope that strong decisions will be taken in Berlin. I only talked about Ukraine because the future of our partner will depend on the security of our continent and our Union for years to come. We say a lot that we will help Kiev for as long as it takes. Let us help her as much and as quickly as necessary.

Madam President, Commissioner, my anger has not subsided. The fact that corruption may have affected members of our assembly, that foreign powers may have believed that European democracy was being bought, is a good thing. But today, we need to act fast and hard, not forgetting what we already know and avoiding mixing everything together. Corruption must be tackled wherever it comes from. For this, we will look at the proposals that are on the table. One is missing and it is essential: the European Union needs an independent ethical body based on good practice, such as the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life in France. I campaigned in 2019 proposing it, it is time to decide. Malicious foreign interference must also be tracked. All of them. The work we are doing on interference in the Special Committee sheds light on: The first country that tries to manipulate us and finds complacent ears at the extremes of this House is Russia. Some would like to do everything to forget it, we will not forget it and we will continue the work, in particular to find out whether some are defending Russia out of conviction or only because they are filling their bank accounts. It can't last. And I regret that The Left wants the end of our work. I regret it and wonder why.

Madam President, Commissioner, in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is waging a war of cowards. While he was unable to take either Kiev or Kharkiv and had to withdraw from Kherson, he is trying to terrorise the population by depriving them of electricity, water and heating. On the other hand, he knows nothing about Ukraine. Ukraine, I come back and I will go back again. I can testify to this: In the face of Russian relentlessness, the Ukrainian people are not discouraged – on the contrary, they are enraged. The more Ukraine is hit, the more welded it is; The more Vladimir Putin tries to destroy this country, the more he consolidates his people's determination to resist and repel it. Nevertheless, it is easy for me to say these words here, in the warmth, in the comfort of a country at peace. We must not just pity Ukraine or admire its people. We must all, and everyone, help him to triumph over winter before he triumphs over war. Even the most pacifist Europeans will not be able to deny Ukraine the generators it lacks and the help it needs to limit the effects of Russian strikes. The most realistic among us are well aware that the most effective is still to provide Kiev with the defence systems that will repel the strikes. Those of us who truly want peace, a just and lasting peace, know that it will pass through a military victory for Ukraine and a defeat for Russia. Ukraine does not need courage – it has to sell. She does not need advice – she is the one who fights and endures. She needs friends from the bad days, who help her repair her injured country and make sure that she will never be attacked again in the future.

Mr President, Commissioner, this house is caught in the bad wind of Qatargate, but it is not just that. For years, we have been dismayed by the pro-Russian rhetoric on the far right and far left in this Chamber. Since 24 February, these speeches have been akin to pseudo-pacifism, which only helps the aggressor and demands the capitulation of the aggressor. However, Russian interference is not the only one to which our house is exposed. Since the beginning of my mandate, I have discovered with amazement the entrism of Islamist associations close to the Gulf and Turkey, but also of American evangelists, both hostile to women’s rights, who are nevertheless received with great pomp in this building. There is no question of this finding: foreign interests are trying to manipulate us and for a few days we have known that they are sometimes willing to put the price on it. It is therefore to sweep in front of our door that I invite us, as well as to shed all the light on all the manipulators and all the manipulated. Let's ask ourselves: those who describe Qatar as a beacon of human rights, those who refuse to see that Russia supports terrorism, do they only have convictions, or above all bank accounts? We must act to find the answer to this question, act and no longer suffer, investigate and no longer just denounce. It is a war being waged against our democracies to influence and weaken them. In this war, we must learn to turn the tide, regardless of the perpetrator or the instrument of the manipulations aimed at us. In the face of disinformation, it is more than time to act and more than just deplore the harm done to us. It is time for the European Union to adopt a strategic communication worthy of the name. Faced with the exorbitant power of social networks – if Twitter, for example, becomes the open sewer of hate and fake news – let’s not shake and enforce our rules. Let's learn to be respected. We have been rentiers of democracy and the rule of law. It's time we became warriors.

