Speeches

Mr President, colleagues, Commission, Council, Europe is facing a painful six-month period. In July, Viktor Orbán takes over the presidency of the European Union. It's actually unbelievable that it's come this far. The European Union is a democratic union of democratic states. Hungary is no longer a democracy. Viktor Orbán’s government suppresses LGBTI people and silences independent judges and journalists. Member States had one task, which they failed to fulfil: realising the Article 7 procedure protecting democracy in Hungary. The fact that Viktor Orbán is still voting in the European Council is actually a disgrace, given the democratic breakdown. Just like the fact that the European Commission decided to release billions to Budapest without any reason. This is a mistake for which we are taking the Commission to court. To all Hungarians I say: We stand beside you and we will continue to do so.

Madam President, colleagues, I welcome this important step in the international judicial cooperation between the European Union and Republic of Armenia. I asked for the floor, because this Agreement marks the first agreement between Eurojust and a third country since the entry into force of the Eurojust Regulation of 2019. It will improve cooperation in the investigation of prosecution of serious crimes, and it is subject to strict safeguards in relation to data protection, privacy and fundamental rights, and will be monitored. I want to thank the shadows and ask for your support.

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, 2.5 years ago, the Taliban took power in Afghanistan – the ‘new Taliban’, where some naively kicked in, the spokesperson said: "We will not discriminate against women!" Women and girls in Afghanistan should not be human anymore. Not to school, not to sports, not to work or to the park. They face physical and sexual violence on a daily basis, and all they want is a life. Dreaming of something that looks like a future, but it's a hell without perspective. The pressure on the Taliban regime must be increased, including on the countries that care for them, with the minimum requirement of fundamental rights for girls and women. I ask the Commission to urge the Member States to increase visas and resettlement for the most vulnerable Afghans, women who were active as activists, but also former EUPOL workers, who have to fear for their lives.

Mr President, thank you first of all to the rapporteur, colleagues and Commissioner Reynders for the good cooperation. Two years after the full Russian invasion of Ukraine, my admiration for the Ukrainians is unabated. They tirelessly resist Putin's imperialism. But while we were negotiating sanctions evasion, I often had to think of them. How do you explain that we in the EU do agree on sanctions against Russia, but then maintain them completely different from country to country, or not at all? How do you explain that there is a system in which a Russian oligarch can find out which EU country is the most suitable to circumvent an entry ban? Or that a company can choose a Member State with the lowest chance of catching to trade products under sanctions? The law could have been even sharper, but this is an important step forward. I have only one message for the Commission and the Member States: Get to work! Closing and maintaining loopholes! That is the right signal to the brave Ukrainians, but also to European companies that do the right thing. We're on your side. Together we will win over Putin.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues – and indeed no Council, which is a shame. What is EU enlargement about? At its core, it’s about improving people’s lives, about finishing the work that we started over 70 years ago: creating the large zone of democracy and rule of law on our continent. It has been our most successful foreign policy instrument, and it became a geopolitical necessity now to protect ourselves and our neighbours against autocracy and continued instability. But the EU itself needs to improve as well. It is up to us to make sure these two things go hand in hand in the interest of old and new citizens alike. We have an opportunity to turn the upcoming accession of countries into a win-win situation, strengthening and reforming our Union, while at the same time living up to our promises towards candidate countries. We have to ensure that the one process will not be hijacked by the other. We cannot have a situation that candidates have implemented all reforms, but we are not ready. Let’s unleash all creativity to reform and complete our Union as soon as possible. The citizens of Kyiv, Pristina and Tirana are Europeans. They want their democracies protected, want clean air, fair wages, freedom of choice, fundamental rights. They want a better life. Let us live up to the promise of Europe – for ourselves, for all Europeans.

