What Hannes spoke about.

6 Jul

2022

DE Speech

The Post-Cotonou Agreement (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, esteemed representative of the Council Presidency! The fact that the post-Cotonou agreement has not yet been signed is the legitimate cause of a massive loss of confidence in relations between the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and the European Union. This situation is to the detriment of the European Union and plays into the hands of Putin's Russia.…

8 Jun

2022

EN Speech

The massacre of Christians in Nigeria (debate)

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Madam President, the attack on the Catholic Church of St. Francis in the city of Owo during a Pentecost service left up to 100 people killed or severely injured. There were many attacks by jihadist groups on churches in the north of Nigeria before, but never before did an incident like this take place that far away from the field of action of Boko Haram. It happened in south-western Nigeria, where…

4 May

2022

EN Speech

Threats to stability, security and democracy in Western and Sahelian Africa (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, threats to stability and security shall never be the justification to leave the path of democracy. Democracy, rule of law and human rights ensure freedom, stability and prosperity. Fortunately, many countries in Western and Sahelian Africa consequently stand by this principle. But they are threatened not only by a difficult economic situation and the consequences o…

4 May

2022

DE Speech

Use of the Pegasus Software by EU Member States against individuals including MEPs and the violation of fundamental rights (topical debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner! Pegasus has arrived in the heart of the European Union. In recent weeks and months, more and more revelations have emerged about the use of the Israeli private company's espionage software in several Member States. The establishment of a committee of inquiry is rather rare in the European Parliament, and this underlines the enormous importance of combating illegal wiret…

7 Mar

2022

DE Speech

Role of culture, education, media and sport in the fight against racism (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! Sports fields and grandstands are places where racism can be addressed and overcome. But: Game termination due to racist insults of Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye in the Netherlands on Saturday, racist insults of Israeli football professional Josef Ganda by fans in the Austrian Bundesliga on Sunday. This weekend, too, there have been repeated racist incidents at sp…

17 Feb

2022

DE Speech

Political crisis in Burkina Faso

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– Madam President, Commissioner! For Europe, quick action is the order of the day. In order to ensure that the coup does not continue in Africa and that there is no domino effect, the European Union must strongly condemn and react to the military's violent takeover of power in Burkina Faso, but also help to combat the causes of this development. Since 2015, armed Islamist groups have been terroriz…

15 Feb

2022

DE Speech

EU-Africa relations (debate)

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Madam President, Mr High Representative! Not quite a year ago, here in the European Parliament, we adopted the new EU-Africa Strategy for a Partnership for Sustainable and Inclusive Development. Now is the time to implement it. Our close cultural and economic relationship with Africa is threatened by natural disasters, political crises, violent conflicts, the influence of Russian and Chinese actor…

19 Jan

2022

DE Speech

Political crisis in Sudan

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Madam President, thank you very much, the joy is on my side! Commissioner! The European Union must have the greatest interest in the current developments in Sudan. The entire region is affected by political crises, armed conflicts and refugee movements of gigantic proportions. In order to take this into account, the European Union has, since September 2019, expelled Sudan from the Emergency Trust …

25 Nov

2021

EN Speech

The human rights situation in Cameroon

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Madam President, Commissioner, it is time that the European Union has a close eye on the ongoing conflict in Cameroon that has expanded permanently within the last five years. It has left more than one million people internally displaced. More than 3 000 have lost their lives. 2.2 million people are requiring humanitarian assistance. 66 000 have fled into neighbouring Nigeria. 700 000 students do …

22 Nov

2021

DE Speech

EU sports policy: assessment and possible ways forward (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! Particularly in the COVID crisis, the importance of sport is once again becoming clear. Sport is physical activity, a contribution to health and a social, economic and cultural factor in Europe. Almost half of Europeans engage in sports at least once a week, children and young people especially in associations that make an invaluable contribution to our society throu…

20 Oct

2021

DE Speech

The humanitarian situation in Haiti following the recent earthquake (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! Already in May of this year, we debated the situation in Haiti and demanded that the rule of law be restored and that aid money arrive where it is most needed. At the time, we couldn't and didn't want to imagine that everything could get worse. But, just a month after our debate, President Moïse is murdered, and on August 14, the earthquake claimed 2,200 lives. Viole…

16 Sep

2021

EN Speech

The situation in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya

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Madam President, we have to recognise that Kenya remains the only country in the region that grants asylum to people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Since March, Kenya has been hosting more than 500 000 refugees, including an estimated 1 000 LGBTIQ+ refugees. Therefore, I want to express my explicit appreciation for Kenya’s willingness t…

14 Sep

2021

DE Speech

Natural disasters during the summer 2021 - Impacts of natural disasters in Europe due to climate change (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner! The day after the devastating floods in Belgium and Germany, I heard the mayor of an affected municipality speak on the radio. And he said: “The highest level we have ever measured was 5.05 metres. Today we are at 7.70 metres’. This shows quite impressively and is haunting: Such disasters as this year – be they severe floods, droughts, forest fires, tornadoes or a heat …

6 Jul

2021

DE Speech

Situation in Tigray, Ethiopia (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Mr Foreign Minister! For the third time since November last year, we have been discussing the current situation in Tigray, and that does not mean anything good. The situation remains catastrophic and can worsen at any time. Hunger and sexual violence are used as weapons. 60,000 refugees have crossed the border with Sudan, which now hosts one million refugees. Over 1.7 m…