What Andrius spoke about.

30

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Cali fund – follow up from the COP16 UN Convention on Biodiversity (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, the Cali Fund is more than a financial tool. It is a vital step in our global biodiversity efforts and it is a test of our collective commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. On the road to COP17, the Commission will continue to lead by example, working with all partners to make progress in the implementation of the Cali Fund. In …

30

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Cali fund – follow up from the COP16 UN Convention on Biodiversity (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, thank you for the opportunity to address this Parliament on the important issue of the Cali Fund. The Cali Fund is an innovative mechanism under the Convention on Biological Diversity for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources, thereby mobilising further resources for biodiversity. It is an impor…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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The need to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish life in Europe, following the recent attacks against the Jewish community in the Netherlands and Belgium (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, let us leave this debate not only with words of solidarity, but with a renewed determination to turn every commitment into tangible protection for Jewish communities across our Union. The constant pressure of hostility and harassment on Jewish communities in Europe has led to a growing trend of self-invisibilisation: Jews withdrawing from public life and concea…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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The need to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish life in Europe, following the recent attacks against the Jewish community in the Netherlands and Belgium (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, just a few hours ago, two men were stabbed and seriously injured in London only because they are Jews. They have our deepest sympathies. There can be no place for antisemitic violence in our society. So let me thank the Parliament for organising this important debate. Antisemitic attacks and violence have risen manifold since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 Oct…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Supporting democratic resilience in Armenia (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, again, thanks a lot for this exchange. Armenia's parliamentary elections, taking place in just five weeks, will be a defining moment for the future of the country. As Armenia advances on its chosen path, it is facing growing external pressure, including foreign information manipulation, disinformation and other hybrid threats. These actions are deliberate. They…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Supporting democratic resilience in Armenia (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, the European Union is a key partner for Armenia's future, standing with the country today to help build security, prosperity and lasting stability. Our cooperation is based on common values, a shared vision for the future and respect for sovereign choices. EU‑Armenia relations have never been closer. The first ever EU‑Armenia summit, which will take place next …

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, I would like to thank you for this very important and timely debate. As you know, justice delayed is justice denied. The European Union continues to push to advance fast and to assure solid preparation for these international justice mechanisms. Accountability must be kept high on the international agenda, especially in the context of peace efforts. Normalisati…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, for more than four years, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, with severe consequences for the Ukrainian population. Since the start of the full‑scale invasion by Russia, according to the United Nations, approximately 16 000 civilians have been killed, including 784 children, and approximately 43 000 injured, including 2 668 children. Th…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

Madam President, dear colleagues, first of all, thanks a lot for this very important debate. Second, let us not forget that if you want peace, prepare for war. I think that everybody here wants peace. And second, we should remember why unity in defence is so important. The United States defence industry would not be stronger if they replaced their federal defence industry with 50 defence markets a…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

Madam President, honourable Members, thank you, first of all, for these two very important reports. I thank the rapporteur and the shadows for your excellent work. First, Mr Cremer, thanks for the initiative to break down barriers on our EU defence market. We have a unique European internal market of 27 Member States, 450 million people, a GDP of EUR 18 trillion – one of the biggest markets in the…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, thank you very much for this really very great debate. It is clear from our discussion that we agree. We must very rapidly take responsibility for our defence or for the future of peace on the European continent. We will be able to take this responsibility if we are able to make important decisions and agreements. I urge Parliament to speed up with our trilogues, …

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

Madam President, Honourable Members, firstly I would like to thank this House for its unwavering support for stronger European defence. The opinion polls clearly show that, in these dangerous times, our people expect Europe to be strong in the world and strong in defence. So I thank you for listening to the voice of the people and for leading the people. After nearly four years, Russia shows no si…

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, first of all, I would like to thank you for a very good and very important discussion, and of course, thanks again to the rapporteurs. I will repeat several obvious truths. First of all, we shall be powerful geopolitically if we are strong in our defence. And we shall be strong in defence if we are strong with our defence industry. And we shall be strong in our defen…

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, we are coming close to the first anniversary of the mandate of this Commission and to the first anniversary of my mandate as the first-ever European Union Commissioner for Defence and Space. When I look back on this first year, I call it the year when we created opportunities for defence readiness. Now the period of creating opportunities is over. Now is the ti…