Mr President, Commission, Council, colleagues, countless times we said that we should prevent the killing of Alexei Navalny at all costs. The truth is, we did not succeed. Putin’s regime murdered Alexei. We have to transform this failure, and our grief, into meaningful action, not just hollow words. So, Council, Commissioner, where are the second- and third-layer sanctions? The group of second- and third-layer supporters of Putin put on the sanctions – targeted sanctions on officials involved in the prison regime, the judges, the prosecutors, everyone? In this regard, use the list of the Navalny Foundation and get serious on enforcement. It’s shameful – it’s laughable what we do in this regard. Get tough on his friends in Europe – Orbán, Dodik, Vučić – and, yes, also rapidly increase military support to Ukraine. We have to take example in people braver than ourselves, like Navalny, like Kara-Murza, and look Putin in the face and say, ‘You will not win’, and get to work.

Mr President, President of the Commission, Council, colleagues, our security in Europe is under threat. First, because of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. It must be clear where we stand. Brave Ukrainians also defend our democracy and our security. And we have only one task: Give Ukraine what it takes to win. We're not doing that right now, and you're responsible for that. I want to see that both countries that do not do enough – and there are quite a lot of them – appeal to you, permeating the urgency. This is our joint task. We can do this. I'm sure of that. But not if we doubt and hesitate about ammunition, about our supplies and about the ATACMS. But there's more. Putin's friends in Europe meet you regularly. Even then, our security, our values and our democracy are at stake. That is not to be seen separately. If you allow yourself to be blackmailed by Orbán into unjustly releasing ten billion euros, but also, Mr President of the Commission, if, for example, you speak to President Vučić and he scolds you at a press conference, or if you allow Commissioner Várhelyi to engage in his support for Dodik and Vučić. Even then, our values are at stake. We must be clear to those who undermine stability and justice, and support those who want the opposite. And yes, our credibility is also influenced by our position outside the European Union. And then you, President of the Commission, disappointed me because it took you more than two weeks to say the same words of compassion and humanity about the thousands of innocent victims in Gaza as it did for the victims of the terrible terrorist attack. You continue to persevere – like many Heads of Government – in repeating the mantra that it must all be done within international law. That's not happening right now, and you know it. There must now be a ceasefire. But I end positively by thanking you, Mrs von der Leyen, despite my criticism for your commitment to Ukraine. Don't give in to that. Don't be distracted by elections. The commitment of this Parliament shows that it is possible. Effective, majority decision-making, sharp choices in defence, for Europe, for our values.

Mr President, Commissioner, it’s not your fault, but we have adopted unanimous calls here, as of January last year, we have written letters to three presidencies of the Council. Not even an answer we got! We have supported our Iranian communities and their friends and relatives in Iran who are tortured, imprisoned and executed because that is what’s happening. You never know how many will be executed today, tomorrow, at the time of the azan. Pure terror and fear. They have nothing else. The IRGC regime will ultimately lose from the call of freedom. But our leaders look away. Away from the Kurdish Iranians, the Baloch people, the countless political prisoners who might face executions today, tomorrow. This must stop. Put them on the list. ‘Women, Life, Freedom’.

– Mr President, the EU indeed showed unity last week with the Ukraine Facility in support of the brave Ukrainians fighting also on our behalf for our democracy. But make no mistake, Orbán held the other 26 hostage for way too long, and it is an illusion to think he will stop. He delayed and blackmailed you into unlawfully unfreezing EUR 10 billion. Sort it! Use Article 7 and suspend the Presidency, because autocrats will never stop unless we stop them. Putin will not stop either, unless we give Ukraine the military support it needs to win – not just what it needs not to lose. The differences in bilateral military aid by Member States are inexplicable and, frankly, unacceptable. Send the ammunition, sent the jets, send the ATACMs! Ukraine must be able to neutralise the Russian positions from which it is being attacked. Ukraine must win. Slava Ukraini!

Mr President, I often wonder what Ukrainians literally dying on the battlefield for democracy must think of us. We are debating the rule of law and Orbán’s blackmailing over and over again, to no avail. Ironic, to say the least. By releasing billions of funds to Budapest, the Commission gave into Orbán’s wicked methods. With what result? And that is a serious question. The new sovereignty bill opening the door for mass surveillance in Hungary? The continuing blockade of aid to Ukraine? Both the Commission and Council still seem to think that you can deal with autocrats as honest brokers. They are not. They will never stop! Appeasement with autocrats in or outside the Union never works. Stop it! Stop negotiating over the rule of law! If needed, this Parliament will not shy away from serious measures. If the Commission and Council do not finally draw a red line, we have to.

