What Andreas spoke about.

4

Oct

2023

Speeches DE

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Decent Housing for All (topical debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Housing, a roof over your head is a fundamental right, and therefore it is one of the central and most important policy challenges we currently have, namely to ensure that affordable housing exists. However, many countries, cities and municipalities are struggling with the lack of affordable housing. Rents are rising dramatically, and especially in times of high inflation, many people, many families no longer know how to pay their rent and housing costs. Homelessness is rising, poverty is rising and therefore there is a great need for urgent action. We need public investment in social housing - especially in social and subsidised housing. My hometown of Vienna, which is also often cited as a good example today – and the mayor of Vienna, a good friend of mine, will also be pleased that the achievements of the Viennese city are also seen so positively here – my hometown of Vienna, called ‘red Vienna’, has a pioneering role here: The subsidised housing sector accounts for 45% of the Viennese housing market. 60% of Viennese live in subsidised, social housing. Every fourth Viennese woman and every fourth Viennese woman lives in one of the 1,800 apartments that belong to the city itself. Therefore, it needs exactly that: Investments in residential construction, investments in refurbishment, in thermal refurbishment of dwellings and a ban on vacancy, especially that vacancy used for speculation, generally a ban on speculation in real estate and so much-needed housing.

3

Oct

2023

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EU-Switzerland relations (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to thank the rapporteur and my colleague from Austria, Lukas Mandl, and also Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, who is always very supportive, also factually, very intensively and openly working with the European Parliament. Dear colleagues, Switzerland is in the middle of Europe and it is not only the love of the mountains, skiing or chocolate that unites us, but it is also one and a half million EU citizens who live and work in Switzerland. I am therefore also pleased that there is a renewed climate between Switzerland and the European Union, where we have returned to the negotiating table for the renewal of treaties. Personally, two points are particularly important to me. One is: This agreement on the free movement of persons, with all its obligations, must be implemented by Switzerland without exception. On the other hand: The so-called flanking measures must also ensure the protection of high social standards, as well as the efficient and non-discriminatory protection of workers’ rights, and the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work in the same place’ for mobile and local workers, which is so important to us in Europe, must be applied and implemented. On the other hand, it is also important to put the fight against wage and social dumping at the top of the priority list and to ensure better and closer cooperation in the fight against tax fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. Let's take advantage of the momentum and negotiate a balanced and comprehensive agreement with Switzerland.

3

Oct

2023

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Recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, including the situation in the northern municipalities in Kosovo (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, The situation in the border area between Serbia and Kosovo is more than flammable. Yes, everyone is right to say that the representatives on both sides must contribute to de-escalation – of course. It is also the damn duty of every local politician to finally ensure stability and a European perspective for his own people. But what we are currently experiencing is that Vučić is pouring more and more oil into the fire. That is why the European Union must finally abandon this naivety, and strong EU responses are needed, otherwise we are threatened with a wildfire all over the Balkans. It must end with nationalism, with an anti-democratic and anti-European course, which is currently being lived by the government in Serbia. Not only in Serbia, but also there. Those who do not understand this must also expect consequences, namely consequences are the freezing of EU funding and ultimately also the consequence, if one does not return to a European understanding of human rights, an anti-nationalist course, the end and termination of the EU accession negotiations for a Serbia under Vučić.

