Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, the move against TikTok has more to do with a reckless new Cold War posturing and driving a wedge between the EU and China than anything to do with safeguarding user data. It’s true that TikTok has the capacity to control content and collect and store its users’ personal data. This is also true of Google, Facebook, Twitter and others. There are countless ways for governments to target people. If we really cared about this why did the Commission do nothing to address the abuses revealed by the PRISM programme revelations? Why don’t we have a set of rules that adequately protect people in the EU? Governments that restrict access to Western platforms are accused of being authoritarian, yet now we’re banning platforms based on pure suspicion and speculation. We have regulations for a reason. They should be applied to all platforms in a rational manner. We can engage with companies to address concerns. Instead, we’re busy making ourselves look unreasonable, confrontational and almost as hysterical as the Americans.

Mr President, first of all, thank you very much for your kindness and generosity for the time of the year that’s in it. Let me actually confirm that technologically, I am absolutely a disaster. I can barely turn the computer on. But anyway, I voted for this human rights issue because I think it is really important. But I also think it is really important that we have a balanced approach to it. During the debate yesterday, as my colleague said, there was an awful lot of focus on Iran. Listen, if I was in Iran today, I too would be on the streets protesting, looking for separation of church and State. But I would also be on the streets of Iran protesting about foreign interference. I mean, the Iranians, there is a huge issue over this poisoning thing. And this is a very serious issue. But I mean, from what we can see, the authorities are dealing with it in a professional manner and they are concerned about the human rights of their own citizens, too. And definitely, if we were more concerned about the human rights of the Iranians, we would stop sanctioning them because we are killing women and children with our sanctions in Iran. And the human rights of the Iranians should count for more to us.

Mr President, animal welfare is an issue that cuts across many aspects of agriculture, sustainability and general public health. So, welfare standards are key to the ‘farm to fork’ strategy and ultimately the Green Deal. Animal welfare contributes to the improvement of animal health and therefore food quality in Europe. The current legislation is simply not fit for purpose and is also not being implemented properly. I too believe that having a department of the Commission responsible for animal welfare would certainly elevate the importance of the issue. Small farmers competing in highly competitive global markets against big agri industry, under pressure to decrease costs, need a better incentive to comply with better animal welfare practices. Better rural development programmes would improve farm animal welfare on this front. Any narrow-based policy won’t fix the implementation problems and will actually increase the vulnerability of farmers. We do need a much more holistic approach in general to the whole area.

Mr President, the World Bank and IMF are colonial institutions. They belong to a bygone era designed to make rich countries richer by running up colossal debts on poor countries. We know this because since the inception of these financial institutions, we’ve had rising absolute inequality. In fact, since 1960, global inequality has tripled. So much for the world’s largest development bank. These deeply undemocratic institutions need to be either abolished or completely reimagined if they are to be in any way helpful for tackling the combination of crises that we’re facing in this century. We have a spiralling climate crisis, and despite all our talk, we have not come to terms with the gravity of it all. By 2050, it is reckoned that we will have 1.2 billion climate refugees. What are we going to do? How are poor countries going to rebuild homes and communities? How can this be done with the shackles of debt, the ball and chain of conditionality? We need to rewire the whole international financial system. More debt is more colonialism.

Mr President, the differing tones in the and Azerbaijan texts are striking. We need to coax the fledgling democracy Armenia away from Russia and our close partners, Iran. And we can’t condemn Azerbaijan enough for their military aggression, for persecution of political activists and civil society and for all kinds of human rights violations. Yet, Azerbaijan, the dictatorship and the aggressor, is our close partner. We just signed an MOU with them to double imports of their natural gas to at least 20 billion cubic metres a year by 2027. They are great pals with our like-minded partners, Israel, who kill Palestinians on a daily basis. Azerbaijan are Israel’s largest oil supplier, and Israel sells to them 70% of the weapons they like to use against Armenians. Our American partners see them as a useful tool in the battle against Iran – another reason for the Israeli arms sales. As with Armenia, not everything fits nicely into the larger narrative crafted in Brussels and Washington. Not only can we not form a coherent strategy in the area, and the EU will do well to watch its step in the Caucasus.