Madam President, colleagues, Commission, imagine for a moment that your loved one is a political prisoner. Bad enough, but you have not heard about his or her well-being or location for hundreds of days. Frightening. It’s pure terror. Mikalai Statkevich is one of them and we are worried about him. And this goes for many more of the 1500 political prisoners in Belarus. They count on us to fight Putin’s war-crime-complicit, scared dictator Lukashenko. And that means that the EU must do more. Why are all of Lukashenko’s cronies and companies not included on the sanctions list yet? Make sure sanctions against Belarus are just as firm as those against Russia. No more excuses and delays. A deal on the 12th sanctions package against Russia is expected soon, but we have been hearing that already for quite a while. The Commission and Member States know what to do.

Mr President, High Representative, dear colleagues, I must admit I am, and for a politician it’s strange, but I don’t know what to say anymore. With everything we are seeing. Gazans being told to go south, but even on the way going south, being bombed. People were told a couple of days ago to go west to a peaceful stretch of land at the sea. Where are they safe? How many times have governments from the US to the EU governments put on a critical, serious face, saying it all has to happen within the limits of international law? But who will be saying that it’s not? It’s not! If only for the excessive number of children being killed, if only for the humanitarian catastrophe. And let us remind that the people who were killed on 7 October will not come back. They will not come back. And it was a terrible attack. But this will not make Israel safer. This is not bringing the release of the remaining hostages closer. This is growing yet another generation without a future and without perspective. We need a ceasefire. We need to restart the peace process.

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, we made crucial agreements. The Green Deal, sanctions against Russia, minimum wages. But unfortunately, the Hungarians have no guarantee that Prime Minister Orbán will abide by it. Do not make concessions as long as Orbán insists on oppression of queer communities, women, minorities. Not as long as he enriches himself with European funds instead of helping all Hungarians move forward. Not as long as elections are unfair. And I am deeply concerned to hear that the Commission is reflecting on commitments around the Hungarian recovery plan and RePowerEU and is even considering an advance. My question: Is that so? Do it. It's it. Not at all. I can already hear Orbán crow victory. The EU as an ATM while he continues to spawn Putin. It also reminds me too much of Mrs von der Leyen, who was already in Warsaw with the money, until Parliament intervened. The democratic rule of law is the foundation of a free Europe. Only when we know for sure that Hungarians also belong to this, money can go to Budapest again.

–Mr President, thank you Commissioner for being here. As you know, the ruthlessness of international criminal networks has a huge impact on our societies. And the brutal murders of, for example, Dutch lawyer Derk Wiersum, innocent people killed by mistake and the tragic death, of course, of Peter de Vries are prime examples. Cross-border crime needs cross-border solutions. So the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have been already mentioned. But I want to ask you, should we not try to prevent the drugs from arriving in these ports? If we wait until the drugs arrive in the ports, we might be late. So we should also address this at the roots – ‘upstream disruption’, as it’s called. What are the Commission’s plans on assisting in the fight against the production of drugs in countries such as Colombia and also inside the European Union? Because, for example, the production of synthetic drugs in the Netherlands is a root cause of streams inside the European Union. So to what extent are you also facilitating and improving the exchange of experiences and best practices between Member States with this regard?

