What Rihards spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

Statement by the candidate for President of the Commission (debate)

While Ursula von der Leyen achieved much during her term, today’s challenges demand a forward-thinking strategy, not a repeat of what was. I cannot support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term primarily because she has not addressed the issues that are critical to our defence and resilience, such as financing the Baltic border (the EU’s external border), enhancing the EU’s international competit…

9

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Feasibility of a 28th tax regime and its potential to support EU competitiveness (debate)

Madam President, my dear colleagues, a single market and 27 company law systems. That fragmentation costs European businesses the equivalent of 44 % tariff on goods and 110 % on services inside our single market. We tax ourselves out of our own market then act surprised when our start-ups found themselves in Texas instead of Riga. That is the broken infrastructure we need to fix not qualified majo…

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, reports of MoU between the US and Iran are an encouraging sign. Even a rough framework is better than nothing, and we should welcome any step that reduces the risk of wider war. The devil, however, is in the details, and the arrangement with Iran alone will not automatically deliver regional stability. Israel's security cannot be treated as an afterthought in any final…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Opportunities and challenges presented by a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy for EU trade (debate)

Mr President, the EU attracted just 6 % of global investment in AI start-ups in early 2024. Six per cent. While our competitors build the infrastructure of the next trade era, we are still drafting frameworks. If deployed right, AI is a structural equaliser. A family manufacturer can gain the same edge as a massive multinational, using AI to navigate red tape and complex supply chains. But if we c…

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba (debate)

Madam President, Cuba has announced a pardon of 2 010 prisoners. Not one was a political prisoner. Not a single one. The regime explicitly excluded those convicted of 'crimes against authority' – the exact charges used against dissidents. Four independent human rights organisations have confirmed this. This was an attempt at a diplomatic performance, staged for international consumption. So, over …

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, dear colleagues, four years of full-scale war has left Ukraine facing a reconstruction bill of nearly EUR 500 billion. This month marked Russia's most intense aerial campaign since the invasion began, with 75 civilians killed in one month. Every strike is a data point in a debt that Russia will pay – not as generosity or conscience, but as a legal obligation under international la…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Human trafficking and grave human rights violations linked to the recruitment of non-Russian nationals, in particular from Africa, for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine

Mr President, dear colleagues, Moscow likes to present itself as the great anti‑colonial champion of the Global South. Yet today, it sends recruiters to Nairobi, Havana and Kathmandu with fake job offers and visa promises, dragging the Global South's most vulnerable into a colonial war of conquest against Ukraine. This war is a war of aggression – the most serious crime in international law – wage…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Multilateral negotiations in view of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, 26 to 29 March 2026 (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, the World Trade Organization turns 31 this year. It was built for a different world, one that no longer exists. Nearly every major multilateral institution today faces the same crisis. The WTO is no exception, but unlike many others, it is still relatively young and shows willingness to adapt. That makes it a valuable instrument worth reforming. Trade is about job…

12

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran (RC-B10-0110/2026, B10-0110/2026, B10-0117/2026, B10-0119/2026, B10-0122/2026, B10-0128/2026, B10-0130/2026, B10-0133/2026) (vote)

Madam President, dear colleagues, two days ago, the UN General Assembly President urged this House to stand firm behind the UN nations and international rules‑based order. Yet the regime in Iran responsible for mass killings and crimes against humanity, on the same day, was elected Vice‑Chair of the UN Commission for Social Development, and the UN Secretary-General yesterday reportedly congratulat…

11

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Systemic oppression, inhumane conditions and arbitrary detentions by the regime in Iran

Mr President, dear colleagues, 8 and 9 January this year. Two days. Leaked IRGC intelligence reports put the death toll at over 36 000. Medical staff reports security forces entering hospitals to execute wounded protesters in their beds. Bodies returned to families only after payment of 'bullet fees'. Over 27 000 detained, whereabouts unknown. Access to lawyers systematically denied. Children amon…

10

Feb

2026

LV Speech

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European response to the attacks on the Ukrainian energy system causing a humanitarian crisis (debate)

22

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, first, congratulations to the rapporteur, Reinis Pozņaks, on a strong report. It matters that this is led by a Latvian. On the EU's eastern frontier, capability matters more than intent. My years in the national guard and in politics have taught me this: drones matter because they change tempo. Whoever sees first, decides first and can act first. Ukraine shows that, …

20

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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Brutal repression against protesters in Iran (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, the protests in Iran have been bloodily suppressed. Security forces cleared the streets with live fire, mass arrests and internet blackouts, and no one knows how many thousands have been killed. Families are forced to pay the regime to recover the bodies of their massacred children. This is how the Islamic Republic maintains control. Over the years, the EU has engage…

