Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner Micallef, ladies and gentlemen, today - as colleagues have already pointed out - one in six teenagers is a victim of cyberbullying and one in eight admits to having participated in it. This is the first reason for calling emergency lines in Europe. The list of victims is growing, but the impunity of the platforms also continues. So, I ask you, how many more suicides and self-harm are we going to pass up before we react? The fight against online harassment must become a real public health and safety emergency. The time is no longer for discussion with platforms, but for punishment. So, in the face of repeated violations, let's apply the DSA to the end, with the temporary suspension of platforms that would not comply with it. We must also go further with a harmonised and verified European digital majority as soon as possible. In France, there is also an emergency number against cyberbullying, 3018; it should be generalised throughout Europe. Commissioner Micallef, I know how committed you are. Colleagues, let us all live up to this; Let's end the age of platform impunity. The protection and rights of our children must never be negotiable.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Vice-President Ribera, the debate is necessarily about more than just digital regulation: This is a guarantee of our European sovereignty. However, a few days ago, the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the European Commission would have decided to spare Google a record fine for non-compliance with the DMA - the first fine against Google - on the search engine to spare its relations with the Trump administration. If these revelations are confirmed, they are unacceptable. Once again, I denounce the politicisation of digital files in the Commission. It weakens us in the face of big tech at the worst moment. Meanwhile, digital giants continue to foreclose competition and crush our market and businesses. I call on President von der Leyen to comment on this case and to let the Commission services conclude all investigations and take the necessary sanctions under the DMA. Our regulations are not for sale. No platform is above the law. Vice-President Ribera, I welcome your commitment, recalled today, to implement the DMA; Today is the day of the first published review of the DMA. Colleagues, let's defend the DMA together, no matter what. This is of course about the survival of our European businesses and our interest as consumers.

Madam President, Commissioner, borrow, prepare for retirement, complete your tax return: so many everyday gestures, but who finally teaches us to master them? The school teaches math, but not money management. Result: Too many decisions are made blindly. But the urgency is there, especially for young people, because Generation Z is no longer going to see its banker. She inquires on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok and, there, they come across "finfluencers", these financial advisors 2.0 with a simplistic speech: "You can become a billionaire in one click," often thanks to cryptos. Result: One in two young people has already been the victim of online scams. So yes, it is time to act and I thank my colleague Lídia Pereira for this report. Europe is acting by ending impunity for scams. The future law on retail investment strategy will make it possible to sanction finfluencers and register them in a European register. But at national level, Member States must also do their part. Today, if Europe begins to regulate finfluencers, tomorrow we must go further with a real law on influencers, because the relevant level is indeed Europe, since digital knows no borders.

Madam President, it is a pity that Commissioner Virkkunen, who is in charge of this subject, has gone into the middle of a debate. In the era of social networks, AI, 5G, the European telecoms market is running with the handbrake and it is time to change gears to revolutionize our European telecoms market because it is too fragmented, not profitable enough, threatened to be swallowed up by American and Chinese giants. The Digital Networks Act must therefore be the shock of simplification that Europe needs. Less paperwork, fairer rules and a framework that finally relaunches investment in our networks. But moving faster does not mean giving up our principles. Net neutrality must be sanctified. This is the guarantee of an open and fair internet for all. Let us be clear, the European Commission's proposal falls short of our ambitions. We hoped for a fair sharing so that the large platforms that saturate our networks contribute to their funding. And instead, we have guidelines and a voluntary mechanism. It's not up to par. And if we want European telecoms champions, we need to change our competition rules. Faced with the great predators of digital technology, Europe must accelerate, invest and protect its sovereignty, otherwise it will remain a spectator while others write the rules of the game. This is currently Donald Trump's project. Let's not let him win.

Madam President, Commissioner, like any woman, if you post a picture of yourself on X or your child – your daughter – you may find yourself stripped naked in the public square, without your consent, exposed to millions of people. This is indeed what Grok, Elon Musk's AI, has allowed: women undressed without their consent and generated images that sexualize children. This is neither a bug nor a Grok drift; It's a design choice, a business assumed to make the buzz, to make money. Protecting women's dignity is a struggle waged by emblematic figures such as Simone Veil, who is well known in this Chamber. But this is not a fight from the past. Today, this fight is played out in the digital arena. When AI humiliates women and sexualizes children, it is not freedom of expression, it is technological violence. Sexual deepfakes are not just images, they are digital sexual violence, and when minors are involved, it is child sexual abuse content. Europe has a law: the DSA. Thierry Breton knows her well. Investigations, sanctions and, if necessary, suspension of Grok. There's no digital no-go zone, not even when you're called Elon Musk, not even when you're American. Reacting is not enough, we must act.

