Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, let us be clear, the Americans, by privatising the war, have opened Pandora's box. The Russian government has engulfed itself in this flaw in its own way – opaque, secret, outside of any legal framework. The Wagner Group, which has no formal existence in Russia, is waging wars that Moscow does not declare. Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Central African Republic, etc., these mercenaries are found absolutely everywhere, with their long procession of abuse, torture, rape, executions and looting. The shadow that allows these crimes is systematically organised. Let us pay tribute here to the three Russian journalists from Dossier Center who were murdered in the Central African Republic while investigating the Wagner Group. Let us pay tribute to the NGO Memorial, which had the courage to file a complaint in Moscow against a torturer of the group for his crimes in Syria and is now threatened with a ban by the Russian authorities. So let's highlight Wagner's actions, sanction all executives, agents, financiers of the group. Let us abolish public aid to governments that use their services. Wagner is a mafia group at war with the interests and principles of the European Union, and it is time to treat it as such.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, on 22 February, you came to exchange views with the members of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE), to discuss the progress of work on the legislative proposal on digital services. Shortly before that, Mrs Jourová had presented the European Democracy Action Plan to us. During these exchanges, we shared the same observation: A hybrid war has been unleashed against our democracy. Authoritarian regimes use legal and illegal means to subvert our public debate and institutions. We just don't have the right to be naive. For more than a year, the INGE Special Committee has been analysing attacks on the EU. Cyberattacks, financing of political actors by foreign powers, information manipulation campaigns, penetration of the academic and cultural sectors, capture of elites and former European politicians: In the face of such threats, we must do more and better. Commissioner, online platforms have become essential places for the European democratic debate. Under attention-seeking economic models, and despite the phenomenal openness they have allowed, they are an extraordinary playground for foreign powers seeking to destabilize us. Today, without adequate regulation at European level, issues relating to the fight against information manipulation or any other form of online interference fall within the competence of the platforms themselves. However, the principle of self-regulation has clearly shown its limits. By raising the level of requirements vis-à-vis platforms, the proposed DSA should at least address a large part of the problem. Together, Commissioner, let us ensure that future legislation strengthens our arsenal in the fight against interference. Let's limit the collection of personal data, which facilitates political targeting. Let's ban the use of microtargeting for political advertising. Let's regulate the use of fake accounts and bots, which artificially amplify the spread of disinformation. Let's get platforms to increase diversity in content recommendation algorithms and act quickly to respect fundamental rights. Demonetize disinformation on all websites. We demand transparency and guarantee the pluralism of information received by users. Let's regulate the online content of foreign media. Clearly, let us not allow Russia Today and the other propaganda outlets of authoritarian regimes to relay false information that aims to manipulate our opinion, under the pretext that they are supposedly media. Commissioner, all the experts interviewed and the studies commissioned say the same thing: the tools currently deployed are not effective enough to respond to attacks, protect our citizens and deter our adversaries. We can better map these attacks, their patterns, their methods. We can better share our work and coordinate our efforts. We also recommend moving quickly on the issue of sanctions: If a platform fails to meet its commitments and becomes complicit in a disinformation campaign, it should bear the cost, i.e. be sanctioned. In the face of the major dangers facing our democracies and on behalf of this special INGE committee, I am therefore addressing these specific questions to you, Commissioner. What cross-cutting coordination does the Commission propose to fill the existing gaps? How will it better coordinate collective countermeasures? Does the Commission intend to encourage Member States to prohibit or drastically limit foreign funding for political activities? What types of instruments does the Commission intend to propose to sanction sponsors of hybrid attacks? How does the Commission assess existing legislation on disinformation and hate speech? Does it intend to put forward new proposals to ensure that these arrangements are available in all EU languages? What is the Commission's assessment of the rules on transparency and the use of algorithms and political advertising on the Internet? Finally, what concrete programmes does the Commission intend to promote media literacy and ensure a diverse and independent media landscape? Commissioner, this is not a partisan debate, but the preservation of the common framework in which we can all express our differences. The defence of democracy, which we have inherited, is our most fundamental mission here. I would like to end by quoting a German poet, Hölderlin, who writes, "Where peril grows, so does what saves." I think that, in the threats to our democracies, we also have the opportunity to make them stronger, stronger and more alive.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, in 2020, more than 700 cyberattacks targeted strategic sectors in Europe, 75% more than in 2019, and this is just the beginning. We must learn to defend ourselves collectively and impose a cost on those who attack us. Less than two weeks ago, I visited the European Cybersecurity Agency in Athens with a delegation from the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation. The Agency does a remarkable job, but it lacks resources in the face of the immensity of the task. More resources, more expert training, more coordination between Member States, more awareness of private and public actors in Europe: we know what needs to be done to bring about genuine European cybersecurity. But protections will not be enough; We need a deterrent. We need to identify and then publicly name the attackers, and first the Russian and Chinese regimes, and show them that we are not being attacked with impunity: It's time to dissuade those who want to shake us.