What Sven spoke about.

8 Jun

2022

EN Speech

Violations of media freedom and safety of journalists in Georgia

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Madam President, dear colleagues, the resolution we are going to vote on tomorrow is primarily dealing with the media freedom and safety of journalists in Georgia and there is plenty to be critical about on that front. Georgia has, over the last two years, nosedived in the Global Media Freedom Index. Despite the solid legal framework, the physical safety of journalists and media representatives ha…

7 Jun

2022

EN Speech

The EU’s Foreign, Security and Defence Policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, the implications of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for European security are really profound, and that is very well understood by our people, as best reflected by the Finnish and Swedish Governments’ decision to apply for NATO membership now, but also by the Danish people’s decision at the referendum to lift their opt-out on EU defence. So our people really believe that we ne…

5 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

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Yes. Thank you. A short follow up. Much of the discussion this century about European security and defence has taken place in a situation where the US focus on European security has been diminishing and the physical footprint of the Americans on European soil has been shrinking. Now, at least for the short term, we have seen this process reversed, to the extent even that, for the first time in man…

5 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

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High Representative, thank you very much. I think that the Strategic Compass is a very good and actionable document. But, as so often happens, we have been overtaken by events. And, no doubt, we have to adapt the implementation to the significantly changed security situation following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I hope that most of the priorities in the document will remain valid and relevant…

9 Mar

2022

EN Speech

Debate with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas - The EU's role in a changing world and the security situation of Europe following the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, what transpired on 24 February was shocking, but not surprising. In fact, canaries in the coalmine had been singing about these threats all along. But it was a watershed moment and we have changed in those two weeks. Now we have to make those changes sustainable. We have to do six things. First of all, of course, we have to deny Putin a victory in Ukraine and show to the world tha…

1 Mar

2022

EN Speech

Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, I am proud at how strong and united we are today, but we have to be honest: we have been painfully slow and painfully late waking up to the true nature of Putin’s Russia. I hope that today we finally truly understand the urgency and the existential nature of the current situation. If we do, it is imperative that we support Ukraine in every way possible without holding anything back. …

16 Feb

2022

EN Speech

EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, we have said always that we support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And inevitably, the notion of sovereignty includes a country’s right to choose its own alliances. Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations are fully legitimate, no threat to anyone, and their realisation must be conditional only on Ukraine’s performance, not a third-country veto. Russia’s massive military…

15 Feb

2022

EN Speech

Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

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Mr President, the threat landscape around us is becoming ever more complex, with the additional challenges being compounded by new and non—traditional threats. For our Union to be able to provide security to our citizens and to contribute to maintaining peace and resolving conflicts in the world, it is imperative that we manage to harmonise our national threat assessments, agree on the level of ou…

14 Dec

2021

EN Speech

Situation at the Ukrainian border and in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, the current massing of Russian troops and military equipment on Ukraine’s borders is extremely dangerous and provocative. The situation must be de-escalated quickly in order to avoid catastrophic consequences. I believe that the political solution to this situation is not yet impossible and must be pursued, but the fact that Russia continues to renege on its previous commitments o…

13 Dec

2021

EN Speech

Challenges and prospects for multilateral weapons of mass destruction arms control and disarmament regimes (short presentation)

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Madam President, it is inevitable that solid and comprehensive arms control, non—proliferation and disarmament architecture based on binding treaties and reinforced by a reliable and transparent verification mechanism is a key to maintaining peace, stability and security in the world, as well as guaranteeing sustainable development. The report on WMD, arms control and disarmament regimes that we a…

25 Nov

2021

EN Speech

Human rights violations by private military and security companies, particularly the Wagner Group

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Madam President, I believe this resolution is extremely timely since just last week, the Council reached an agreement to apply new sanctions on the so-called ‘Wagner Group’ – a private military security company with very close ties to Russian leadership. The Wagner Group has been deploying its mercenaries in various conflict zones across the world. The group is often used in order to obscure Russi…

23 Nov

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Belarus and at its border with the EU and the security and humanitarian consequences (debate)

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Madam President, in this tense and tragic situation at the Belarusian border, Lukashenko is the sole culprit, he and not the vulnerable people whom he exploits and manipulates. Lukashenko has three goals. First, to divide the European Union – because we have over the past year shown remarkable unity in condemning his human rights violations. Secondly, Lukashenko wants to paint us Europeans as hypo…

19 Oct

2021

EN Speech

EU-Taiwan political relations and cooperation (debate)

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Mr President, first, I do believe that it’s important that we have, for the first time ever, a chance to debate here and vote on a concrete set of comprehensive recommendations dedicated to the development of EU—Taiwan ties. Taiwan is an economically and technologically advanced democracy and as such it is for us a like—minded and valuable partner in a strategically important region. Therefore, I …

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

A new EU-China strategy (debate)

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Madam President, the minute only allows me to make three brief points. First, I believe it’s a very solid report and it reflects very strong unity among the major political groups in the Parliament when it comes to our approach to China. I would like to congratulate the rapporteur Hilde Vautmans on that. Secondly, China is no doubt a rising global power, and the higher it rises, the more our relat…

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Direction of EU-Russia political relations (debate)

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Mr President, we must not abandon hope and we must seek cooperation with those in Russia who share our core values, so that one day we can have a constructive partner in Moscow. In the meantime, we must admit that there are certain key differences between our world outlook and value system and those of the current Russian regime. This sets limits on how trusting our relationship can be. Let’s work…

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

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Madam President, there’s no denying that the results of our 20 year engagement in Afghanistan were not what we would have liked to see. There have been missed opportunities. There’s been wishful thinking and erroneous assumptions. But in the situation we find ourselves in today, our efforts will have to focus mainly on two things. First, averting the pending humanitarian catastrophe, which, if we …