12

Jul

2023

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Recommendations for reform of the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity, accountability and anti-corruption (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! Qatargate and Moroccogate have shown that the European Parliament is not immune to foreign interference. They have also shown that against MPs who may want to be corrupted or have been corrupted, one thing helps, namely more and stricter transparency. From the outset, we as Social Democrats here in the House have been pushing for ambitious reforms to stop future corruption. And now, half a year later, there is also an ambitious package of measures, a catalogue of measures, which we as a committee can also present here. However, there is also a need for more strict ethics rules and, if necessary, sanctions for such an ethics body in the European Parliament, but also in the Commission and the Council. We must not forget that all European institutions must work together here. And the so-called package to defend democracy is also overdue, and we hope that it will come as soon as possible. It would be very, very urgent. But what is now in this catalogue of measures, which we are also presenting here today and will decide tomorrow? the publication of all meetings, a legislative footprint, registration in the Transparency Register, new requirements for MEPs, such as asset disclosure before and after the start and end of the mandate, details of part-time jobs, including what should be done by whom, when and in what time; and Cooling-off-regulations. But I can also say: As Social Democrats, we want a little more. We want more. In other words, we find a Cooling-off-A period of six months is too short, it should last up to 24 months, so that we can continue to prevent corruption in the future. Just as we find: A ban on secondary employment for those companies listed in the Transparency Register is urgently needed. You can't be a member of parliament or a member of parliament and a lobbyist or a lobbyist at the same time. You have to decide which side you are on. And I also ask myself which of the Members here has the time to take up other lobbying activities in addition to serious parliamentary activity at all. That's what I want to say. At the end of this work, however, I would also like to thank the chairman Raphaël Glucksmann and the rapporteurs Loiseau. and Bilčík, but also stress once again how urgent it is for our democracy, for a strong European Parliament, to continue to deal with these issues, which the INGE Committee has dealt with, in one form or another, institutionally in the European Parliament in the future.

12

Jul

2023

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular the recent developments in the war against Ukraine and in Russia (debate)

Mr President, Mr Vice-President! With the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, countless war crimes are also on the sad agenda: attacking civilians with firearms, explosive weapons and missiles, for example in Kramatorsk – indiscriminately and disproportionately; In April 2022, the massacre of Butsha: 419 bodies of people shot, mutilated and beaten to death were found; the siege of Mariupol with targeted bombings, for example of hospitals; rape and gang rape, including as a belligerent measure to intimidate the population; civilian shields, where children are also taken as civilian shields; or the use of prohibited weapons, cluster munitions, phosphorus bombs, booby traps, anti-personnel mines, targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure, looting, forced recruitment in the so-called People's Republics and 16,000 abducted children. All this must remind us.

11

Jul

2023

Speeches DE

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2022 Report on Albania (debate)

Madam President, Albania is better off than it was a few years ago. And you don't have to compare the Albania of today with the Albania I found when I was there for the first time in the 90s. Over the last decade, an insane number of reforms have happened, been implemented and initiated in the country – the form of bureaucracy, the rule of law reform, the reform of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, but also on a small scale, such as in the city of Tirana, which is simply an urban development city that has also gained a lot in quality of life through very concrete measures. If you say so, then of course the question arises: Is everything good? No. There are many more reforms to be made in Albania. The ecological question, the climate question, the sustainability question are also major issues, as are labour law and trade unions. But one thing must be said: It is clear that cooperation with Albania, especially in the context of enlargement, is advancing important reforms there professionally and well.

11

Jul

2023

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2022 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! Today, on July 11, we commemorate Srebrenica, the victims, the families. And we also commemorate the biggest war crime on European soil since the end of World War II. Where is Bosnia and Herzegovina today? There are positive signals, such as the recent elections, where the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have also rejected nationalists and nationalist policies with their vote. There is candidate status for accession to the European Union. But on the other hand, there is the crisis, which is also getting deeper and deeper, and one of them is to blame, namely Milorad Dodik and his hate-seeking rhetoric and politics. I often wonder: How does the European Commission react to this? I am very dissatisfied, because she is very often silent. But we need a strong European Commission, a Commissioner who goes there and says: We need a Bosnia where we support democracy, where we demand sanctions for Dodik and fight with all our strength for the future of this country. I am missing this from the Commission so far, I am sorry, Commissioner.

