What Marianne spoke about.

20 May

2026

DA Speech

Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan following the Taliban's adoption of the Criminal Procedure Code for Courts

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Mr President, Commissioner! In Afghanistan, a woman can be punished for visiting her father. If her husband says no, a pleasant family visit can lead to prison. Try to think about it. This is the Taliban's new dark law. A system where domestic violence can be swept under the carpet if broken bones cannot just be proven. Where people are whipped for love, for words, for so-called bad morality. It's…

20 May

2026

DA Speech

The need to reduce work-related fatalities (debate)

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Mr President! No one should die from going to work. That sounds banal to say, but unfortunately it is necessary to say. You go to work in the morning, do what you have to do, and come home. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. Every day, nine people in the EU do not return to their families after work. This year we have also seen how bad things can go. A farmer was squeezed between a …

27 Apr

2026

DA Speech

Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

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Mr. President! If a woman stiffens and becomes mute with shock when a thief breaks into her house, no one thinks that the thief may steal her jewelry. But if the same thing happens when you talk about intercourse, then suddenly we disagree. The latter is far, far more serious. It's about something as fundamental as the right to one's own body. I really want us in Europe to have common rules, becau…

10 Mar

2026

DA Speech

EU enlargement strategy (debate)

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Mr. President! At a time of war in Europe and turmoil in the world, EU enlargement is no longer a matter of 'if'. It is a question of "when". Because this is about the security of Europe. But there is another question: How do we ensure that enlargement does not come at the expense of workers' conditions? Because it happened last time. With the 2004 enlargement, many workers from the new EU countri…

9 Mar

2026

DA Speech

Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

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11 Feb

2026

DA Speech

Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

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Mr President! As a trade unionist and social democrat, you might think that I would talk about the workers today. But I'll start somewhere else; at the companies. Because when we talk about subcontractors, it's not just about taking care of those who work there. It is also about protecting the companies that play by the rules. Too many of them are today being outcompeted by immoral companies with …

11 Feb

2026

DA Speech

Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

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Madam President! As a young, newly trained hospital laboratory technician in the nineties, I was educated to high unemployment. So I packed my bag and went to Norway. Got a job in a hospital. Low-paid, but I was ready to work. Shortly after I was hit by pneumonia, I had no savings left after I graduated. I'll never forget that I can't afford penicillin. It was terrible. Many in Europe experience t…

11 Feb

2026

DA Speech

Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)

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Madam President! Commissioner, Minister. Competitiveness has become the buzzword of European politics. Competitiveness is important, but it is simply not true that Europe will be stronger if we remove a sea of rules. On the contrary. The right companies need clear and fair rules of the game. Otherwise, they will be knocked out by those who are completely indifferent to the whole, to people, to our…

9 Feb

2026

DA Speech

World Cancer Day (debate)

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20 Jan

2026

DA Speech

Territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark: the need for a united EU response to US blackmail attempts (debate)

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Mr President! It is very overwhelming to feel the broad support there is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark from all my good colleagues. Thank you. Because the situation is serious. Threats to take another country's territory. Penalties. Fake news and ridicule. It's all in the hemp. Enough is enough. Europe is not bowing. We've only moved closer together. Dear Greenland: You're not alone. We…

11 Feb

2025

DA Speech

The need to address urgent labour shortages and ensure quality jobs in the health care sector (debate)

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Mr President! When we talk about labour shortages in Europe, we too often forget to talk about the shadows of the labour market. Because when workers from outside the EU get a job in the EU, there is a high risk that the employment will be on poor terms. Recently, the Commission has proposed an EU Challenge pool, an EU job portal to make it easier for employers to recruit from outside the EU. And …

12 Dec

2023

DA Speech

Parliament’s call for the right to disconnect - three years on (debate)

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Mr. President! More and more people are struggling with work-related stress. Europeans in all professions, from office workers to electricians, experience being contacted by the workplace during their free time. I am therefore really disappointed that European employers have not wanted to find common ground with the trade union movement. We can't just expect the problem to go away on its own. Even…

2 Oct

2023

DA Speech

Protection of workers from asbestos (debate)

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Mr President! Three years ago, I met Dan. In his youth, Dan was apprenticed as a plumber, and on an ordinary working day in his new apprenticeship, he was exposed to asbestos. When I meet Dan, it's been twenty years, and Dan's terminally ill with mesothelioma. He has decided that he will spend his final days making sure that no one ever suffers the same fate as him. His message was clear: No one s…

10 May

2023

DA Speech

Myanmar, notably the dissolution of democratic political parties

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Mr President! The Myanmar junta has recently dissolved 40 political parties, and we in the European Parliament cannot ignore this resolution. The dissolution of political parties is another act that fundamentally erodes the democratic rights of civilians. Recently, the trade unions in Myanmar reported how labour rights are also suffering. Not only are politicians imprisoned, so are trade union lea…

