Speeches

Mr President! It is a tragedy that 70 years after Abbé Pierre made his appeal, we are still here talking about homelessness in Europe. On Islands Brygge there is a man who lives in a tunnel. At the “Porte de Namur” metro station in Brussels, there is a woman who has lived there for the last few years. At the cathedral here in Strasbourg, there is a woman living in a gate, people who have no choice but to live on the street. They need a home adapted to their needs, and when they have a roof over their heads, we can help them with their other problems: alcohol, anxiety, drug addiction, violence and social coercion. People living on the streets – yes, our social systems have failed. We have to help these people, and if we want to, we can. Member States and cities should learn from the best experiences. It started with housing. So it should not be dependent on social organizations or our charity when we meet people on the street. Thank you to the Commission for their coordination, exchange of experience and leadership with a focus on ‘housing first’ or ‘starting with housing’. All Member States should ensure access to good housing for all. Housing should not be a tax-free investment for the most privileged, nor can we just build ourselves out of the problem. One possibility is to ensure that there is a residence obligation so that housing is not empty. But we must ensure that everyone in Europe has access to good and stable housing in all our societies. We cannot live with the fact that our young people, our elderly, our mentally ill live on the streets and do not have the opportunity to deal with their problems because they do not have stability in their lives.

Mr President, the title of the resolution is ‘on the new wave of mass arrests in Belarus of opposition activists and their family’. It’s not really new, just a new wave of mass arrests. It’s Lukashenka’s election campaign. It’s not a coincidence that it comes now, just before the so-called elections on 25 February. Lukashenka is so scared of his own population that he needs to not only arrest politicians, but also their families; not only politicians, but also anybody that raises their voice for freedom in Belarus, including analysts and experts. We must continue to show our support and take actions of support. We must continue to support freedom and democracy in Belarus by imposing sanctions on the Lukashenka regime. It is not a day too soon. It has been going on for nearly 30 years. We need to stop the last dictatorship in Europe.

Madam President! LGBTI policy or strategy should not be taken for granted. I am tolerant, but I am not tolerant of the intolerant because fundamental rights are for everyone. So thank you to the Commission for ensuring that all Europeans and families in Europe are treated with respect and are treated equally. Because we can't take that for granted. And work must continue so that so-called conversion therapy, social coercion, can be banned. Locally in Copenhagen, it is believed that the victory has been won. The LGBTI policy adopted in 2019 is not renewed. Education in mutual respect and understanding is not supported through the norm storms, despite ever-increasing dissatisfaction and suicide rates among LGBTI youth. And Meloni's Italy is undermining the rights of Italian transgender and rainbow families. Therefore, for the June elections, equal rights must be guaranteed for all citizens so that everyone is included, heard and respected.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, despite the title of this debate, being anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim are not two sides of the same twisted coin. The coin of hate shows hate no matter to which side you turn it. But here we are, in 2024, sliding backward into racism and bigotry. The danger and the toll on our citizens flooded by hate and threats is immense. They must be protected. We cannot fight hate with hate, but only by meeting and knowing each other. Seeing truly in practice that we are not defined by our religion, like the incredible work done by Brobyggerne, the ‘Bridge Builders’ association, founded by the late Chief Rabbi Bent Melchior – not my direct family – and former MP Özlem Cekic. We need to stop political posturing. We need to start solid anti-hate measures, focus on protection, prevention and education. We need to build bridges.

Thank you very much for accepting the blue card. You mentioned demonstrations. There have been demonstrations in Italy where a gesture – the so-called Italian greeting, but which is seen by the rest of the world as a Nazi salute – is being used. This, of course, instils fear because it was under Mussolini, fascist leader of Italy, from where Jews were sent to the camps and exterminated. How do you see the obligation of the right wing in Italy to ensure the safety of all minorities and of all religions in Italy?

Mr President, I would like to thank the Commissioner for being here and the rapporteur on the Digital Services Act. With the Digital Services Act, we oblige platforms to fight hate speech and disinformation, to protect our democracy, information and debate online. The horrific Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and the war in Gaza has put that promise to the test and, as it stands, we are failing. The prioritisation of speed over accuracy has meant legitimate content has been removed, while hate speech slips through. Pro-Palestinian views have de facto or ‘de algorithm’ been censored. A platform’s choice in detection systems has resulted in overzealous detection of Arabic-language hate speech, while leaving detection of Hebrew-language hate speech inaccurate. Since 7 October, we have also seen an avalanche of disinformation – the use of AI-generated content, and misrepresentation of images from other conflicts to garner support. We are tested in times like these. Platforms cannot rely on algorithms alone, because remember, platforms do not understand context. Platforms need to make sure that they have both the staff and the technical means to run their services responsibly. We demand responsibility by design in the online platforms. A swift and forceful enforcement of the DSA is the only way to fulfil the promise to our population that they can trust their online democracy and media.