11

Jul

2023

Speeches DE

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Greening transport package (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! There are many good points in this package, but also some criticisms. One is: Once again, the Commission plans to allow giant trucks, so-called gigaliners. According to the proposals we have heard today, monster trucks will now also roll across Europe's roads. To be honest, I think this is a mistake in terms of transport policy. Why? Because it is a modal shift in the wrong direction, namely from the rail back to the road. And we don't want that. In addition, there are huge costs for retrofitting, e.g. infrastructure. All this money that needs to be invested would probably be better invested in the development of rail and rail and the transition from road to rail. Because then we will achieve the climate targets better, implement the Green Deal better, bring more safety to our roads and also more fair working conditions for truck drivers. Therefore, a very clear no to the Gigaliners, a no to giant trucks on our roads.

13

Jun

2023

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Establishment of the EU Ethics Body (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, We have been waiting a long time for the proposal of this ethics body. Now he's here - and we're disappointed. After all, we would have hoped that much more would come, that it would not fall short of the promises made, that the competences as well as the staffing of this ethics body would do what we so urgently need - not only here in the European Parliament, but in all European institutions. We need an ethics body that can also investigate, that also has sanction rights, that can see the files, that can also see the writings, that can start investigations on its own initiative and can see the relevant documents and can also make suggestions on how to sanction this. Not only with Qatargate alone, but also with the incidents in the Commission, it is clear: We need stricter and more effective rules here. Yes, we also have to do our homework in the European Parliament, and the proposals will also be presented by the INGE Special Committee at the next plenary session here in July. We need asset disclosure - both by MEPs and senior officials and Commissioners, a cooling-off period – a real cooling-off period longer than what has been proposed so far – as well as clear rules and transparency, including restrictions on incidental income. Commissioner, I hope that this ethics body is not only a pious wish, but can also be endowed with additional competences.

1

Jun

2023

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Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation - Election integrity and resilience build-up towards European elections 2024 (debate)

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! Our democracy is vulnerable. And the European open society model is under threat – hostile foreign interference, disinformation campaigns, hybrid threats, cyberattacks and, and. These threats are on the rise and will become much, much stronger until the European elections in June 2024. And we have to protect ourselves against that. On the one hand, this report wants to shake up – finally make it clear: We have to do something here! – but also strengthen the resilience of our open, vibrant democracy with a wealth of measures. The report contains a long list of diverse approaches: the ban on foreign party donations, the common European rules for political campaigns, election campaigns and party financing that we so urgently need, Elite capturing through state-affiliated companies from third countries such as Russia, China, the Arab region, more transparency and responsibility but also from internet platforms – more arguments, less Fake news Here is the basic principle. But we also need to strengthen our capacities here in the European Parliament and swiftly work on the Defence of Democracy package. start with the European Commission and implement it very, very quickly. Ladies and gentlemen, the age of naivety is over. And that also means drawing the right conclusions in the European Parliament from Qatar and Morocco gates and allowing more transparency, stricter rules and less lobbying in the partial shade, in secret here in the house. Finally, I would also like to thank the rapporteur Sandra Kalniete, the shadow rapporteurs from the various political groups and also the chairman Raphaël Glucksmann for the good cooperation in the service of our open, vibrant democracy.

9

May

2023

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2022 Report on Kosovo (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Finally, a little further is being done with regard to Kosovo in terms of integration and pre-accession to the European Union. Nothing has gone on for far too long. Visa liberalisation is finally coming – a great success. The first steps towards inclusion in the Council of Europe have finally been taken, which is also very, very urgently needed. The Kurti government, which represents the longest period of political stability in Kosovo, has begun many reforms and implemented many reforms. What is still missing is that there is more going on in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and that what goes on is finally signed and represented by both sides. It is still the case that sand is thrown into the gearbox again and again. Just think of the call for Vučić's election boycott in the local elections in northern Kosovo. But nevertheless, we must continue to work on it. The European Union must also do more in this context and bring more together. Because we need a stable Balkans, and Kosovo in Europe is one of them.

