What Sven spoke about.

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Defence (joint debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, approving this omnibus legislation, which I am sure will happen tomorrow, is an important step. Obviously, the negotiations were a mixed success. We were quite successful in some areas, perhaps fell a bit short in others. But let me say that actually easing the regulatory burden is relatively straightforward and, I would say, the easy part of a much big…

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Defence (joint debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Europe's security can no longer be taken for granted. Russia's war against Ukraine, growing geopolitical instability and increasingly sophisticated hybrid threats have fundamentally changed the security environment around us. Europeans understand this. According to a recent Eurobarometer poll, 68 % of Europeans believe their country's security is threatened …

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Hybrid attacks against the EU Member States (joint debate)

Watch

Mr President, High Commissioner, colleagues, as we debate this important report on hybrid warfare, we must be absolutely clear‑eyed about the nature of the threat we are facing. We are not just defending cables, pipelines or servers – not even just borders or territory. We are defending our fundamental values and our social and political order that is based on democracy and the rule of law, but al…

7 Jul

2026

EN Speech

2025 Commission report on Moldova (debate)

Watch

Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs. It was really intellectually stimulating and a very constructive effort that produced this report. I think that all the pro-European groups who negotiated the report were brought together by a great sense of unity of purpose, but also a sense of urgency. I would also like to thank Commissioner Kos for her personal dedica…

7 Jul

2026

EN Speech

2025 Commission report on Moldova (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner Kos, dear Marta, as tonight's debate precedes the vote on this year's EP report on Moldova, I would like to stress that, while a few of Moldova's fellow travellers among the EU candidate countries may have started the journey earlier and covered more ground by today, Moldova's progress over the past year has definitely been among the most impressive. Moldova's Governm…

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Deteriorating situation of political prisoners in Belarus, in particular the case of Aliaksandra Pulinovich

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, today we listened to the inspiring address by Andrzej Poczobut, a Sakharov Prize laureate who was recently freed from a prison where he had been put by the dictatorial regime of Lukashenka. A huge relief, obviously, yet tomorrow we will be voting on a resolution that focuses on the deteriorating situation of political prisoners in Belarus and, in particular, the case o…

16 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Russia’s unacceptable provocative actions and drone incursions into Romania, the Baltic states and Finland (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Madam High Representative, colleagues, the Russian provocations and drone incursions are becoming more frequent and more severe. They are presenting a threat to civilian lives and infrastructure, and they are also causing disruptions to our normal everyday operations, including civilian air traffic. But they are also causing emotional stress among the people, and they have a longer-t…

28 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine (debate)

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, I want to first underscore what my colleague Mr Reuten already said so eloquently: accountability is a precondition for a just and lasting peace, and the best way to achieve full accountability for Russian war crimes is to help Ukrainians win the war. We must not – even in exchange for switching from war to peace – offer war criminals an opportunity to save face or esc…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, Commissioner, for years we have spoken about strategic autonomy as an aspiration. In today's world, autonomy is no longer a choice. It is a requirement for survival. As these two reports make clear, we must move from the era of strategising into an era of delivering. The fragmented nature of our defence spending remains a vulnerability. We cannot continue to rely exten…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

EU enlargement strategy (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, EU enlargement is the best way to ensure long‑term security and stability in our continent. It is essential for our economic prosperity and it will result in a stronger Union, better capable of promoting our values and protecting our interests. History has taught us that geopolitical grey zones lead to instability and invite aggression. Leaving our partners in Ukraine, …

10 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, on Ukraine's battlefields, our European values and our freedom are being defended as we speak here. So it's absolutely imperative that we provide the brave Ukrainian fighters all the support they need. At the same time, external threats to EU Member States' security and territorial integrity are not theoretical or hypothetical either. This means we a…

20 Jan

2026

EN Speech

CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, we have previously spoken about de-risking in connection to our response to the global rise of China. Today, we need to speak of de-risking also in the context of the transatlantic relations. We have seen how excessive reliance on the US can involve not only benefits but also risks. As a purely transactional administration in Washington can and occasionally does turn thes…

26 Nov

2025

EN Speech

EU response to the continuous airspace violations and sabotage of critical infrastructure in the EU originating from Russia and Belarus (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear colleagues, the escalating violations of our airspace and confirmed acts of critical infrastructure sabotage by Russia and Belarus are not to be taken lightly. They are deliberate acts of hybrid war. A grey zone campaign designed to test our resolve and create fear among our citizens. Our response must be united and resolute. When it comes to incursions by manned military air…