16

Dec

2025

LV Speech

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Phasing out Russian natural gas imports and improving monitoring of potential energy dependencies (debate)

15

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Incentivising defence-related investments in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan (debate)

Madam President, thank you colleagues for the debate. So overall, it has shown a broad recognition that this regulation is a significant milestone. Let me conclude by underlining what this finally represents and how we arrive there. From our outset, Parliament approached this work with a clear understanding: Europe cannot afford slow, fragmented responses to its security challenges. Our objective …

15

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Incentivising defence-related investments in the EU budget to implement the ReArm Europe Plan (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, Commission, today we discuss a regulation that is also sometimes labelled 'mini omnibus', only because it runs to the end of this MFF. In substance it is not 'mini' at all. It delivers targeted but significant changes to how the Union uses existing programmes for defence‑related and dual‑use priorities. It reflects a simple fact: Europe is operating in a security environm…

25

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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EU’s diplomatic strategy and geopolitical cooperation in the Arctic (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, as the rapporteur stated, the EU still operates under its 2021 Arctic Strategy – a document built around climate, sustainable development and cooperation. All important. But the world that strategy was written for no longer exists. The Arctic has become a frontline of hard power, hybrid threats and strategic competition. Russia has turned the region into a militar…

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, dear colleagues, yes, EDIP is needed, and many colleagues have previously already elaborated on the details. But EUR 1.5 billion for nearly three years, divided among 27 Member States, is not a serious response to the reality we are facing. That is roughly EUR 18 million per country per year. It does not get you very far in defence terms. It barely gets you started. At the same ti…

22

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Ending all energy imports from Russia to the EU and closing loopholes through third countries (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, Europe has come a long way in cutting its dependence on Russia's energy. Gas, oil, coal – we’ve reduced it all. But partial progress is not victory. Every tanker of Russian LNG that still arrives in Europe, every barrel relabelled through India, every Rosatom contract operating quietly here in Europe – they all keep feeding Kremlin’s war machine. Dependence on aggres…

22

Oct

2025

LV Speech

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The need for a united support to Ukraine and for a just and durable peace concluded on Ukraine's terms, with Europeans and without surrendering to Vladimir Putin's conditions ahead of the foreseen Budapest summit (debate)

Dear Chair, Colleagues, Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has carried out at least 37 000 airstrikes against Ukraine and dropped more than 33 000 bombs on Ukrainian cities and its people, even beyond what is being dropped on the front lines. Against the backdrop of various peace summits and negotiations, the ghost of ‘peace in exchange for territory’, which has historically bee…

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, imagine being Moldovan: reforming, resisting Russian pressure and watching the door to the EU stay shut. Or being Ukrainian: bleeding on the battlefield for European values while the Union debates 'absorption capacity'. Many in this Chamber do not remember what EU accession actually means. I do. I remember Latvia's path clearly – it was demanding. We reformed, we ada…

21

Oct

2025

EN Question

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Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations (debate)

Madam Bischoff, some of your words were really deeply insulting. You referred to the ECR as fundamentally destroying the foundations of the EU. Could you please elaborate on this loud statement and give concrete examples of where the ECR is shattering the fundamental principles of the EU? Concrete – not just some Polish sentences – concrete cases!…

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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EU strategy with regard to Iran’s nuclear threat and the implementation of EU sanctions resulting from the snapback mechanism (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, Iran’s nuclear programme is no longer just a regional problem ‑ it’s a direct threat to European and global security. The regime is enriching uranium far beyond any civilian need and shutting out IAEA inspectors ‑ this is not ambiguity, it is escalation. The E3 triggered the snapback mechanism, all nuclear-related UN sanctions are back in force. The EU has gone fu…

7

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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The EU’s role in supporting the recent peace efforts for Gaza and a two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, you don't have to be pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian, but you should be pro-fact. We must not confuse immediate conflict management with long-term political solutions. The peace plan is a response to war. It outlines tactical steps: ceasefire, humanitarian aid, hostage release. A two-state solution may sound noble, but what is being built? A state with no functioning …

7

Oct

2025

EN Question

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The EU’s role in supporting the recent peace efforts for Gaza and a two-state solution (debate)

Mr Botenga, your colleague Boylan, in her speech mentioned the necessity to provide aid, humanitarian aid. We know there is a legal reason for the sea blockade, for obvious reasons. And, let alone, last week there were almost 1 500 aid trucks sent into Gaza. But could you please elaborate? And have you asked your colleagues who apparently were detained by the Israel Defence Forces what the reason …