Mr President, (off-mic/sound) ... creating a sustainable peace settlement as a reliable partner. It frames Russia as an unreliable partner to Armenia and suggests moving closer to Euro-Atlantic players. This is a simplistic reading of the situation. The agreement between Armenia and Russia has done most to deter NATO member Turkey from attacking Armenia, and the US and Europe seems structurally incapable of developing a coherent strategy for the Caucasus. Caution would seem to be the most appropriate course but instead, we have a former Secretary-General of NATO in Armenia this week setting out his vision for Armenia’s future. Whose interest is this man representing I wonder? The EU and US are playing games here, trying to push countries in different directions and exploiting tensions created by the war in Ukraine. We are increasing the chances of renewed ethnic conflict with zero regard for the people. The EU is not an honest broker here.

Madam President, Commissioner, the EU strategy to tackle organised crime in 2021-2025 document opens with the introductory remark that, ‘hidden from public view, due to the opaque nature of its activities, organised crime is a significant threat to European citizens, business, and state institutions, as well as to the economy as a whole’. I’d also argue that hidden in plain sight to all Member States of the European Union is significant financial and white—collar crime perpetrated not by organised criminal gangs but by big business and unfortunately at times by state institutions. Take, for example, in Ireland, the bad bank NAMA, the National Asset Management Agency established by the Irish Government in 2009 following the financial crash to manage over 70 billion worth of loans and property. Now, NAMA, instead of managing these loans and property, sold them at fire-sale prices and engaged in corruption to the highest degree in some of their transactions. Maybe the Commission should tackle the financial crimes of state institutions in their next strategy document.

Mr President, we’re talking about 26 000 lives lost in the Mediterranean, and that’s just the number of bodies recovered. God knows what the real figure is. This is not just a tragedy; it is a preventable tragedy. This humanitarian crisis has been created by neglectful and inhumane policies, Member State border pushbacks and the creation of Frontex who have carried out further illegal pushbacks and have been complicit in severe human rights violations. Migrants desperately need safe legal pathways, not arbitrary criminalisation for risking their lives in treacherous conditions for a better future. Remember, many MEPs in here voted for these migrants to drown at sea. Has it dawned on them that maybe these migrants want to leave the jungle and go to the garden of Europe? Because we are doing untold damage to the jungle with our wars and our financial imperialism. Wake up.

Madam President, Russia invaded Ukraine; it was illegal, it was 100% wrong and we’ve condemned it from day one. We’ve also condemned the fact that the EU has done so little to develop the dialogue and diplomacy to bring it to an end. Armoured cars, tanks and guns did not bring peace to the streets of Belfast and Derry. They brought misery, that’s what they brought. And only poor people die in these wars, whether they like it or not. The middle class and the rich don’t fight in these wars. At the recent Munich Security Conference, when asked why Namibia abstained at the UN on the vote regarding the war, then Namibian Prime Minister said our focus is on resolving the problem, not on shifting blame. The money used to buy weapons, she said, could be better utilised to promote development in Ukraine, in Africa, in Asia and other places in Europe itself where many people are experiencing hardships. This is madness. We have lost the plot in here. We want peace and we’re not supporting Putin and we’re not Putin’s puppets, we have no respect for him, but we want peace and not war.

I’m actually surprised, Nicolae, that you tell lies about me. I have never in my life said a good word about Putin, but you’re buying into the mainstream media narrative that because we fight for peace, we’re accused of being Putin puppets. We have no interest in Putin or in what Russia is up to. We’ve condemned the war. It’s completely illegal. Why are you buying in? Are you trying to play it to your own media by telling lies about me? What’s wrong with you? And if you’re so goddamn fond of the war, why aren’t you over there fighting yourself?

