What Reinhold spoke about.

Mr President, dear colleagues, unfortunately, one cannot speak of fair elections in Georgia. I tell you why. There was pressure on voters, more before the election day as on the election day. This is only one of many criticisms which election observers from the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assembly have noted in their final statement. As one of the observers, I agree with the final statement that elections unfolded amid entrenched polarisation in an environment mired by concerns over recently adopted legislation, its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society. Through death threats towards opposition politicians during the campaign, as well as in many other aspects, we can clearly see that the Georgian governing party is pointing towards Europe, but in reality it is heading towards Russia. If they do not change their course, Georgia will fall behind in its rapprochement with the European Union.

Mr President, dear colleagues, our Lithuanian colleague mentioned that the Council of Europe opposed to give Azerbaijan credentials for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I was one of these 75. We are now blacklisted by Azerbaijan. We are not allowed to enter this country, even on official missions. That is the real face of Azerbaijan. There are currently six inter-state cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights concerning Azerbaijan. In addition, Freedom House has designated Azerbaijan as one of the most authoritarian states globally. Arbitrary arrests, torture are a common feature in the country, and more than 300 individuals are currently in prison for political charges. At the heart of all this, now the COP conference is coming to Baku next month. I think we should not give Azerbaijan a chance to create a false impression of a country of tranquillity and of respect for human rights. This is not Azerbaijan: it is the opposite.

Madam President, colleagues, since 24 February 2022, we have been focused on Ukraine and since the 7 October 2023, Israel and Palestine have been occupying our attention, which is necessary, but we should not forget the plight of the Belarusian people. The regime of Lukashenka has been exerting systematic repression against Belarusian civil society, independent media, dissidents and all those opposed in any way to his brutal regime. Tens of thousands of people have been detained and there are still more than 1 350 political prisoners. The European Union must play an active role in supporting the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a democratic future – this is our duty.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! Tens of thousands of people have been severely affected by the ongoing severe floods, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, when I think of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Romania. Never before has there been such rainfall in Austria in such a short time. Yes, we have a natural disaster, and it is important to think first of all about the people affected, to thank the emergency agencies for their tireless efforts, but at the same time, of course, we are also massively challenged in politics. Our regional, national governments are doing everything they can in these hours. But we also say: If you help quickly, you help twice. This is where the European Union comes into play. In my opinion, the EU Civil Protection Fund and the procedure play a central role here, because Europe can and also shows this solidarity here. The European Commission plays a key role in the coordination of civil protection assistance measures and plays a significant role here, even when it comes to transport and operating costs. This EU solidarity fund has also come to Austria's aid several times, and we expect this European solidarity again for the heavily affected federal states, when I think of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, my home federal state of Styria, but also Burgenland. In addition, I think it is important that the planned review procedure on the Civil Protection Mechanism is also completed quickly by the Commission here, because we will continue to have natural disasters in the future; Climate change is evident here. We have to do everything in terms of renaturation projects and flood protection measures, and we also have to spend a lot of money to keep this ecological disaster that we see here from happening in the future.

Madam President, dear colleagues, the latest elections in Venezuela took place within an authoritarian regime that has presided over democratic backsliding for more than a decade, as many colleagues mentioned it already. Maduro didn't win the elections and he is still in power. That's the problem and we can never accept such a situation. Since Nicolás Maduro assumed the presidency in 2013, the situation has become worse day by day, and the dictatorship is meanwhile established. Maduro consolidated his power by creating an alternative legislative body to eliminate the National Assembly, and then using a packed Supreme Court to sideline the legislature and bar the major opposition figures from the presidential elections in 2018 and 2024. During both elections, international observers have found there has been limited freedom for political opposition, biased media coverage favouring the ruling party, and restrictions on civil society participation. The situation in Venezuela directly affected the European Union. It was mentioned the number of asylum applications submitted has dramatically increased. The people of Venezuela deserve free and fair elections and all results must be transparent and verifiable. We must do everything in our power to increase international pressure on the government in Venezuela. That is our duty today and tomorrow.

Madam President, Yes, we have a great common challenge, and our enormously important task is to actually strengthen our competitiveness. What do we need? We need to complete the internal market, we need to significantly improve the capital and energy market situation, and we need to invest massively in the technology sector. We need more Europe here. We need less when it comes to overregulation. It is not enough to talk about it, we have to act – and now it is time to act. A new debt package does not immediately bring with it structural changes that we need. But what it certainly brings is a new interest burden and that is not a good means for more growth. I am optimistic that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will make announcements in the right direction before and after 9 June. All initiatives in this regard are supported by me, but also by our Federal Government with Chancellor Nehammer.