17

Jan

2023

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New developments in allegations of corruption and foreign interference, including those related to Morocco, and the need to increase transparency, integrity and accountability in the European institutions (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, We have already noted in the report in the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE 1), that there is “a serious lack of legally binding rules and enforcement regarding the EU lobby register” and that the EU “lacks the necessary tools to address the capture of elites”. These are just two quotes from our committee's final report, and we have not yet implemented much of it. The updated transparency rules do not yet exist, and the current events have shown a fortiori how urgent and necessary they are. However, it is also necessary in view of the events around Qatar, but also around Morocco and perhaps also around other states, that we now not only quickly enforce more transparency here, but also clearly distinguish ourselves from those states that try to buy influence over European decisions and European politics through individual parliamentarians. It is therefore important that representatives of Qatar no longer have access to this House, that all political decisions affecting Qatar are suspended. The same is true of Morocco, ladies and gentlemen, and therefore I do not understand why representatives from the Moroccan Parliament are here in the House even today. Haven't we learned anything from the current events? We must finally get a clean table here, ladies and gentlemen! This applies not only to Qatar, but also to Morocco.

14

Dec

2022

Speeches DE

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Defending democracy from foreign interference (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The events of the last days, the last weekend leave us all stunned. Even though I have been active in legislative bodies at various levels for 25 years, I have never experienced anything like this. But it also makes it so impressive and sadly clear that we urgently need one. Institutions are under attack, from within and from without. I only recall the hacker attack following the Russia resolution of last week's plenary session. The corruption scandal, the Russian attacks and others all follow a clear and unequivocal goal, namely the destabilisation of Europe, the attack on a free, open and vibrant democracy. The Commission's proposed regulations on political advertising alone, on party financing, on the extension of electoral rights are good. But we need to reflect once again on the current occasion, whether we go far enough or whether we don't need even more, namely a better understanding of the effects of so-called covert financing, i.e. covert financing, and its impact on political activities and on how authoritarian states try to shop here in Europe. As already mentioned, the INGE Committee has examined the transactions and has already stated several times in the report: It must be illegal to engage in covert activities funded by foreign actors and aimed at influencing the process of European and national policies. To do this, we need to close the loopholes in our regulatory framework again right now, review them and make them democratically and attack-proof. Therefore, now is the time to recognize the current events as a liberation blow and as an opportunity to make our democracy and our rules clean, transparent and resilient.

13

Dec

2022

Speeches DE

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Turkish airstrikes on northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! About a month and a half ago, I was with some colleagues from the European Parliament exactly in this region where the Turkish bombs are falling today. And what we experienced there was a region where a minimum of stability, a minimum of civilization, a minimum of just and free life was made possible – namely in Rojava, in north-eastern Syria, in the autonomous region as well as in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in Iraq. What we are witnessing today are brutal attacks by Turkey on this region, on this freedom of the people there, sometimes with chemical weapons on the civilian population and with the great danger that the IS fighters who are being held there will be released – up to 12,000 IS fighters. Therefore, rapid action is now needed – namely a halt to the attacks by Turkey, a no-fly zone and also that Rojava's representatives are allowed to sit at the table on an equal footing at all future conferences on Syria. Full solidarity with the Kurdish people in this hard struggle.

22

Nov

2022

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New EU strategy for enlargement (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to congratulate Mr Picula on this text, because it is urgently needed and a very important and good text. We need to become more flexible, we need to become more transparent and, above all, we need to: We need to speed up the enlargement process of the European Union – and probably also more rigorously in terms of upholding our values, implementing reforms and guiding European foreign policy in principle. The Balkans need a clear signal from the European Union. The citizens of the Balkans have long been expecting a very clear signal from the European Union. I have said this many times here, and we have discussed it many times here in the European Parliament. But recent events, including geopolitical events, show once again: It is high time – high time for a dynamic and strong enlargement process.

19

Oct

2022

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EU-Western Balkans relations in light of the new enlargement package (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. For many of us, it would probably not have taken the global crisis and the war in Ukraine to come to terms with how important the Western Balkans are for Europe and how European and how much the Western Balkans are part of Europe. But nevertheless, one must underline once again: We must also not forget the countries of the Western Balkans in the waiting room of the European Union. On the contrary: We need to get them in very quickly. We must also support the reforms that are being made time and again in North Macedonia, for example. We must also support Albania with its reforms and enable them to quickly become part of the European Community. We need visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo, just as we must not leave the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina alone right now, where they have shown in the elections that they are in favour of reforms and have also voted out and voted out of the old elites. Last but not least, the rule of law situation in Serbia must not leave us cold. Here, Europe must stand up much stronger and more efficiently and strongly for European values also vis-à-vis Serbia and Serbian President Vučić.