Mr President, Moldova has a constitutional commitment to the principle of neutrality. Moldova, like Georgia, has two frozen conflict zones, and its latest period of relative peace was hard won. Moldova’s neutrality is the central element in the balance of power that has allowed for the current delicate arrangement of political, socio—economic and military positions and leverage to remain intact. Moldova has been rocked by the war: inflation and refugee inflows. Undermining its neutrality now will not help. Unpopular reforms have been rammed through and tensions between the central government and the breakaway state of Transnistria are high. Moldova could well open up a new front in this war. Religious and ethnic tensions are already high. Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the EU are all complicit in this, but the people of Moldova are the ones who will pay the price if their neutrality is trampled upon.

Mr President, I wanted to make the point that Deputy Bütikofer made an inaccurate statement about me: he accused me of supporting every authoritarian regime going. I’d like to inform the gentleman that I don’t support any government anywhere. I’ve yet to see a government I like, authoritarian or otherwise. For him to actually take that position actually shows a serious lack of balance. I thought he was a smarter guy than that. I am not taking any sides on Georgia either. But I do believe that things work out better when we let the people of the country decide the future for themselves. Let the people of Georgia ... (The President cut off the speaker)

Mr President, Commissioner, Georgia – like many other former Eastern Bloc countries – has not fared well under the thumb of predatory financial capitalism, crushing economic reforms and a hollowing out of the State. The NGO sector has stepped in to fill that void, and an entire middle class now is dependent on this sector and foreign funding. The initial upset about this law was about people’s incomes being put in danger. Not that it was pro- or anti-Russian, or western. The NGO sector rallied and got the proposal retracted while apparently charging the Georgian State with taking a dark authoritarian turn for looking at laws similar to what exists in Russia, in Australia, in the US since 1938, and may be coming to the EU sometime soon. That we have had condemnation of the law from the EU and others who either have or would happily implement similar measures is the height of hypocrisy. That this has been seized upon to inflame tensions in Georgia, which could potentially reignite the frozen conflict on its borders, is very disappointing.

Mr President, we’re talking about a stronger EU in the world. If we want a stronger EU in the world, we’ll have an EU that prioritises peace rather than war. There is always an alternative to war. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it was 100% illegal. There was an alternative and they didn’t take it. But NATO’s expansion eastwards didn’t help matters either. It helped to destabilise the area. US and NATO involvement in Ukraine since 2014 haven’t helped matters. The failure of the EU to engage in diplomacy and dialogue since the war started hasn’t helped matters. Our support for wars in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq hasn’t helped matters. What kind of a strong Europe do yous want in the world? The world is not interested in war, but we are promoting it. We are militarized in Europe. We’re increasing the profits of the arms industry. Why are we going down this path? Whatever happened to the Europe that wanted peace? We’re losing the plot, we are. We’re pumping arms now into Ukraine on the basis that Ukraine are going to win. There’s nobody going to win the war in Ukraine. This is absolute madness. And the Ukrainians are going to die more and more every day as long as we keep pumping arms into a live war.

Mr President, in light of Europe’s historic responsibility and its capacity to act, the EU must reduce its domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. To meet this, the Effort Sharing Regulation needs to achieve at least 50% emissions reductions by 2030, compared to the 2005 levels. The emissions reduction trajectory in the agreement is less ambitious than Parliament’s position. The agreement contains loopholes that would exempt Member States from around half of the emissions cuts that they are supposed to deliver on the basis of the emissions reduction trajectory. Member States would still not have to count emissions from unsustainable biomass in their national greenhouse gas inventories. The access to justice element has been gutted. The IPCC has told us that we need rapid, far reaching and unprecedented changes to all aspects of our society. That warning is not really reflected in the agreement.