Madam President, Commissioners, imagine a dark and hostile jungle, a jungle where every child is left to himself, alone, without landmarks, exposed to danger. This jungle is the digital world. Today, many children have their first smartphone at age 9, their first social network at age 11. They stumble upon pornography, the glorification of extreme thinness, violence, sexism. They are trapped in algorithms, addicted to "likes" and scroll to infinity. Parents are destitute and families are overwhelmed. What about platforms? They manipulate every click to feed our children's addiction and make even more money. So what do we do? We, our response in the European Parliament, is the establishment of a harmonised European digital majority with an age limit for accessing risk platforms, age verification and coaching of influencers in particular. We do not want to ban to ban, but to protect children and accompany parents. It's not an option, it's a duty. The protection of minors online is a public health issue. So let's end with the digital jungle. Our children deserve a safe world. Dear Commissioners, let us act, let us act!

Madam President, Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, ladies and gentlemen, last week, France discovered with horror that child-like sex dolls were on sale on Shein, accessible to all, all over Europe. This is only the tip of the iceberg. AliExpress, Temu, Wish...: all these platforms are full of illegal, dangerous products – sometimes even weapons – in total violation of our laws. We adopted the DSA with a very simple principle: What is prohibited offline is also prohibited online. So why do these platforms continue to thrive with impunity in our markets in Europe? Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, the European Commission must move from words to deeds. It has all the tools. Formal investigations need to be completed, fines imposed and even suspension of all these suspicious platforms. It is time to act now. I want to welcome the responsiveness of the French authorities, who have obtained the immediate removal of illicit products sold on Shein. Europe needs to send a clear message: our European market is not a dumping ground for digital crime, it is not a no-go zone, and if some platforms persist in flouting our rules, then yes, Europe will have to shut the door on them permanently.

Mr President, Executive Vice-President Ribera, ladies and gentlemen, this is a serious time. Since Donald Trump's return, our European digital rules have been under threat. We are now under double pressure, from the United States, which wants Europe to bend to the Big Tech law, and from the European Commission, which seems to be shaking when it comes to enforcing its own laws. Beyond the diplomatic issue, this is a worrying sign of a politicization of competition law. And if we submit our rules to foreign political dictates, then Europe will lose all its strength and it will lose what makes its strength, the European and sovereign rule of law. I want to welcome, Executive Vice President Ribera, your decision to sanction Google. Multi-recidivist, this GAFAM has been condemned several times already, and this time to nearly 3 billion euros for abuse of dominant position in online advertising. But it is not just a fine, it is proof that European law applies to everyone and without exception. But it will be necessary to go further, faster, to impose the divestment of part of Google's activities if necessary, and thus bring structural remedies to the height of the damage caused to the market. Commissioner, do not give in, resist all internal and external pressures and enforce the law, the whole law, just the law. The time has come to protect our businesses, our citizens and our media and our democracy, and it is time to build a truly independent European competition authority that can stand up to anyone, including the United States. Go ahead, act, go ahead, you have our support.

Mr President, Vice-President Virkkunen, is there still a pilot on the plane of our European digital sovereignty? Does anyone really hold the controls to avoid the digital Europe crash? Let me doubt that. Our ambitious regulations are now under attack from all sides, first and foremost internally. For the past six months, you at the Commission have been telling us that TikTok and X have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA). But when will you finally punish them? With regard to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), how much longer are we going to apologize for applying our own rules or selling them off against lower tariffs? You have just recalled the importance of DMA and DSA. Assume them, defend them, talk about them publicly. Where is the European leadership that made us a global reference to impose a fair digital space? Let us not forget the attacks from outside, with Donald Trump and the oligarchs of big tech companies dreaming of seeing our European model of fair competition fall. Today, Apple and Google are publicly trampling on DMA to continue killing competition. Tomorrow, it will be all the big tech companies that will try to re-establish the digital jungle to take over the whole European cake and crush our own companies. Give the European Commission the means, all the means, more means, speed, courage to act. Behind these rules are 450 million consumers, thousands of European businesses and small businesses that we need to protect and support. It is time to act, at the risk of Europe dying. Let's apply our rules, all our rules, just our rules, not the law of the strongest. With the digital omnibus, let’s simplify when necessary. Never at the cost of our principles. Never at the cost of our values. Never at the cost of our Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in France a farmer commits suicide every two days. It is a cry of warning, a cry of despair to which we must respond. Our farmers can no longer: too many rules, too little income, too much injustice in trade negotiations. Of course, the texts we are voting on this week are a first response: more simplification, more protection, more recognition of work. But we still have many more battles to fight. As far as Mercosur and the United States are concerned, our trade agreements must not be made by sacrificing our agriculture, but by accompanying our threatened sectors. For the next CAP, the budget decrease of 20% is not acceptable. We are ready to commit ourselves to ensuring resources that meet our goal of food sovereignty. It is often said that our regions have talent. At home in Normandy, this talent tastes like milk, cider and seafood. So if you like them, you have to protect them. Because we are proud of our local production and the professionals who work hard to feed us, and it is for them that we have to fight.