Mr President, this is a question for oral answer to the Commission and the Council regarding the non-objection mechanisms in international conventions to which the European Union is a party. The European Union is a party to conventions that provide for accession by third states through clauses setting up a ‘silence or non-objection’ procedure at international level. In its Opinion 1/13 of 14 October 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the act of accession and the declaration of acceptance of such an accession constitute an international agreement, and that concept is referred to in Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. According to case-law, an international agreement cannot affect the allocation of powers under the Treaties, thus when at international level a silence procedure has been adopted to facilitate accession by third states, it should be of no consequence for the EU’s internal decision-making process. It should therefore be considered that the EU needs to establish its position in regard to accessions by third states to the Hague Conventions that fall under EU exclusive competence, even for conventions containing a silence or non-objection procedure. The conclusion of an international agreement with this type of clause should not lead to the consequence that Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the institutional balance laid down therein are set aside. This is why we pose this question to the Commission and the Council. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 218, for each accession of a third country to a Hague Convention falling under a non-objection mechanism such as the Judgments Convention, the Commission should submit to the Council a proposal for a decision, and the Council can take such a decision with the consent of this House. If the Council, with the consent of the Parliament, decides to object to establishing relations under the convention with a new contracting state, the Commission will have to notify the depositary to that effect. So we ask what steps the Commission and the Council intend to take to fully apply the procedures set out in Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in matters concerning the establishment of the EU’s position regarding accessions by third states to the Hague Conference on Private International Law Conventions, in particular when that international convention contains a non-objection procedure.

You say that we are discussing formalities, bureaucracy, administration, when we should be talking about nature. So should the nature of relationships between people only be recognized by nature? Should we cancel marriage or partnership certificates because we have to focus on nature and not on formalities?

Sorry, I was waiting for the translation. Minorities of different ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender is one thing. A minority in a Parliament that is losing a vote is a completely different thing. What I said in my introduction before I started my speech was that some parts of this Parliament, some Members of this Parliament, are discussing things which are not in the text of the proposal of the Commission, and do not seem to read the text that they’re discussing before they start speaking. We should accept, protect and encourage the rights of all minorities within Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteur, it’s a pity that we’re having this debate while it seems like a small minority of the House haven’t even read the text that we’re discussing. They’re talking about things that are not in the text, that are not what we’re supposed to be discussing today. I would recommend our colleagues from the far right to actually read what they’re about to debate before they start talking. Returning to what I actually want to say: ‘What is in a name? That which we call a parent, a parent by any other name, would love that child just as dearly.’ When describing love or protection of a child, the language of the law is not as flexible as the sonnets of Shakespeare. That is why we need to strengthen the rights of children so that they can be supported, protected and loved by their parents in all of our Member States. Our children, no matter on which Member State’s soil they stand, must enjoy the same rights to their parents. Parents must be allowed to support their children. We must ensure the rights of children, no matter the form of their families. We must focus on our children, their safety and freedom. Our children must not be made hostages of political folly. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question)

Madam President, we desperately need regulations for an open, efficient and independent EU administration, outlining principles for the digitalisation of administrative procedures and the development and implementation of digital solutions. The call for the rules at the level of EU bodies is rooted in the understanding that such regulations are necessary for good administration. Since the Treaty of Lisbon, we’ve witnessed an increasing number of citizens directly interacting with the European Union, which is great, but how do we meet them? Many of our Member States, they have rules to provide legal certainty and protect citizens interacting with national public administrations. However, as of now, no such rules exist at the level of the European Union. We must make sure that these rules include special provisions related to digitalisation, ensuring that European citizens can enjoy easy and efficient access to digital services and solutions, aligning with the principles of the rule of law and citizens’ rights. However, the Commission once again wants to claim that the existing patchwork of rules are sufficient, and dismissed the own-initiative report that we voted last week calling for additional regulation.