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, you have talked a lot about marriage, but what is the secret of a happy marriage, if not equality between spouses? However, this is not the case. From the unilateral and chaotic withdrawal from Kabul to the removal of the contract of the century at the expense of France, the US administration does not consult us, it does not consider us. Donald Trump was not just an accident and America First It was not just a passing slogan: this is the heart of US policy. The United States is pursuing its strategic interests and it is time for us Europeans to do the same, to become adults, to dare autonomy and power. Let's invest in our own defense capabilities. Let us pursue a commercial policy that serves our principles and interests. Let us show the Americans that they need allies, not vassals. Let us cooperate where our interests converge. Let’s fight together against climate change, international terrorism or the growing aggressiveness of the Chinese regime. Let us ban together the products of slavery of the Uyghurs. Let’s fight together against global tax evasion. But let us give ourselves, as Europeans, the means to defend our strategic interests on our own if necessary. Colleagues, let us finally be respectable and we will be respected.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a foreign power, Morocco, is spying on the French Head of State without anything happening. Israeli company NSO’s Pegasus software is used by dozens of states against European citizens without anything happening. This cannot continue. And the Pegasus scandal, revealed this summer by Forbidden Stories journalists, is still in its infancy. Commissioner, I have simple questions to ask. In addition to Hungary, which European countries bought and used the Pegasus software? We have a right to know. Why does NSO exclude US numbers and not European numbers from its software? We have a right to know. What do you intend to do with NSO’s European investors, who have therefore helped finance the illegal spying of European citizens? We have a right to know. These and many other questions we will ask until we get answers. This is about Europe’s sovereignty and our freedoms. We have all been elected to defend the rights and interests of European citizens. That is what we need to do now.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is 14 September 2021 and millions of Uyghurs are still parked in concentration camps in China; Not for what they do, but for what they are. I will no doubt tire you of constantly reverting to this crime against humanity, but these camps have existed for five years. Five years of greedy multinationals benefiting from the slavery of a people. Five years of our leaders refusing to act to stop the horror. But we know what we need to do: banishing the products of slavery from our markets. This is still not done. So let's do it. Sanctions of top law enforcement officials, such as Chen Quanguo, the architect of the deportation of the Uyghurs after having been the architect of the repression of the Tibetans. This is still not done. So let's do it. Colleagues, hundreds of thousands of young people across Europe are mobilising to break the silence surrounding the disappearance of a people. I am now only echoing them in this chamber. Listen to them. They are the honour of Europe. They urge us to act. Then let's act!

Madam President, Mr High Representative, what is common between the financing of the Brexit campaign, anti-abortion associations, cyberattacks against the European banking authority or against health structures, mass disinformation campaigns on social networks, the purchase of strategic European infrastructure such as the port of Piraeus, Gerhard Schröder working for Gazprom, Yves Leterme working for the ToJoy investment fund, or François Fillon for Zaroubejneft? All these and many other actions, legal or illegal, are carried out by foreign powers hostile to our principles and interests, with the aim of destabilising our democracies. They respond to a clear political-military strategy: Hybrid War. We live in a strange state that is neither a real peace nor a classic war. An in-between difficult to define, where the enemy aims to corrupt you, to divide you, to weaken you more than to destroy you directly. Cradled by the myth of the end of history, believing that it no longer has enemies, the European Union has long shown naivety and blindness. It is in order to put an end to this naivety and blindness that we have set up this special committee. For nine months now, I have had the honour of chairing this committee and we have devoted the first part of our work to making an accurate diagnosis of the situation. After 30 meetings and 90 hearings, the finding is clear – and it is also alarming. Vulnerable to these attacks, permeable to these interferences, our democracies run a major risk. The prevention of such threats and the response to such attacks are of paramount importance. Mr High Representative, during your hearing last March, you said that you shared our analysis of the vulnerability of the European Union and the need to step up our actions against interference. As a matter of sincerity, you also confessed to being powerless. The mandate you have is not extensive enough. The budgets of your services are not sufficiently equipped. The resources available, for example, to deal with misinformation from China are, I quote, "very, very, very weak." Today's exchange should allow us to assess the policies implemented and define an ambitious strategy. We are addressing you today with specific requests. How do you intend to address the loopholes, loopholes and loopholes that make the EU so vulnerable to attacks? Silo mentalities allow these attacks to go undetected. To remedy this, are horizontal structures necessary? How do you coordinate the action of all Commissioners? Do you plan additional structures? How do you plan to expand the mandate of your services? Given the severe lack of resources, why has no request been made for a budget increase? In order to act as a deterrent, our strategy must include an effective sanctions mechanism. The perpetrators of the attacks must pay the price for their actions. Sanctions cannot be limited to hackers themselves. They must target political sponsors, states. What measures should be taken to amend the procedures for the adoption of sanctions by the Council? What is the impact of the unanimity rule on the EU’s ability to act forcefully against foreign interference? These questions are crucial and require answers. We can be right or left, progressive or conservative. Our common responsibility is to protect our democracies, our institutions, our citizens. Colleagues, what is the main threat to our democracies today? No, it is not the exiles who die in the Mediterranean or the rainbow flags that are hunted in Poland and Hungary. These imaginary enemies designated by the far right are not the threat. The real threat, I will tell you, is first and foremost those who, within these institutions, our institutions lend themselves to the destabilisation of European democracies. It is you, the pseudo-patriots subservient to Vladimir Putin, who agree to be the instruments of a project to destabilise the European Union. It is then corruption that undermines our cities, starting with the corruption of our leaders, whether right-wing or left-wing, of leaders who are ready to sell themselves to foreign powers such as Russia, China or Qatar. It is also the infeodation of the major European brands with the Chinese productive apparatus, these multinationals who believe that everything is bought and sold, including the sovereignty of peoples and the dignity of people. Colleagues, if we are to continue to breathe the air of democracy, we must learn to defend it firmly and resolutely. So let us defend it together, Mr High Representative. We look forward to you and stand by your side to make Europe more powerful and safer.