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

Madam President, Minister, dear colleagues, it was really a great debate, a great, important debate, because the issues that we are discussing are really very crucial. Many of the speakers were repeating very well-known truths – we are not at war, but not at peace either. What we need to recognise is that perhaps it will continue for years to come with provocations, disruptions and sabotage acts. …

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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Serious threats to aviation and maritime transport from Global Navigation Satellite System interference: urgent need to build resilience against spoofing and jamming (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, again, thanks a lot for this debate, and thank you very much for your determination, and unity in that determination, to defend our security. Today's debate and your contributions are an encouragement to take forward our EU response to the problems and challenges and threats of jamming and spoofing. Our exchange of views calls for implementing operational and contingen…

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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Serious threats to aviation and maritime transport from Global Navigation Satellite System interference: urgent need to build resilience against spoofing and jamming (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, I start my statement on behalf of the Commission by saying very simple words: thank you. Thank you to the pilots of the aircraft that landed us safely when we, together with President von der Leyen, were travelling to Bulgaria during a very successful tour of seven frontline Member States, and when our satellite navigation on board was jammed. These pilots are …

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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China’s unjustified decision to impose duties on imports of pork products from the EU and the need to support European farmers and workers (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, honourable Members, let me start by really thanking all of you for your thoughtful contributions during today's debate. I understand and share many of your concerns raised. Let me start from one general remark: as to EU relations with China, let me recall President von der Leyen's message from this morning's State of the Union address, which points to the significant…

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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China’s unjustified decision to impose duties on imports of pork products from the EU and the need to support European farmers and workers (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, again, I would like to present the Commission position on this very important issue. It was supposed that the position would be presented by Commissioner Hansen or Commissioner Šefčovič, but they are at an important destination now going to develop other relations. So I will try to present in a very short way the Commission position on this topic. On 5 September, Chi…

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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After 10 years, time to end mass migration now - protect our women and children (topical debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, I would like to thank you very much for your contributions. The successful adoption of the pact shows that the EU is committed to solving the migration challenge. The pact and the newly proposed measures will re-establish credibility in a functioning system that balances responsibility and solidarity, whilst ensuring that those in need receive protection and that tho…

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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After 10 years, time to end mass migration now - protect our women and children (topical debate)

Madam President, Minister, dear colleagues, I would like to present the Commission position, which was supposed to be presented by Commissioner Brunner, but because of agenda issues, I will do that. Once the migration crisis of 2015 struck, more than 1 million people arrived in the EU seeking our protection. Our immigration and asylum systems were simply not designed to cope with such a large scal…

11

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, I would like to thank you for this historic debate, as I said at the very beginning. It is very symbolic that we have this debate on this special day, for me, my Lithuanian colleagues here in Parliament and all the Lithuanian nation, on Lithuania's independence day. In 1990, we regained our independence after 50 years of occupation by the Soviet Empire. My mess…

11

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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White paper on the future of European defence (debate)

Madam President, honourable Members, thank you, first of all, for putting this debate and the morning debate on the future of European defence on the agenda. In my view, those are the most important debates in the history of this House, because the days we are living through are days which will define the history of Europe and of the European Union. This is a once-in-a-generation moment: we face a…

10

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Supporting the EU’s most vulnerable regions against devastating effects of climate change, such as the recent cyclone hitting La Réunion (debate)

Mr President, honourable Members, thank you for sharing your insights during this very meaningful discussion. And thank you for advocating for those in some of our most vulnerable regions. The recent cyclones affecting Mayotte and Réunion remind us of the urgent need to reinforce disaster-resilience and climate-adaptation measures across the Union. The European Union's response to these events dem…

10

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Supporting the EU’s most vulnerable regions against devastating effects of climate change, such as the recent cyclone hitting La Réunion (debate)

Mr President, honourable Members, in recent weeks, many communities have faced hardship caused by the devastating effects of climate change. The recent cyclones – Garance in Réunion and Chido in Mayotte – serve as stark reminders of the vulnerability faced by our outermost regions. Let me express the European Commission's unwavering solidarity with our fellow Europeans in Réunion and Mayotte. Thes…