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, Council, finding unity on sanctions among 27 Member States is not easy. In the past 19 months, we managed to adopt eleven unprecedented sanction packages against Russia – an accomplishment, but it is not enough. First, we are too slow. The smaller the steps we take, the more time Putin and his oligarch friends get to adapt. They work their way around bans on tech goods and oil exports. We should be ahead of them in adapting ourselves. Member States have to stop the shameful exchange of interests when negotiating a package at the expense of our effectiveness. If sanctions provide a disproportionate disadvantage to Member States, help them! Second, we need to enforce our sanctions. If not, we are creating the loopholes to violate restrictive measures ourselves. And thank you, Commissioner, for your personal commitment to adopt also anti-violation legislation. We cannot have more forum shopping by and impunity for Russian criminals. We have to fix this.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, with everything we did so far in support of Ukraine, there was always one certainty – we need to do more. This is a great proposal. It structures and reinforces our support to Ukraine, and it will serve as a blueprint for follow-up schemes. The impact of this support on the reforms and the restructuring, undertaken while fighting the Russian aggression, can’t be underestimated. Precisely because there is still a lot to do, we will help Ukraine until victory and until it is ready to join the EU. But we need to do more, and this facility would be even more meaningful if we stopped incrementalism and delivered more weapons faster – send the ATACMS, speed-up pilots’ training and send the jets, bring on the 12th packet of sanctions – including diamonds and Russian LNG – and enforce the sanctions. Ukraine must win as fast as possible.

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, colleagues, ‘following tragedies in the Mediterranean, there are always calls for solidarity, but in practice it is very difficult to reach an agreement.’ That is a quote from an article from October 2013 in response to 368 deaths off the coast of Lampedusa. I was at Lampedusa last weekend. To commemorate, but also to learn from Lampedusani, as Mr Bartolo said. Because it is precisely because you, the Member States, are not prepared to put humanity and fundamental rights first, following the example of the people of Lampedusa, that we have not made any progress for years. With the recent low point of the undemocratic and inhuman Tunisian deal, a total fiasco. Had invested the energy in a real solution instead of in political window dressing of Mrs von der Leyen and the prime ministers Meloni and Rutte. How many more lives will be lost before we reach a solidarity-based pact on asylum and migration? Let breaking the deadlock be our number one priority.

Mr President, Commission, Council, colleagues, President Vučić did it again. He pushed the escalation button, deliberately jeopardising peace and security, even of the people he says to care about but holds hostage. This time he pushed harder than ever before. Therefore, the usual de-escalation is not so easy. This pattern should have ended a long time ago, but autocrats like Vučić see how far they can go and then go a little further next time. President Vučić is playing with fire. And, as European Union, we can only extinguish it by showing decisiveness and stop the untenable appeasement of the destabilisers. Despite months of widespread criticism from this House, all the EU has managed to do was imposing sanctions on Kosovo. What is stopping us from punitive measures on Serbia? The reckless actions of the Serbian Government need to have consequences. Commission, Council, take action.

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, dear colleagues: imagine for a moment Russia breathing down your neck in all thinkable ways – from a hybrid disinformation war to the continuous threat of illegitimate military presence on your territory. In that light, choosing the EU was and is incredibly courageous. The resolution we are debating here today, and this was already mentioned, speaks for itself. What I admire most in Moldova is that, unlike any other candidate countries, it is very open about the outstanding issues, the things still requiring a lot of work. No overly rosy picture, but an honest account of what will require more time, but with the firm political will to get the job done. Let us shore up technical support, increase security cooperation and make sure that, through accelerating judicial reform and closer alignment with our internal market, the Moldovan people will experience concrete improvements way ahead of the EU membership they deserve. Moldova is Europe.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, working on this Belarus report has been a sobering experience. The staggering number of political prisoners, including so many of our friends like Ales Bialiatski, Maryia Kalesnikava, Mikola Statkevich and so many others that is rightfully said by EU Commissioner of some of them, we don’t even know where they are. But also more than 2 000 Ukrainian children abducted to Belarus – who would have imagined a little over three years ago that we would be writing about that? Let’s be honest, and I said it before here, if we would have applied half of the policies as we do on Russia today three years ago on Putin’s lapdog, the dictator, we may have been in a different place. But let’s take the example in the leadership of the united democratic opposition and all the brave Belarusians and stay focussed on a free Belarus in the European family of democracies. First Ukraine, then Belarus. That is what the fighters fighting side by side in Ukraine say, and we must see the link between them. We need to step up and make sure that the complicit dictator Lukashenko faces the sanctions as firm as Russia and will be held accountable. (The speaker used a slogan in a non-EU language)

