What Hannes spoke about.

21

Jan

2025

DE Speech

Watch

Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

Madam President, Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This is guaranteed in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and constitutionally in all Member States. Freedom of expression is at the heart of any liberal democracy, and that sets us apart from authoritarian regimes like Russia or China. It ends where criminal law begins. The big platforms cannot take responsibility if, as in X, the…

17

Dec

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! With the Digital Services Act The European Union, with the participation of elected parliamentarians of this Parliament, has set very clear rules for large platforms such as TikTok, Meta and X. They must take responsibility and ensure that their services are not misused for harmful and misleading content. But the reality is very different: Despite these rules, we see ti…

28

Nov

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Foreign interference and espionage by third country actors in European universities (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Academic freedom is a fundamental value of democracy. It guarantees the right to research, teach and question knowledge without fear of any censorship or interference. This principle is increasingly threatened by actors from third countries. Authoritarian regimes seek to interfere in research, influence curricula, and suppress ideas that contradict their political or id…

28

Nov

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Strengthening children’s rights in the EU - 35th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! For 35 years, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has guaranteed fundamental rights to all children. But are these rights really being implemented everywhere in the European Union? Reality shows: No. Poverty, cyberbullying and a lack of equal opportunities in education remain pressing issues. The European Child Guarantee is a significant milestone, but witho…

23

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Foreign interference and hybrid attacks: the need to strengthen EU resilience and internal security (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Hybrid threats, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and attacks on democratic elections are on the rise. The continued influence of third countries threatens our democracy and aims to destabilise our free society in Europe. And we in the European Parliament are also witnessing how concrete this threat is. Thousands of employees of our company were affected. Personal …

22

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

People’s Republic of China’s misinterpretation of the UN resolution 2758 and its continuous military provocations around Taiwan (debate)

Madam President, esteemed Commissioner! Taiwan is at the heart of a very sensitive debate today. Although the one-China policy is the basis of international relations, we must not remain silent when it comes to Taiwan's democratic rights and international status. It is essential that Taiwan is represented in international organisations such as the WHO or the Civil Aviation Organisation. These inst…

8

Oct

2024

EN Speech

Watch

Situation in Sudan (debate)

Mr President, dear Commissioner, what happens in Sudan will not stay within Sudan. It will have an impact on the whole Sahel region and spread further into Europe and the rest of the world. This is what I said in plenary shortly after the outbreak of the civil war 17 months ago. In the meantime, the situation has dramatically worsened. We are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophe…

8

Oct

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Outcome of the Summit of the Future: transforming global governance for building peace, promoting human rights and achieving the sustainable development goals (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! The Future Summit has once again reminded us of the urgent need to reorient global cooperation. Climate change, inequality and poverty are global challenges and they directly affect us in Europe. Promoting human rights, education and future prospects for young people is key to a fairer world with a strong civil society. These are more than nice gestures, but smart in…

18

Sep

2024

DE Speech

Watch

The devastating floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the loss of lives and the EU’s preparedness to act on such disasters exacerbated by climate change (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Austria is one of the most flood-prone countries in Europe; This has made the disaster of unbelievable magnitude, especially in Lower Austria, with five fatalities, urgently aware. In my home region, the Salzkammergut, we escaped a similar catastrophe because a lot of snow fell in the mountains, which held back the water. The water levels of our rivers, streams and lake…

17

Sep

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Outcome of G20 ministerial meeting in Rio-de-Janeiro and fighting inequality (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! It is about equal opportunities. Hunger is not a fate, but the result of political decisions. How else could it be that the richest percent of the world's population has gained $42 trillion in the last decade, almost 36 times more than the poorest half? Meanwhile, billionaires pay less than 0.5% of their wealth in taxes. This is a systemic failure, especially where m…

24

Apr

2024

EN Speech

Watch

The anti-LGBTIQ bill passed by the Ghanaian parliament with implications for human rights, freedom of expression and democratic principles (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Ghana has developed into a reliable partner of the European Union, offering its citizens stability and prospects. Remarkable progress has been made, particularly in the areas of digitisation, economic and social development. First steps toward green transition have been taken and the death penalty was abolished last year. Regrettably, Ghana’s parliament passed a draconi…

24

Apr

2024

EN Speech

Watch

The proposed repeal of the law banning female genital mutilation in The Gambia

Mr President, Commissioner, female genital mutilation is a grave violation of human rights and discrimination against girls and women, not justified by any religion or culture. According to UNICEF, 76 % of Gambian women aged 15 to 49 have been circumcised. Around 46 % of girls under the age of 14 are victims of genital mutilation, with serious consequences including irreparable physical, psycholog…