8 Oct

2025

EN Speech

United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

Watch

Madam President, dear colleagues, Russian violations of our airspace have recently become more frequent and also more provocative. It's clear that Putin is trying to seek out our vulnerabilities, test our resolve and unity, and create confusion and a sense of vulnerability among our citizens. Our response must be united and resolute. Let me make three brief points. First, when it comes to incursio…

9 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Strengthening Moldova’s resilience against Russian hybrid threats and malign interference (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, earlier today, we had the chance to listen to a very clear and powerful address by Moldovan President Maia Sandu. And I am happy to say that her words express exactly the same sentiment that forms the core of the resolution that we are going to be voting on tomorrow. As President Sandu stressed, the outcome of the parliamentary elections that will take …

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Upcoming NATO summit on 24-26 June 2025 (debate)

Watch

Good echo. Important things first. Happy Birthday! Dearlocation, let us make three brief points. First of all, on defence spending, I think it's absolutely imperative that our leaders at the NATO summit agree on increasing our defence spending. But when this agreement has been reached, implementation is key. I vividly remember the NATO summit in Wales in 2014, when agreement was reached to ramp up…

17 Jun

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Moldova (debate)

Watch

Mr President, I would like to use these two minutes first of all to thank all the colleagues for this very constructive debate and all the shadow rapporteurs for the very constructive negotiations – the same spirit I sensed during a few months back when we debated the growth facility. I think that there is, really, very much a shared sense of purpose among all the pro-European groups in this Parli…

17 Jun

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Moldova (debate)

Watch

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner Kos, today, Moldova is a candidate country to the European Union. And how successful it is in its aspirations is of course, of crucial importance for the Moldovan people's future welfare and freedom. However, Moldova's success or failure also matters for the future of our Union and indeed our continent. Moldova has embarked on an ambitious and challenging pat…

1 Apr

2025

EN Speech

CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TUE) (joint debate)

Watch

Madam President, High Representative, colleagues, Europe's security situation obviously is extremely serious. Russia's aggression against Ukraine has brought large‑scale conventional war back to our continent and its outcome, if negative, threatens to overthrow the international rules‑based order altogether. Certain first steps by the Trump administration in the US have further exacerbated this al…

11 Mar

2025

EN Speech

White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, the fragile entire security situation around us makes it absolutely imperative that we improve our ability to deter our adversaries, but also, if and when necessary, fight and win wars. The dramatic reversal, of course, by our traditional American allies further underscores the need to achieve European strategic autonomy and industrial sovereignty. It actually undersco…

11 Mar

2025

EN Speech

European Council meetings and European security (joint debate)

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, a wise person once said that tactics is the art of using personnel and arms to win battles, whereas strategy is the art of using battles to win wars. Much has been said about how we need to rebuild European defence and security in the medium- to long-term, and I agree with most of it. Meanwhile, the decisive battle for Europe's future is playing out on the front lines …

10 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I would like to add my words of gratitude to, first of all, my co-rapporteur, Siegfried Mureşan, but also to all the shadow rapporteurs from the two committees. We had some very substantive discussions and debates, but I think there was very much a shared sense of urgency and also a shared sense of purpose. And the same can be said about the trilogues, so I would like to also than…

10 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Commissioner Kos, dear colleagues, we worked in a very good spirit of cooperation – the two co-rapporteurs as well as the two committees responsible for this file. Establishing a Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova is significant in several ways. Moldova is a candidate country which, despite a multitude of different challenges, has a pro-European government that…

11 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Continuing the unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after three years of Russia’s war of aggression (debate)

Watch

Mr President, dear colleagues, three years into this war, the fundamentals have not changed. The consequences for European security of a potential Russian victory look as dire today as they did three years ago. So we have to get our act together and start giving Ukraine what it needs in quantities it needs to win this war. And we should admit to ourselves that whatever the resolution of the war in…

22 Jan

2025

EN Speech

Uniting Europe against actors hostile to the EU: time to strengthen our security and defence (topical debate)

Watch

Madam President, colleagues, European security is at a precarious point. While Russia's bloody war of aggression against an EU candidate country – Ukraine – is grinding on, we are also seeing an increase in provocations and acts of sabotage against EU Member States' interests and infrastructure, and ever bolder attempts by Russia and others to wage hostile information operations and interfere in o…