Mr President, Commissioner McGrath, ladies and gentlemen, the OECD's latest deal was clear, yet: Multinationals have to pay where they make their profits. This is a matter of tax justice. But since Donald Trump's return, the global balance has wavered and multilateral negotiations have stalled. Europe can't keep lowering its head every time Trump raises his tone. Time is no longer about fear, but about courage and action. Taxing digital giants is not just about collecting money, it's also about digital sovereignty. Colleagues have already reminded us of this, but it must be said again. But that doesn't stop with the taxation of big tech companies. Trump defies all our digital rules. Rules that protect 450 million Europeans, and all businesses, all citizens, without exception. So Donald Trump's United States sees our regulations and values as attacks and responds with tariff blackmail. It can't last any longer. Big tech companies cannot continue to defy our laws, weaken our businesses and put our citizens at risk. If Trump wants to play cowboy, Europe must remember that here it is sheriff.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are returning from the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, where Europe led the way and assumed its role as the world's leading maritime space, but that was only the starting point and we must now move from the pact to action. For this, we first need a method to turn the overall strategy into local actions. The pact for the ocean must be rolled out in our coastal regions in consultation with the professionals of the sea, fishermen, scientists, all the actors on the front line of the ocean, these actors of our territories too often excluded from the international mass. The pact must, of course, also involve us, the Members of the European Parliament. From the ocean act to the blue omnibus, through fisheries policy or maritime spatial planning, we will be essential to build a powerful and coherent legislative pact that adopts a true general, transversal, holistic and inclusive vision. We therefore call on the Commission to present an action plan and a timetable for implementation in order to implement the commitments. Finally, in order to be credible, we must also match our ambitions. Without funding, the pact will be limited to a simple declaration of intent. That is why the pact must be supported by an ocean fund and dedicated objectives in the next multiannual budget. With the Pact for the Ocean, Europe is giving itself the means to become a true ocean union and we will be there to make it a reality, in particular to defend our fishermen and the people of the sea. So, Commissioner, we are counting on you and you can count on us.

Madam President, Executive Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, competition policy is our compass for keeping Europe's economy open, fair and innovative, but to remain on the world map, it must be modernised. Regardless of attacks across the Atlantic: I would remind you that in the digital world, the rules of the game must be clear and are not negotiable. Executive Vice President Ribera, don't shake, otherwise the same tech giants will devour our market and businesses in Europe, including in the artificial intelligence sector. Faced with global distortions, Europe must no longer be naive. Foreign subsidies weaken our businesses and distort competition; We must fight them firmly. At the same time, it is time to use state aid strategically to make our green transition a success. However, competition policy is not only an economic issue, it is also a lever for sovereignty. It must support the innovation and competitiveness of our strategic industries, including defence. A more proactive approach will allow us to strengthen our strategic autonomy. Competition is a lever for competitiveness and innovation, and for this the European Commission needs not only the right legal tools, but also the human resources needed to apply them effectively. A strong competition policy is a policy of power for Europe. So let's give him the means to act now and really.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, at the beginning of this week in Paris, an SOS was launched for the ocean. It is a signal to come to the rescue of the ocean, the blue lung of our planet that stands at the crossroads of many global rivalries. Europe will arm itself with a pact for the ocean, but this must not end up in a bottle at sea. We expect from the Pact this holistic, strategic and integrated vision that has always been lacking in our European maritime policies. We need a roadmap that will involve all actors at the same level. There will be no ocean pact without our fishermen, without our shellfish farmers, without our aquaculturists, without our scientists, without our marine professionals. On biodiversity, the blue economy or maritime security, this global pact must also be implemented at local level, while respecting our territories. With this pact, Europe must become the captain of the global ship that will launch from the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice next June. Ten years after the Paris climate agreement, it is high time to seal a Nice agreement to save the ocean and take action. We are counting on you, Commissioner, on President von der Leyen and on the Commission as a whole.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, today 440 million European consumers rely on us to guarantee their rights in a changing market. Every day, Temu, Shein and others flood the market with cheap, often unsafe, non-compliant or counterfeit, and dangerous products. Meanwhile, on TikTok, we find apprentice influencers, sometimes teenagers from their rooms, who sell you financial investments or cosmetic surgery. While television advertising is framed, this online influence, sometimes very risky, escapes all control. At the same time, large platforms are perfecting manipulation techniques, deceptive interfaces, such as false countdowns, which create a sense of urgency to push to purchase, or infinite scrolling, designed to keep our children and ourselves taped to the screen. Result: Our choices are no longer ours. Europe has already laid down rules, but they need to be applied effectively and more needs to be done: protect consumers everywhere, all the time, in a digital market that knows no borders. Consumer protection is a concrete step forward for Europe, which we no longer even see, as long as we take it for granted. Let's not let digital create a no-go zone or second-class consumers. We therefore need to move forward on ambitious digital fairness legislation that protects consumers in the digital environment of the 21st century.