Madam President! Thank you very much to the rapporteur for her initiative and her focus on ensuring that we combat the stigma of mental health. If we have a broken leg, then none of us will fail to go to the emergency room, but if we have pain in our mental health, if we are depressed or suffer from bipolar disorders, well, there are many who do not dare to seek the treatment that they need because of the stigma that it inflicts. But there are also some of us who have a brain that works a little differently, who think in a different way, who act in a different way, who need a different framework. We have just seen the results of the PISA survey from our schools across Europe, and our young people are having a really hard time, and they are not achieving the results in school that they did in the past. Is it because of the mobile phones, or are mobile phones just an easy excuse to say that we have a hard time accommodating everyone? We must make sure that there is funding for trained teachers, for educators, and that we also make room for each other, both in schools and education, but also in workplaces, to be who we are. There is room for diversity. There is room for different ways of thinking, and it provides better mental health.

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, I have a lovely speech with facts and information about the violence committed against women. But we know the facts. All of you in this room know about the hundreds and thousands of women that are being killed, that are being raped, that are being victims of violence. I don’t need to repeat this to you. I want those of you that are not in the room today to take this seriously. We are not moving in the right direction. Last week, in Reykjavik, there was a presentation of the Reykjavik Index, showing the view of our populations of women as leaders, of women as human beings. In the UK, in Canada and in the US, this year, there are less people in our population that respect women as equal human beings at the same level as men. We have a huge danger in front of us. We have authoritarian politicians that are attacking women as equal human beings. And we have centre-right, centre-left politicians that are afraid of their own values, that are afraid of standing up for the defence of women and therefore are afraid of implementing the correct definition of rape, which is: if there is no consent, there is no sexual intercourse, there is no sex, there is only rape. No means no and yes means yes. Women are capable of giving consent and men are capable of respecting it.

Madam President! I'm going to speak in Danish. With this law, we must ensure harmonisation of packaging rules, reduce our consumption of single-use packaging and reduce waste. I no longer want to go slalom between broken glass in Copenhagen's parks because wine bottles are not subject to recycling requirements and deposit schemes, or wade through one-time takeaway packaging because use and throw away is cheaper. I will not travel through Europe with deposit bottles in my handbag because Member States do not recognise each other's deposit systems. With the proposal, we in Parliament have ensured that we do not destroy the opportunities for our micro-enterprises by shifting the requirement from the producer level to the distributor level. I want to thank Frédérique Ries for working together to ban PFAS in food packaging so that we remove these perpetual chemicals from our food. And finally, remember tomorrow that the "DO NO HARM" principle must also apply when we change the regulation of our reuse and recycling systems and deposit systems in our internal market.

Thank you very much, Mr Maurel. You asked why you import cattle and milk from New Zealand, but for example lamb can be produced with a better environmental impact in New Zealand and transported frozen to Europe. So it is more advantageous to produce agricultural products where there is less impact on the climate, instead of producing them in heated farms in Europe.

Madam President, I thank my colleagues and especially the rapporteur for this report. I trust your dedication and your words here in the room and also when you communicate on social media. But, Commissioner, I wish I could say the same about you. I’m not sure if I can trust the words that you’ve said in the room today. I’m not sure if you would find it politically convenient to set fire to the commitments of the Commission and of the European Union when it would be politically convenient for you. In three tweets, you undermine the European foreign policy. Would you do it again with our enlargement policy? So therefore, Commissioner Várhelyi, I’m sorry, but I do not have faith nor trust in you.

Ms Walsh, you were explaining the horrific consequences that the lack of access to healthcare for Ukrainian women fleeing from war could have. For most of us, fortunately, this is an abstract idea. For many millions of women in Ireland, it was their daily risk, their daily lives. Could you perhaps elaborate a little bit more on the experience in Ireland of not having sufficient access to healthcare?

Madam Strik, you were mentioning the obligations that we have towards the Ukrainian women. I think we have an obligation to all women in Europe to ensure that they get the necessary healthcare that they need, especially the Ukrainian women. How do you see that our Member States could ensure that everybody within the European Union gets the necessary life-saving healthcare that they need? What more could Member States do, because they are clearly not doing enough?

Mr. President! Commissioner, please! Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has many innocent victims. We cannot be acquainted with increasing their suffering. Millions of women and children have fled and live in Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. Here they do not get access to the necessary health care, especially in relation to pregnancy and childbirth. In some countries, such as Hungary and Poland, there is life-threatening legislation. We all know the names of the many women in Poland who have already died. Ukrainian women face lack of opportunities and information, obstacles and shaming, and they also do not receive the necessary treatment in time. Member States should ensure that all women in Europe receive the necessary health care, but at least we must ensure that Ukrainian women who have fled war receive it. And the Commission has the competence to secure Ukrainian refugees. They have the right to urgent care and life-saving treatment. It is in black and white in the Temporary Protection Directive. Ukrainian women in Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary may die as a result of our failure. These are utterly outrageous prospects for Europe in 2023. We simply cannot be aware of that.