24

Apr

2024

DE Speech

Watch

The European Parliament's right of inquiry (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. As a member of the Pegasus Committee of Inquiry, I have a déjà vu in today's debate. Parliament adopted a resolution setting out essential measures to protect our European citizens, safeguard and strengthen democracy and the rule of law. How did the Commission and the Council react? You have made the following prayer-mill-like observation: No new legal acts are …

23

Apr

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Enlargement has the potential to write a new chapter in the success story of the European Union. The countries of the Western Balkans need Europe, just as Europe needs these countries. And they have already been able to meet many of the necessary requirements. The urgent agreement is another basis for implementing necessary reforms for the rule of law, transparency and …

22

Apr

2024

EN Speech

Watch

Approval of the minutes of forthcoming sittings

Madam President, colleagues, 30 years ago in Rwanda, a genocide was taking place. Within 100 days, starting in April 1994, more than 800 000 Rwandans, members of the Tutsi minority, as well as others who tried to oppose it, were systematically murdered. In total, more than 1 million people lost their lives. Thirty years later, we in the European Parliament do not forget these victims and wish to e…

12

Mar

2024

DE Speech

Watch

The adoption of the Special Measure in favour of Tunisia for 2023 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! Arbitrary arrests of opposition activists, excessive authorities, violence against demonstrators, elimination of all parliamentary control and a judicial system at the root of the ruler: Bit by bit, decree by decree, President Saied has eroded democratic principles and human rights in Tunisia since taking power, establishing an authoritarian regime of injustice and o…

27

Feb

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Recent revelations of spying on Members of the European Parliament and the lack of follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Once again, MEPs have been attacked with spyware and again there is phone espionage in the European Parliament. And again today we are debating what needs to happen so that the European Commission can finally take action! We have repeatedly called on the Commission to take concrete measures and recommendations from the PEGA Committee and to implement legal acts to prote…

27

Feb

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Rising inequalities in the world (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! End hunger, fight poverty, education opportunities for all children, strengthen women's rights, access to health care, healthy food and clean drinking water: The United Nations has set 17 concrete goals with the 2030 Agenda to combat global inequality. What has happened so far? The mid-term review of the 2030 Agenda presented by the UN Secretary-General last year is sob…

27

Feb

2024

DE Speech

Watch

The current situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! No peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo: 150,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks alone, and the provincial capital of Goma has already taken in half a million internally displaced people from the Sake area. The supply situation is catastrophic, the refugees live in inhumane conditions without sufficient food and medical care. The thr…

17

Jan

2024

EN Speech

Watch

The threat of famine following the spread of conflict in Sudan

Madam President, (start of speech off mic) ... 20 million people, almost half of Sudan’s population, are affected by life-threatening food insecurity. After nine months, the violent conflict claimed around 12 000 lives and displaced 5.8 million people. Already before the outbreak of the conflict, Sudan was facing a humanitarian crisis due to extreme weather shocks, social and political unrest and …

17

Jan

2024

DE Speech

Watch

Rule of Law and media freedom in Greece (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner! The way in which the Greek authorities deal with the clarification of the Predator interception scandal will show whether Greece is moving towards autocracy or not – as I have pointed out here on several occasions. And for over a year we have known that journalists, lawyers and politicians like our former colleague Nikos Androulakis have been systematically intercept…

13

Dec

2023

DE Speech

Watch

The abduction of Tibetan children and forced assimilation practices through Chinese boarding schools in Tibet

Madam President, Commissioner! It has long been necessary for us in the European Parliament to draw attention to the situation of Tibetans. Their culture and language are threatened, their religious freedom is severely restricted. Demonstrations are violently suppressed. Now, more than a million Tibetan children have been separated from their parents and sent to forced boarding schools with the co…

22

Nov

2023

DE Speech

Watch

The lack of legislative follow-up by the Commission to the PEGA resolution (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! It is high time for the European Parliament to have a direct right of initiative for legislative proposals in order to effectively enforce the interests of citizens. Five months ago, the European Parliament proposed legislative changes by a large majority to protect citizens from the misuse of spyware. To this day, we waited or waited for an answer. And this is a disreg…

17

Oct

2023

DE Speech

Watch

Urgent need for a coordinated European response and legislative framework on intrusive spyware, based on the PEGA inquiry committee recommendations (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, Secretary of State! Only four months have passed since the final report and resolution containing the recommendations of the PEGA Committee of Inquiry were adopted here in this House. For 15 months, we have worked intensively on the misuse of spyware in the Member States and also put forward concrete solutions on how the European Union can protect citizens from illegal …

17

Oct

2023

DE Speech

Watch

General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - all sections (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! It is necessary to also discuss culture and education in the Union's budget debate. COVID-19, high inflation, loss of purchasing power – multiple crises hit the cultural and creative sectors particularly hard. The Council's proposal to further reduce the budget of Creative Europe, the EU's only direct cultural support programme, is ignorant. Culture is a significant eco…