Madam President, Commissioner, in the United States, Donald Trump dreams of being the president of crypto. As a result, the cryptosphere is inflamed, a cryptocurrency created in its image and another dedicated to Melania, the bitcoin that flies and the resignation of the president of the American Financial Markets Authority. During this chaos, in Europe, we made a different choice: regulate to protect. With the MiCA Regulation, we laid the foundation for a secure cryptocurrency market, imposing robust measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, such as identity verification and reporting of suspicious activity. Because yes, cryptocurrencies have advantages. They offer new investment opportunities, encourage young people to come and invest, and provide vital support in the face of corrupt systems or in war zones, as for the Ukrainian diaspora. But they must not become a global jungle at the service of fraudsters and criminals. To those in Europe flirting with US bitcoin leaders: Do you know that their real goal is to bypass our official currencies, starting with the euro, and sabotage our monetary system in Europe? Funny sovereignists. As with artificial intelligence or minimum taxation, Europe must push for a global framework. Cryptocurrencies should not become an eldorado for cheaters, but a tool at the service of all 2.0 investors. Commissioner, take action now to adopt minimum global standards as soon as possible. It is about the sovereignty of Europe, the sovereignty of the euro and the protection of our fellow Europeans.

Madam President, the Digital Services Act (DSA) is an essential tool to ensure that our digital space remains a safe place. But its effectiveness is based on its strict application: that of our rules, that we, representing 450 million European citizens, have set, and which apply to all platforms that operate on our market, regardless of their nationality. Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg, who are blowing Donald Trump's ear to deregulate and who are threatening Europe with reprisals if it dares to sanction. Yes, everyone is free to think and express themselves freely, no matter what the European pseudo-sovereignists say, who confuse censorship with the fight against information manipulation. But when a platform becomes a tool of interference and hatred, it ceases to be a social network and becomes a political weapon. If some platforms do not want to hear it, then it is their responsibility. Their algorithms can no longer be black boxes to amplify disinformation or polarization. Enforcing the DSA means protecting our European values, the diversity of our opinions and, precisely, our European sovereignty. This is a clear signal: In Europe, citizens’ rights outweigh the interests of a handful of digital oligarchs. So, Vice-President of the European Commission, don’t have your hand shaking: enforce the law, the whole law, just the law.

Mr President, Commissioner, the Romanian presidential election highlighted a serious danger for our democracies: the meteoric rise of a candidate chosen by a foreign power, Russia, whose candidacy was stimulated by the algorithms of online platforms. False accounts, hidden political influencers, manipulation campaigns: Romanian citizens have been fed continuously by shadow influencers who manipulate information and opinion. Election manipulation, even 2.0, is not a technological innovation: it is a direct attack on our democracies. These practices show a blatant disregard for EU rules and an inability to ensure the transparency that the DSA requires. Great power implies great responsibilities, and when a platform becomes a tool for interference, it ceases to be a social network and becomes a political weapon – and that cannot be accepted. The integrity of our democracies is at stake. TikTok cannot wash its hands. Europe is not a playground for merchants of chaos, and I look forward to the results of the investigation launched by the European Commission today to act and sanction TikTok to the extent of the harm.

Madam President, Commissioner, in order to become more competitive, we must allow our European businesses to innovate. But if public money is scarce and banks don't finance risk, who can our companies turn to? The financial markets, yes, but which ones? Today, Europe is not up to the task. Our nuggets have no choice but to finance themselves across the Atlantic: the United States invests on average six times more in start-ups than in Europe. To guarantee our strategic autonomy, our continent must regain control of key sectors such as technology and defence. So it's time to move up a gear. This means, first of all, more targeted and substantial public investment. Let us empower the European Investment Fund to do more and do better. It financed more than 350 000 SMEs in 2023 and will make available a fund to finance European tech champions. It is also necessary to stimulate private investment by creating a European capital market. Let's remove obstacles for SMEs with simpler and less burdensome rules, let's make Europe a breeding ground for innovation. Only by unlocking our potential will we create European innovation superstars.