Speeches

The next item is the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on the current situation in eastern DRC (2024/2585(RSP)).

At the end of the debate, I have received four motions for resolutions. The debate is over. The vote will take place on Thursday, 29 February 2024.

I have to say that the High Representative is ill. So that’s the reason why he’s not here. And he’s kindly represented by Commissioner Urpilainen.

The next item is the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on the critical situation in Cuba (2024/2584(RSP)).

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, the EU is a safe haven for human rights defenders, one of the few in the world which is becoming more and more authoritarian and more and more dangerous for those who defend human rights. But even we should do more. And I would like to recall the demand by this Parliament to establish a category of humanitarian visas in the context of the report of our colleague Hannah Neumann on human rights defenders. And I think it’s time that we now make this happen, because so many people who come from Russia, from Belarus, from Afghanistan, from Iran, really need temporary protection. It is not necessarily at all about asylum, but people need to get away from the countries that are dangerous for their work for human rights. I also wanted to say a word about another dimension of human rights and their defence. You know, colleagues, tomorrow, the famous Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence might be voted in the Council and it is not at all guaranteed that there will be the required majority. Why I want to tell you this today is that no state alone can solve the challenges of human rights. We need the corporations on board and that is why we need to take this very seriously. Otherwise, also our attempts as the European Union and its Member States and states in general are not going to be realised. We need the cooperation on board. So please, tomorrow, the message has to be that the Council has to adopt this important directive.

Mr President, Commissioner, since February 2023 the authorities have prevented Maria Kolesnikova, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka, Mikalai Statkevich and other prominent political prisoners from communicating with their lawyers and families. And now the Belarusian opposition is faced with a new wave of mass arrests, including their family members. This must be condemned. All the 1 500 political prisoners must be immediately released. There is more we can do in our partnership with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the opposition. She is calling us for making our relationship closer with the democratic Belarus. We can bring our relationship to a new level. We must support Belarusian democratic forces in trying to find a situation where the EU can issue the passports to the Belarusian democratic forces in exile, so that they can travel. Indeed, she is a very good partner to us and we must continue to tighten our relationship with her.

The next item is the report by Paulo Rangel, on behalf of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on automated data exchange for police cooperation (Prüm II), amending Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA and Regulations (EU) 2018/1726, (EU) 2019/817 and (EU) 2019/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2021)0784 - C9-0455/2021 - 2021/0410(COD)) (A9-0200/2023).

Mr President, colleagues, last June we had a lengthy debate in this House on undue foreign influence and how to combat it. Now this debate has become more and more tangible. An MEP is suspected of acting on behalf of foreign powers, and this matter will be thoroughly investigated by the bodies of this House and, hopefully, also by the national judicial authorities. We should not be naive. The European Parliament is not a zone free of espionage, and it is not excluded that a foreign-power agent enters Parliament wearing the Parliament’s badge. So we must tackle this. The MEPs’ free mandate is not meant to harm the EU, and the immunity of the MEP is not any kind of get-out-of-jail-free card if breaking rules and the law. So we need a tool pack, and I’m afraid that our tool pack is perhaps not quite sufficient to respond to these challenges. We must work better with the national authorities, intelligence services, and OLAF and EPPO. We must do more.

Madam President, the United Nations negotiations on the legally binding treaty on business and human rights were commenced already in 2014. Some EU Member States have taken part, but unfortunately, the EU as a bloc has been absent. Now we have momentum. The long-awaited EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is nearly finalised, and this is the momentum for the EU’s participation in this critically important UN process. Our goal must be to ensure a level playing field for companies through global standards. So this report aims to invite the Commission and External Action Service to shape and adopt an EU negotiation mandate, and we want to provide some elements for an ambitious mandate.

The next sitting will take place tomorrow, Thursday 18 January 2024, at 9 a.m. The agenda has been published and is available on the European Parliament’s website.

The next item is the debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, in accordance with Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure. First, a discussion on the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, in particular the case of Ding Yuande (2024/2504(RSP)).

The next item is the Commission statement on addressing the urgent skills shortage and finding the right talent to boost job creation (European Year of Skills) (2024/2503(RSP))