19

Oct

2022

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Whitewashing of the anti-European extreme right in the EU (topical debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, The Swiss playwright Max Frisch has written a famous drama, namely Biedermann and the arsonists. The point is that the citizen Biedermann lets two arsonists into his house and believes that by beautifying them, he could prevent them from setting the house on fire. And how does the play end? The house is on fire, and Mr. Biedermann is risking his life. And exactly the same thing is happening now with the common House of Europe: It is also set on fire and in flames. As in Sweden, where the moderates can only be supported by the Sweden Democrats because of the preservation of power or because of the greed for power. Or as soon as in Spain, where the People's Party is getting closer and closer to the VOX. Or as in Italy, where Berlusconi and others have long since moved to the far-right camp. Or, as it happened in Austria under Black-Blue and Sebastian Kurz. And at the end, at the end of all these things, on the one hand, stands the judge, who then has to condemn many of these politicians. But in the end, our democracy and the common European project also suffer.

14

Sep

2022

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State of the Union (debate)

Madam President, Madam President of the Commission! I believe that much of what you said today can be supported, must be supported. But most importantly, we must not underestimate the social consequences of this crisis. Citizens can no longer afford their lives. They groan under inflation, under rising food prices and, of course, under exploding energy prices. That is why it is important to absorb excess profits, it is important and good to redistribute to those households that can no longer afford their lives. But it also needs a radical intervention in the energy markets. Just as these energy markets are designed and organized, they no longer work. Energy market liberalisation has failed because it cannot ensure supply or reasonable prices at the end of the day. We must therefore be careful not to liberalise excessively in other areas, as the Commission sometimes proposes, for example in the rail sector. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, I believe it is necessary to keep a very close eye on the social question right now, so that our society does not drift further apart.

5

Jul

2022

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2021 Report on Kosovo (debate)

Madam President, I can simply continue where my colleague Lukas Mandl also stopped. In a summary, Kosovo is moving forward, is making progress. It’s more stable than it was before politically. And also it undertook a lot of reforms, but much more have to come also. And I think there are two important things. The one is the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, which has to be strengthened and emphasised, and the other one is the visa liberalisation. Every precondition is fulfilled, but still what we are missing is the green light for visa liberalisation. And this blocking is stealing the young generation of Kosovo its future chances and therefore it’s unacceptable. And also, we discussed this issue with the background of a European Council, which was concerning the Western Balkans European perspective, slightly saying disappointing. It was a Council which did not give the answers which the Western Balkans citizens expect from the European Union and what they deserve from the European Union. There was no answer, only disappointment. And I would say even today, looking at the Commission – not to you Commissioner Lenarčič – but the absent Commissioner for Enlargement is of high symbolic value that the European Union is missing a Western Balkan politics. And honestly, it is unacceptable that the Enlargement Commissioner is not here and it is symbolic of how we do also our politics. Not enough.

5

Jul

2022

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2021 Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, the last good year of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s path towards the European Union, on its European path, was 2016, when Bosnia submitted its candidacy application for the membership in the European Union; six years ago. And the current political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is also the best indicator that progress cannot be found without consensus. Bosnia must use the new circumstances, which are those of the Ukraine crisis and the candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova. But it’s up to the Commission to submit also its evaluation as soon as possible, and it’s on the other side up to Bosnia-Herzegovina to finally fulfil the main part of this obligation. But in order to succeed in doing so, it takes also a significant change in the behaviour of the political leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially of the leaders of the specific entities, to overcome divisions and to work towards a European future. This is what is necessary, and what is about Bosnia.

