What Karen spoke about.

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Deaths at sea: a common EU response to save lives and action to ensure safe and legal pathways (debate)

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This is a repetitive debate. The last time we had it in this very Chamber, we were discussing whether rescuing lives at sea encourages people to travel and seek refuge in Europe. Barry Andrews, my colleague from Renew, said that there is evidence that this is not the case. Do you have evidence for your claim that you just made that rescue—at—sea encourages people to travel across the Mediterranean…

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Failure of the Silicon Valley Bank and the implications for financial stability in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, I would like to thank my colleagues and the Commissioner for a lovely and enlightening debate. Our economic times are changing. Interest rates are at a record high, and that means that there is no more easy money, including for our start—ups. The SVB made some very risky choices during the pandemic and when interest rates were low. They also made a risky choice by concentrating on…

14 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Data Act (debate)

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– Thank you very much, colleague, for accepting the blue—card. It was quite a speech you made, with quite some claims, saying that the Data Act will allow for mass surveillance of citizens. The Data Act will actually allow citizens and businesses to have control over their own data. So how is increased control for citizens of their data, for their use that they choose, a sign of more surveillance,…

14 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Data Act (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, firstly, I’d like to thank the rapporteur and shadows for their diligent work on this complex and multifaceted file. The role of data in our lives is growing, from industrial processes to wearable devices. Data provides us with valuable insights needed to fight climate change, diagnose diseases, as well as to produce food and goods more sustaina…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue (debate)

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Mr President, thank you for giving me the floor again. I would have wished that the Member States and the Council Presidency were here this evening. I would wish that they had listened to Commissioner Johansson in her introduction because there we have all of the solution. But the Member States are not here, and for more than a decade they have not acted. Today, we have listened to colleagues hold…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue (debate)

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The dear colleague claimed that the Australian model is functioning and is a success. Could you please provide proof for this? And also, if Sweden had applied the Australian model during the Second World War, my father would probably have been put on an island in Øresund and I would not have been here today. Would that have been a success?…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue (debate)

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– ... I’m not quite sure if the translation was misconstruing things. The resolution on search and rescue in the Mediterranean that we voted on in 2019 unfortunately failed to be adopted by Parliament, as far as I remember, by only two votes. We’ve seen Member States not acting, and now having colleagues in this Chamber claiming that we must all follow the law seems hypocritical when the same Memb…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Revelations of Uber lobbying practices in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, Presidency, Commissioner, colleagues, thank you all for being here. This is an extremely important debate about protecting and listening to whistleblowers, as well as the transparency and accountability of this institution and other democratic institutions across Europe. For the European Parliament, we have been under specific scrutiny since the arrests by Belgian authorities before …

14 Dec

2022

EN Speech

The case of human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain

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Madam President, it is right and it is important that we in the European Parliament today debate the situation of human rights in Bahrain, especially the situation of Danish-Bahraini citizen, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, whose health is in danger because of his imprisonment of 11 years, whose family has only once been allowed to visit him in the last 2 years. We will not be silenced. And they have tried.…

14 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Chinese government crackdown on the peaceful protests across the People's Republic of China

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Thank you very much, Mr Glucksmann. You mentioned that we should ban the import of forced labour goods into the European Union. How is the production of forced labour goods in China helping to support the Chinese Government also in its crackdown on protests in China?…

14 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Chinese government crackdown on the peaceful protests across the People's Republic of China

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Thank you very much. You mentioned that we should not suspend our protection of human rights. How do you see the importance of our urgency resolutions here in the Parliament, in our fight for the human rights across the world?…

13 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Prospects for the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine (debate)

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Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, for your presence. And thank you to our negotiators for the great work that you’ve done. As a teenager, the news was filled with Hebron and the fighting between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents. When visiting Israel and Palestine in 2019, the recent history of Hebron stood out because Hebron of the 1990s has become the blueprint for settler organisa…

13 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Prospects for the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine (debate)

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Member Bonfrisco, you mentioned the Abraham Accords as part of a solution for finding peace and a two—state solution. The Palestinian representatives were not involved in negotiating these Abraham Accords, which were initiated by President Trump and his son—in—law. How do you see them as part of a two—state solution if the Palestinians were not invited?…

13 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate) (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the extent of the alleged corruption is criminal. It must be prosecuted and we must investigate how we can do better. However, no matter how good the rules are, there will always be criminals who take the risk and the suitcase of euro notes. But we can make stronger rules. We need to clean up our act in the European Parliament. We need to do away with informal friendshi…

13 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate) (debate)

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Heidi Hautala, you mentioned that you wrote a letter in 2021 to the President of the Parliament with concrete proposals. Could you elaborate on what the concrete proposals were in that letter?