Mr President! We're talking about spying material, spyware. We are talking about intrusive spyware, but all spying software is something that is invasive in our privacy. Yesterday was the anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's death in Malta. Today, several colleagues have talked about the fact that they have been subjected to spying using spyware, using Pegasus - and we are pleased that they are here today. There are journalists who are activists who are opposition members across the world who are no longer here today because their governments, criminal networks have been spying on them. There is a huge need for us to finally have European legislation on this issue. During previous terms of office, colleagues have fought for us now to have export controls on this. That we have export controls on spyware. We got that. But do we have control over what goes on within our borders in the EU? Are we making sure to protect our activists who are fighting for labour rights, for the environment, for the climate? Are we protecting our journalists just in our own European Union?

Madam President, Commissioner, the internet can be an incredible, limitless, empowering resource, allowing kids to socialise, learn and play, to meet like-minded friends. This is important, particularly if their parents or school friends do not understand or accept them. For the well-being of LGBTQI+ kids this is especially crucial. We need to empower our children, not put them under surveillance. Yes, the internet and its platforms can be dangerous, but when teaching kids to ride a bike, we don’t stop access to the bike because they may fall. No, we give them stabilisers and a safe environment to learn. We don’t stop kids going to church or sports, but we talk with our kids about their experiences. The same should be true of the internet. We have to ensure a safe environment, and children’s privacy and autonomy. Recent laws in the US and the UK enabling parental surveillance are already harming LGBTQI+ kids and putting them at an even higher risk. We must build trust with our children, provide guardrails and empower them to seek advice from trusted adults. So, let’s build an internet where kids can explore independently in a space that offers agency, privacy and safety.

Mr President, I will be speaking in Danish, so if you want to listen to the interpretation, there should be headphones also for the Afghan delegation listening. Hr formand! De modige afghanske kvinder viser os vejen. De tør kræve deres rettigheder, men de gør det med livet som indsats, for Taliban er ekstremister. Taliban anser stadig ikke kvinder for ligeværdige mennesker. Taliban fængsler tidligere embedsmænd, journalister, kvinderettighedsforkæmpere og alle, der kæmper for et demokratisk Afghanistan. Kæmper på trods af terrorregimets jerngreb og med halvdelen af befolkningen på sultegrænsen. Det hører vi ikke om, for ytringsfriheden er elimineret. Vi hører heller ikke om de marginaliserede grupper, der forfølges. Vi hører ikke, om de 54 hazara-afghanske piger, der sidste år mistede livet i et brutalt terrorangreb i Kabul. Deres forbrydelse var, at de var piger, de var studerende, og de var hazaraer. Derfor opfordrer jeg til, at vi lytter til de afghanere, der beder os om at handle. Hvis ikke vi kan sikre deres sikkerhed i Afghanistan, så skal vi sørge for sikker, lovlig passage til sikkerhed uden for Afghanistan.

This is not a question of biology. This is not a question of teaching anybody lessons. This is a question of respecting each other and our right to be a full part of society, no matter who we love, no matter how we decide to create our families. Do you respect the full, fundamental right of every person in our societies, no matter their gender and who they love?

Mr President! In recent years, more and more right-wing populists across Europe have attacked minorities every time they needed to reap votes, every time they were losing their grip on power. Minorities have been under attack, the rule of law has been under attack, women and women's bodies have been under attack. This is a sure sign that our democracy is in danger when minorities and women are attacked. When the miners went down into the coal mines, they took canaries with them so that they could be warned when they – the miners – were in danger. Minorities and women, they are the canaries in the coal mine of our democracy. But are you listening? Did you hear they stopped singing? Have you heard that our democracy and our rule of law are in danger? We must stress that the right to be included in our society, whoever we are, whoever we love, should not be a political struggle, it should not be made an ideological battleground, but a fundamental right for everyone.

Mr President! 80 years ago, my father escaped in an illegal fishing boat to safety in Sweden. Our European institutions are built to prevent us from again failing refugees and migration and minorities seeking security. For more than 10 years, since the shipwreck at Lampedusa, our European peoples have been waiting for a solution. We owe it to our European heritage. We owe it to Simone Veil and those murdered in the camps to deliver a package for a fair humane and safe reception of refugees.