Madam President, let us ask ourselves the question: How many political spaces do sovereign countries want to join without being forced to do so? The answer is simple: only one, the European Union. Ukrainians are literally fighting to join her and we did well to welcome their candidacy. Moldova is shaking in the face of Russian pressure and hopes that we will take it under our wing. Let's do it. At the heart of our continent, the Balkan countries are already European by geography, history and culture. They are meant to join us, but not at any time or in any way. This makes it very difficult for me to understand that the Commission wants to accept Bosnia and Herzegovina’s candidacy at a time when, far from progressing, the political situation in the country is worsening. I find it very difficult to see that there is no greater concern about Serbia at a time when the crisis between Belgrade and Pristina is taking a very worrying turn, when the Serbian authorities are multiplying the signs of friendship with the Kremlin and when Russia Today is opening an office in Serbia. We must believe in Europe, support enlargement and do it seriously, with our eyes open, not our heads in the sand.

Madam President, Commissioner, in Mariupol, the Russian Army destroyed the Holodomor memorial, the extermination by hunger organised by Stalin between 1932 and 1933, which left millions dead. This is just one example among many of the attacks on Ukrainian heritage since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea. In addition to the destruction, looting is also taking place: as of February 2022, more than 200 works of art were stolen from Melitopol. In addition to looting, there are murders: Conductor Yuri Kerpatenko was shot dead in his own house in Kherson. Russia does not respect classified sites, international conventions, or human lives. In the face of the Russian destroying machine, UNESCO is totally powerless. Unfortunately, since 2020, UNESCO has also failed to intervene to protect Armenian heritage threatened with destruction by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. We would like to see more determination, more courage and more sense of mission on the part of the UN organisation, but we are still waiting. So if we can't save what has been destroyed, let's help Ukrainian artists at home and in Europe. We're doing it and we're right. Let us also help Russian artists and intellectuals who fled their country because they did not support the war. They need us and we need them so that one day, as close as possible, they bring Russia back to the light.

Madam President, what had not been heard? "It will never work", "still a great idea that will remain in the drawers", "the British will not come", "the European political community, we don't even know what it is". Then 44 Heads of State and Government decided to meet and create this European Political Community. The 27 were there but also, remotely, Volodymyr Zelensky, and also, in the room, Liz Truss or the leaders of the Balkans. It took a vision, that of Emmanuel Macron, and it took a moment, when our continent understands better than ever that it is facing the same challenges, the same crises and the same war, that Russia is waging against Ukraine. It is not time for sterile quarrels, it is time for efforts to unite and come closer together. What will be the future of the European Political Community? This one will be what everyone will do with it. It will not be a substitute for the accession of the candidate countries to the European Union, but rather a complement. It will not erase Brexit, but it will prevent the trajectory of the UK and the rest of Europe from drifting away. Above all, we collectively have a chance to demonstrate that Europe is much more than an old continent, much more than a small peninsula to the west of huge Asia. We have the opportunity to regain pride in who we are: A civilization, a promise and a hope.

Madam President, who but a terrorist would have the idea of attacking a civilian nuclear power plant, endangering it and storing weapons there? Who but a terrorist would bomb a maternity ward, a theatre, a kindergarten, or murder a conductor? Who but a terrorist would plunge into the dark a country with no clear military objective, with the sole purpose of imposing suffering, intimidating, and therefore terrorising? No one can doubt that. Not only has Russia been acting as an aggressor state since February 24, but it is also using terrorist methods. Before questioning the legal consequences of such a qualification, I urge our media to ask themselves the right questions. They never imagined inviting an Al Qaeda spokesperson after 9/11. So I don't see what the spokespersons of the Russian embassies do, almost every day, on our television channels. Out of respect for the victims of Russian terror, out of pity, no longer invite them.