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Eliminating violence against Women (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, we need a policy based on facts. We need a policy based on science and we need a policy of prevention. The European Council of Fundamental Rights had a survey in 2012 that showed that 33% of European women have experienced violence – 52% of Danish women. Now we are filling the gaps of knowledge, but only with a survey in eight countries. We need more facts on violenc…

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Eliminating violence against Women (debate)

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Thank you very much for your intervention. I think it’s important that we look at the facts, and the European Agency for Fundamental Rights had a 2012 survey that showed that 33% of all women have experienced violence against them based on their gender. Do you claim that this is only from refugees, or should we look at where the violence against women comes from – that it is an integral part, unfo…

22 Nov

2022

DA Speech

Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

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Thank you very much for your intervention. I do not quite understand an element of your speech: That one should be chosen on the basis of quotas and not on the basis of qualifications, when the directive specifically states that it is equally qualified candidates that one should choose between. If you are equally qualified, then you should prefer the one who is of the least represented gender. I a…

22 Nov

2022

DA Speech

Gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges (debate)

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Madam President! We stand on the shoulders of giants. We have not reached this point alone. This is the result of many years of work. The EU has ensured equality in Europe for more than 40 years. We didn't get equal pay. We would not have been granted maternity leave if it had not been because of the EU. Today, we ensure that we get equality on the boards of our companies. Because we get what we m…

9 Nov

2022

DA Speech

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (debate)

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Madam President! Thank you, Commissioner, and in particular thank you to my colleague Pascal Durand for having conducted this debate and achieved the fine result. This legislation is the whole basis of our sustainable transition. Here we are setting a genuinely socially liberal framework for our companies. We use competition and market forces to create a better world for everyone - including the f…

19 Oct

2022

DA Speech

Fighting sexualised violence - The importance of the Istanbul Convention and a comprehensive proposal for a directive against gender-based violence (debate)

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Madam President! At a police station, a woman is trying to get help. Her ex-boyfriend had come to see her. She had fled to another city to get away from him. She had video material with her, and for two years she had reviewed him and now asked frustrated: ‘Can you do nothing here and now?’ The police replied that they could not do so until the man had physically harmed her or violated a law or a r…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Question Time (Commission) - Protecting critical infrastructure in the EU against attacks and countering hybrid attacks

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Thank you Commissioner for being here today in this very important debate. As mentioned previously by colleagues, the recent Nord Stream attacks have shown the fragility of our physical critical infrastructure. However, we must not forget the significant increase in cyber attacks since Russia again invaded Ukraine. Also here in particular, it has been on energy infrastructure. We welcome, I welcom…

4 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Question Time (VPC/HR) Heightening tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the recent military escalation

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There is an internet meme which is, ‘is the EU concerned?’ High Representative, you spoke about the EU’s credibility. The EU’s credibility is at stake here. Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine: we’ve seen frozen conflicts and we’ve seen aggression. But what is the European Union actually doing? How are we responding to Azerbaijan’s aggressive invasion of Armenia? On Thursday in Prague, there is a meeting of…

4 Jul

2022

DA Speech

Digital Services Act - Digital Markets Act (debate)

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Mr. President! And thanks to the Commissioners for being here today. This is the culmination of three years of work and 15 years of experience with an ever-increasing digital centralization. And what has it shown us? It has shown us that trust is good, but openness is better, and voluntary action by companies is good, but regulation is better. What brings me great joy about the bill, which we are …

4 Jul

2022

EN Speech

US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and Women’s health in the EU (debate)

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I was a little bit surprised when I was listening to you speak and comparing women as human beings to gardens and gardeners. My body is what propels me into the world and what is the basis of my actions into the world, and it is crucial that we as human people are able to decide over our own lives and our own bodies. And I would like to hear you explain how you can compare women’s bodies and their…