Madam President, I, too, would like to compliment Emily and her staff for the good work that they do. Not just because she’s Irish, but because she is a seriously good bit of stuff. The report shows that problems around transparency and accountability still persist in the EU institutions, and unrestrained lobby is central to many of our problems. Back in 2015, there was an advisory group set up by the Commission to advise on how to design EU defence industrial policy. Ideally, such a group would be made up of people that would be neutral, but in actual fact it turned out it was stuffed with people linked to the military industry. So it was no surprise that the group produced a report which recommended the creation of a European defence fund, which would funnel increasing amounts of money from the EU budget into the arms industry and which has helped to lead to the increased militarisation of Europe. But we do need trust and we need change. And we believe, Emily, that you’re the woman that can make it happen.

Madam President, I received a lot of emails in the last week asking me to vote in favour of a strong energy performance in buildings directive, one that can both cut emissions and combat worsening energy poverty. However, the text we are voting on this week is already a weak one. I often say that the European Parliament is the place where climate ambition comes to die. I have a lot of sympathy for my Irish colleague, Ciarán Cuffe, the rapporteur for the legislative proposal. Ciarán’s draft committee report shows lots of ambition, the kind of ambition we need in order to adequately respond to the climate crisis. But it was severely weakened in committee by the EPP, who happened to be propping up the far right in the Parliament on this one. The weakening of the minimum energy performance standard is particularly bad. It is now absolutely essential that the Parliament does not further water down the text to further prolong the use of fossil fuels.

Mr President, decades of policies designed to promote the use of artificial fertilisers, instead of more resilient, sustainable farming methods, have exasperated farmers’ vulnerability to the fertiliser crisis. All actions taken to support farmers through the current crisis must be part of a long—term vision and strategy for the sustainability and resilience of this sector. We do not need a short—term kneejerk reaction which will fail to address the systemic issues surrounding fertilisers at the root causes of the difficulties facing farmers. The EU’s reliance on imports of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers, and fossil gas for the manufacture of fertilisers, is a huge vulnerability. It should be addressed fundamentally and systematically, not simply by shifting to imports from other countries or injecting public money into the fertiliser industry.

Mr President, I think it's great that Mr Dzhambazki regularly cycles his bike from Strasbourg to Bulgaria, fair play to him. Now, road transport emissions account for 26% of the EU's CO2 emissions. More cycling will make our cities and towns more liveable, safe and inclusive. Cycling should be elevated to a strategic priority at EU level. Now, this resolution calls for more than doubling the total number of kilometres cycled by 2030. It also talks about the creation of synergies between cycling and other modes of transport, such as making more places available for bikes inside trains, and providing more secure parking areas for bikes at stations. This is an important point. In Ireland, Dublin City Metrolink stations will reportedly have bicycle parking for just 28 % of predicted demand on a normal day. Now, finally, the resolution stresses that cycling tourism and cycling in rural areas needs to be supported by accelerating the development of the EuroVelo network. This is a fair and valid point. However, cycling tourism should not be developed at the expense of public transport. I'm all in favour of building greenways, but it shouldn't be at the expense of railways.

Mr President, it is clear that the current inflation crisis is supply-driven: first by supply chain bottlenecks and now by energy and fuel companies abusing their market power. As millions of Europeans struggle to feed their families and heat their homes, energy and fuel companies make record profits because of price speculation. The European Commission’s recent Winter Economic Forecast is further proof that inflation is being caused by this profit-price spiral and has nothing to do with wage increases, which remain far below the hikes in the cost of living. The ECB is not managing this crisis. Increasing interest rates prevents both public and private investment, but ultimately hurts low-income earners the most. Mortgage holders will be pushed to their limits and risk defaulting on their loans. To get to the root of this issue, we need to tax these exorbitant corporate profits and we need to help the ordinary people of Europe, through pay rises in line with the cost of living.

–Mr President, it’s my first time having the opportunity of even speaking while you’re in the chair. Congratulations. The eight-hour day is a monumental victory, won by striking workers almost 150 years ago. It’s an achievement of socialist and communist organising and a cornerstone of labour law in Europe. The EPP, Renew and S&D’s claim that the Matzak ruling in 2018, which counts voluntary work as regular work according to the Working Time Directive, will eradicate voluntary work as it will now be counted in the maximum 48 hours permitted under EU law. These groups represent political forces which spent much of the last 40 years hollowing out public sector services and work across the continent while lining the pockets of their friends in the private sector. Many people volunteered to fill the gap left by the retreat of the state, to provide care where the private sector doesn’t see a profit to be made, or to care for those who can’t afford the private sector. The 48-hour week, including travel and break, is really a 60-hour week. If volunteer work is being done on top of this, the system is broken!