Mr President, dear High Representative, it is a year since the death of Jina Amini. It should have been the year in which the IRGC was placed on the EU terrorist organisations list. It should have been the year we got an international accountability mechanism. It could also very well have been the year that we stopped being afraid of autocrats supporting Russian aggression, that we started to protect Iranians in our society. It became a year of executions, torture and terror, but also a year of sheer unanimous support in this House and many other parliaments for the Iranian people – the year Iranian singers continued releasing songs, more and more ignored the regime, continued dancing like we all will be dancing one day on Azadi Square. Let’s honour Jina Amini and all others who believed in freedom, say their names and do now what must be done. To the regime, I say the brave Iranians will not stop and we will not stop supporting them! (The speaker used a slogan in a non-EU language)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, month sixteen of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine with continuous and deliberate attacks on civilian targets. Pure terror. Putin's rocket rains also hit hospitals, residential towers, bridges, roads, schools. Everyone is affected, including children. Deliberately. We can already be sure of 488 children who have been killed by Russian violence. But the unrestrained cruelty also manifests itself in the case of the two teenagers Tihran and Mykyta, who are now being prosecuted after months of intimidation, brutal interrogation and even torture. These two teenagers are now facing a 20-year prison sentence based on false suspicions. Twenty years. This kind of madness must come to an end and I welcome our resolution. But there's more. Thousands of kidnappings to Russia, to temporarily occupied territory, to Belarus. We must not rest until we help to improve the fate of these children. Don't forget to defend their rights in Europe and in Ukraine. We need to speed up the 11th package of sanctions and give Ukraine the weapons to free itself, children and future generations from Russian aggression and terror.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear Minister, sometimes I wonder how a Russian oligarch or a human rights violator experiences being under sanctions, under restrictive measures – as a mere nuisance, I guess, and as something to work around. With 27 Member States implementing EU sanctions at their own discretion we facilitate circumvention in a way, and criminals on our sanction list eagerly take advantage of it. In addition, they hire the best lawyers and the best advisors. I think expanding EPPOs competencies can be an important building block to increase the effectiveness of our restrictive measures. But as you explained, Minister, we need the political will. My question is not to elaborate on the details of alternative routes, but do you see alternatives besides muddling through and accepting that the sanctions remain ineffective? We need to establish at least, first and foremost, that we need a solution. If we want our restrictive measures to hit their target then we only have one option: to show unity in adopting them, but also in enforcing them.

Mr President, journalists in Hungary, lawyers in Poland, a Member of the European Parliament from Greece: a laundry list of testimonies from spyware victims who just do their job and stand up for their ideals. This made an impression on me. Anyone who denies that this is a European problem has not paid attention. Indeed, the web of espionage and spyware trafficking crosses borders and is spreading across the EU. This web is a danger to our rule of law and democracy. However, many Member States shrug their shoulders or even obstructed the investigation under the guise of ‘national security’, as if it were a magic word that always stands above the individual freedoms of EU citizens. Our recommendations are clear. It is now up to the Commission and the Member States to work on it. European governments should not spy on residents but protect them.

Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, colleagues, last week I visited the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest. Beautiful building. And yet I was sad. It is a parliament in an autocratic country where opposition politicians cannot even do their job, do not speak in the Orbán-controlled media. And the Hungarian prime minister thinks he can use the EU as an ATM, while curtailing the Hungarians and putting money in his own pocket. With minimal effort, he now hopes to unlock a maximum amount of European money. But it doesn't work that way. Only after real lasting reform can money go back to Budapest. The unfounded state of emergency in Hungary is enough proof that this is absolutely not yet the case. And it is also clear that a government with a prime minister who flirts with Putin and can just get on a plane to Moscow, is close friends with Vučić and Dodik, is completely unfit to fulfill the EU presidency. We have to prevent that. In Budapest, I spoke to students, activists, who continue to fight for their rights. But they're getting more and more discouraged. In a Hungary under Orbán’s full control, the EU – we – is their last hope. That is why I call on the Commission and the Council to: Do not fall into the trap of Orbán again, finally take real steps in the Article 7 procedure, do everything within your power to offer Hungary a democratic future.