18

May

2022

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2021 Report on Albania (debate)

Mr President, thank you Commissioner to be with us for this debate and also for your words and for the content. Sometimes I think maybe we need also you to take over this issue to move quicker forward. But anyway, I want to thank also the rapporteur, Isabel Santos, for this report and everybody who also contributed to this, because I think it’s an excellent report which outlined what was done, which is tremendous, and also what needs to be done further. I think it is important in the outline to say also Albania undertook a very important reform and also deserves that we start with the negotiation now. When we say we wanted negotiations to start, it’s not for the Albanian political establishment, it’s not for Edi Rama that we need to start – it is for the Albanian people. It is for the Albanian young generation, which also want to see their future in the European Union. They want to see us also to start for them and to open the door to come to this European future. There is a long path, but we have to start to go it.

18

May

2022

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2021 Report on North Macedonia (debate)

Mr President, North Macedonia has undertook huge, very huge reforms. And North Macedonia, to say precisely, the people of North Macedonia deserve that we start with the EU negotiations. The Bulgarian veto does not solve any of the existing problems and none of the issues which were raised today. The veto affects not only North Macedonia negatively, it also affects the European Union negatively, and most negatively affected is Sofia and Bulgaria itself. So I don’t know why we are not taking up the chances which are lying on the table for North Macedonia, for Bulgaria and the whole European Union. So therefore, dear colleagues, it’s not any time to waste on huge discussions. It is time to start the negotiations, where you can put every issue you want on the table – that is the best: a ‘green light’ for the negotiations, for North Macedonia.

4

May

2022

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The case of Osman Kavala in Turkey

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. It's 1 637 days. Osman Kavala has been imprisoned in Turkey since 2017. He is 64 years old, entrepreneur, patron, cultural activist, human rights activist and critic of the government and politics of Erdoğan. He was accused of leading protests at the Gezi in 2013. There was no evidence of this, but a court ruling on life imprisonment did. Is he the only one? Unfortunately, no. Thousands sit in Erdoğan’s prisons for advocating freedom, human rights or just ordinary political law as MPs or mayors – 4,000 of the HDP party alone. In 2021 alone, 46 people died in Turkish prisons because they were tortured or sick. This is all shown by Turkey. And Mr Erdoğan is increasingly moving away from European standards. That's what we have to do.

3

May

2022

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EU preparedness against cyber-attacks following Russia invasion on Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Sufficiently heard here: Russia's cyberattacks, and Europe is not sufficiently prepared. But I would like to ask another, additional question, namely: As a European democracy, as a free world, are we able to communicate the truth to the Russian civilian population? We know the information war, the war and attack on democracy, on Ukraine in Europe, but also on freedom of the press in Russia, which has become the first victim of Putin's dictatorship. We know the thousands of demonstrators who demonstrated against the war in Russia and were imprisoned for it by Putin's police. And what we also need are channels, digital and information channels that bring the unadulterated situation – the truth, if you will – into the Russians’ living rooms. Because this is also necessary for the civilian population in Russia to wake up.

3

May

2022

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The follow up of the Conference on the Future of Europe (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I think that this Conference on the Future of Europe has delivered really good results, beyond expectations, more than we could really have expected, and also the discussion with citizens. The hundreds of proposals that are now on the table show one thing: People and citizens expect Europe to provide solutions to the problems of the times. And you can't just wipe it away and allow a working group to meet again where the results are sent out. Instead, it is now a matter of taking these results – this momentum – with us, in order to make Europe also capable of acting and to enable what citizens expect from Europe: Away with the blockers, towards majority decisions, away from this unanimity principle, which in reality only strengthens the anti-Europeans within the European Union, a strengthening of the European Parliament as a greater strength of democracy with the right of initiative and all this. And it is somehow a pity and also significant that it was not possible to create a joint final report of this conference. But it is good that the European Parliament decides on a final report, a resolution, not as the end point of the Conference on the Future of Europe, but as the starting point for a genuine reform of the European Union, which will ultimately come to the ground with modern treaties.