Madam President, Commissioner, High Representative, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is unforgivable. The devastation, debt and destabilisation wrought by it has led to unthinkable horrors, as in all wars. Also unforgivable is how willing Western leaders are to ensure this becomes a war without end. Instead of calls for ceasefires, dialogue and peace talks, we are deepening Western involvement in the war with no apparent concern for the repercussions. We are calling for Ukraine to take back Crimea. Experts on both sides of the ocean say that this was madness and will lead to a possible breakout of nuclear war. And it will also rally the Russian people towards the defence of Crimea, if we go to that space. Zelenskyy has been making the rounds begging for more weapons, but not one word to say about peace. How many of his own people must he conscript and feed into the carnage before he sits down to negotiations? And how many of the people of Europe must lose their jobs or their homes before NATO will allow these negotiations to happen? And lastly, I’d like to know what has happened to Germany, the jewel of Europe. Scholz told us that there’d be no peace in Europe without Russia. First you send helmets, now you’re sending tanks to kill Russians. I worry for Europe.

Mr President, two weeks ago, Pope Francis, on his first visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, denounced the internal and external organisations that orchestrate war in the country to plunder its resources. It is, he said, above all, a war unleashed by an insatiable greed for raw materials and money that fuels a weaponised economy and requires instability and corruption. Little has changed since King Leopold looted Congo’s resources to enrich himself and Belgium, killing over 10 million Congolese people while he was at it. The yearlong conflict between the DRC Government and the M23 rebels, which Rwanda’s Kagame is reportedly fuelling by providing support to the armed group, has caused widespread hunger and displaced more than 2 million. Meanwhile, France and TotalEnergies are looking to enrich themselves at the expense of the Congolese and looking to clear areas away so they can make money out of robbing the place of resources as ever. How come there’s no one talking about establishing any kind of peace talks? How come no one gives a damn about sorting out the things there? We have a lot of influence there, but we very seldom used it in a positive way.

Mr President, the continuation of the war in Ukraine is expected to drive Tunisia’s inflation rate above 10% this year. A potential USD 1.9 billion rescue package with the IMF will mean drastic economic reforms that will increase inequality. The EU’s meagre assistance is also dependent on neoliberal economic reforms, like freezing public sector hiring and wages, while inflation runs out of control. President Saied’s recent crackdown on the opposition and monopolisation of power has passed without an awful lot of comment. He’s been performing his tasks obediently enough, ripping up the social safety net for Tunisians in exchange for funds that will service existing debts, clamping down on migration to the EU and helping to increase the transit of Algerian gas to the EU. The political West using the war to put the neocolonial squeeze on countries like this is a gamble with a big potential for backfire. You can understand Tunisians thinking the 2011 revolution remains unfinished.

Mr President, sometimes I think that this is the place where ambition comes to die. So in the trilogue agreement we have 55% reduction for cars, 50 for vans. Now, in fairness to Jan, the rapporteur, he fought for 70% at the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, but some of his own Renew members even voted against him. We need an EU-wide phase-out date for sales of new internal combustion-engine cars and vans as close to 2030 as possible, but surely no later than 2035, to meet the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target. At least that 2035 phase-out date has been retained in the trilogue agreement. But it’s also crucial to remember that unless consumption and mobility habits change radically, replacing the world’s estimated fleet of two billion cars is going to require an explosive and entirely unsustainable increase in resource extraction. So cars are not the future of transport. Better public transport and active travel are the future, with targeted support where necessary for EVs in rural areas. Sometimes, Commissioner, I feel sorry for you. It’s not easy.