10 May

2023

DA Speech

Roadmap on a Social Europe: two years after Porto (debate)

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Mr President! Europe has become poorer and more insecure for ordinary families. The work is done more than ever on digital platforms. Wages are rattling down and food banks are being opened in streaks to prevent people from starving. This is a bomb under the welfare state if we don't fix it now! We can talk a lot about which solutions are the right ones, but one thing is for sure; We can do a lot …

18 Jan

2023

DA Speech

Revelations of Uber lobbying practices in the EU (debate)

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Mr. President! When the AB5 law in California was introduced, Uber and the other platform companies spent over $200 million in anti-campaigns against that law. The law to stop the gross exploitation of fake self-employed people on digital platforms. With this campaign, they managed to secure an exemption for Uber drivers that still applies today, even if it is unconstitutional. It's something that…

13 Dec

2022

DA Speech

ASEAN relations ahead of the EU-ASEAN summit in December 2022 (debate)

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Madam President! When the EU-ASEAN summit begins tomorrow, we will mark 45 years of diplomatic cooperation between our regions. Our cooperation spreads across a wide range of areas, on peace and democratic principles, on respect for human rights and on cooperation on trade agreements and its important chapters. Trade agreements between us have ensured economic prosperity in both regions over the y…

5 Oct

2022

DA Speech

The Media freedom crackdown in Myanmar, notably the cases of Htet Htet Khine, Sithu Aung Myint and Nyein Nyein Aye

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Mr. President! Since the junta in Myanmar took power in February 2021, there have been increasing numbers of attacks and killings against civilians, religious minorities, peaceful democratic protesters, human rights defenders and journalists. The list is long and it's a terrible read. The junta is fighting violently against any form of resistance and continues to undermine press freedom. That is u…

7 Jul

2022

DA Speech

Sustainable aviation fuels (ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative) (debate)

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Mr President! After all, it was the pioneers who invented the airplane in the last century. It has given us a sense of freedom, but our freedom is now under threat. Threatened by the black footprint we leave behind every time we fly. We are now in a new century on the threshold of a new era. An era of green planes. It is time to act, because the green transition of aviation does not happen by itse…

18 May

2022

DA Speech

Prosecution of the opposition and the detention of trade union leaders in Belarus (debate)

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Madam President! In Belarus, we have recently witnessed a violent outcry against trade unions and their representatives. A hetz that has taken place over a number of years, but which escalated in April when at least 18 trade union leaders were imprisoned. This was reportedly to disturb public order, but in fact to be critical of the Belarusian regime. Several of them are now awaiting long prison s…

3 May

2022

DA Speech

Impact of Russian illegal war of aggression against Ukraine on the EU transport and tourism sectors (debate)

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Mr President! Commissioner! We know that transporting people and goods across national borders is a vital cornerstone of any country. Transport is a prerequisite for society to develop and thrive. In times of crisis, this fact becomes even clearer. We saw it most recently during COVID-19. Here, vital supply chains stalled and people's connections to the outside world were shut down. These are cons…

10 Mar

2022

DA Speech

Myanmar, one year after the coup

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Madam President! We're writing in 2022, but we don't have a peaceful world. It has been more than a year since the junta in Myanmar took power and has since committed the killing of the civilian population. I strongly condemn the fact that Russia, China and Serbia, as UN members, have helped the coup plotters to supply arms to the military regime in Myanmar. Supporting a military regime that uses …

9 Mar

2022

DA Speech

A new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work post 2020 (continuation of debate)

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Madam President! Thank you for your words, Commissioner Schmit! I am very pleased that we have a common agenda here. Work in the EU must be carried out in a healthy and safe working environment. It is terrible to think that while we are talking in this Chamber, there are people who are injured in the workplace. We need to change that. I look forward to the summit. I am not the only one who produce…

9 Mar

2022

DA Speech

A new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work post 2020 (debate)

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Madam President! European workers have been fighting for a better working environment for over a hundred years. Yet more than 3,300 people die every year in workplaces in the EU. Over 200 000 people die each year from work-related illnesses after the work they have had. But we can therefore do much better, and that is why I see today's vote on the EU's seven-year strategy on health and safety at w…

17 Feb

2022

DA Speech

Protection of workers from the risks relating to exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxins at work (debate)

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Mr. President! Dear Commissioners, Dear rapporteurs, Dear colleagues! Every year, 120 000 Europeans get cancer from doing their job. It's the plumber who inhales asbestos and gets cancer in his lungs. It is the carpenters who are exposed to UV radiation and get skin cancer and veterinary nurses who take x-rays of our pets and get thyroid cancer, and many other professional groups who work with dru…