Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, It is really amazing how you really drive Europe against the wall in all areas and still stand here and always point your finger at the evil others with your moral detachment. No, it is not only since Trump launched his customs policy that the competitiveness of the economy and prosperity in Europe are steadily going downhill. Europe alone is to blame for this. As the U.S. resolutely enforces its economic interests, you are putting more and more strain on companies. keyword Green Deal – Green disaster –, sanctions, monetary policy, energy policy, supply chain law, emission allowance trading, combustion off, border adjustment mechanism, bureaucracy, over-regulation and, and, and. We are witnessing the largest deindustrialisation in Europe. What is the European Union's strategy? Nothing. They criticize the US for its customs policy. It was you yourself who had previously imposed tariffs on China, for example. Their hypocrisy and double standards cries out to heaven. One thing on top of that is only the loss trap in Austria, which turns Austria into a bankrupt state and ensures that we have the strongest recession of all EU countries. The EU wanted to become the most innovative economy in the world. We are far from that today. While China and the US are inventing the future, Europe is doing only one thing: regulate.

Mr President! Dear Mr Brunner, I have to ask you: What are you doing here anyway? As it turns out, you are responsible for the biggest fiscal disaster of the Second Republic. They have transformed Austria from a healthy economy into a bankrupt state: 4.7% budget deficit. You shouldn't worry about our safety or sit here in a well-paid EU top job. Just like your former Chancellor Nehammer, who is now being served in the European Investment Bank as a thank you for the pile of shards. If you had decency, you would resign immediately. No, instead, present a security strategy today without having any strategy at all. Nothing! There's nothing! No documents, no data, no figures – nothing at all. Very serious announcements. Instead of finally providing security, you once again put the citizens under general suspicion and once again live out your censorship fantasies together with von der Leyen. In the fight against terrorism and organised crime, TikTok and social media are to be censored again. At the same time, you continue to watch as millions of illegals cross our borders uncontrollably every year and with them numerous dangers, extremists and terrorists, and thus, Mr Brunner, once again show that you are just as clueless as you were as a Minister of Finance in Austria.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Since 2015, more than 8 million migrants have come to Europe. Two-thirds of those who come to us are not worthy of protection, and yet more than 80% remain here forever. The error in the system is obvious to everyone: Anyone who has ever set foot on European soil will stay here forever and will not be able to get out. Unfortunately, this return regulation will not change this at all, because the mistake is that they can even enter European soil. I'm glad that after so many years, you finally realize that we finally need more consistent deportations. But even return centres, which will soon be overcrowded, will do nothing as long as there are no return agreements or agreements with third countries in which you have failed fulminantly for years. How are you going to finish them if you are obviously still not willing to put financial pressure on them? Of course, there is still no mention of this. The only thing that would make sense would be not only return centres, but also procedural and asylum centres, not in the EU but outside. What was said, promised and announced all great. And once again, after the toothless asylum and migration package, the EU is demonstrating its lack of will and inability to actually ensure the necessary turnaround here.

Mr President! Ladies and gentlemen, the war in Ukraine is about to enter its fourth year, and you feel that you are holding the thousandth debate here under the title Continuation of Unconditional Solidarity. All citizens in Europe are now wondering: Why actually? First, why unconditionally? Because nothing in politics - and certainly not billions in payments and weapons - should be unconditional. And secondly, what about solidarity with one's own people? When will you finally stop using this policy against your own interests? How about a new title in the House? For example: Time for peace. That would be appropriate now! No, you don't even get the idea. Since the beginning of this heinous war, there has not been a single peace initiative of the alleged peace project of the European Union. Instead, you are jeopardising our security and sacrificing our prosperity, and this is the most shabby thing, without ever asking citizens if they are right at all, if they are even willing to bear the cost of all this. When do you finally recognize the signs of the times and finally stand up for what your real task would be, namely peace? No, instead, maneuver us into a foreign policy...

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, The whole debate is just incomprehensible. If you have listened to a few comments here, then it is really time to say: Up here and no further. What you are going through and planning even further under the guise of democracy and freedom is nothing more than a frontal attack on the fundamental rights of the citizens of Europe. The Digital Services ActYour alleged tool against disinformation, the prestige project of former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton – you know, the parade democrat who wants to cancel entire elections if the desired result does not come out – is in reality nothing more than a censorship tool of the worst kind. They threaten social platforms and force them to remove content – they say it's about disinformation and fake news. But I ask you: Who determines what is right and what is true? In reality, your only concern is that opinions that don't suit you should be deleted. Is that really your idea of freedom? If so, then unfortunately you have turned completely wrong. Democracy is not protected by bans. Freedom of expression is not protected by censorship and fact checkers. Free elections are not protected by annulment. A democracy that curtails freedom of expression is no longer a democracy – it is a façade that lurks behind equality and oppression.

Dear Mrs. Colleague, thank you very much for your question. It is obvious that there is always disinformation – no one denies that at all. No one denies that falsehoods are spread through social media channels, that there are all sorts of campaigns. The question is, what you don't have in mind is: Are citizens really that manipulable? Are you really incapable of forming your own opinion? Are they really not able to decide on their own how to vote in an election? And this ability is exactly what you are talking about. I have more confidence in the citizens of Europe. I believe that they are able to make the cross there in elections, which actually reflects their opinion. And what you're doing here is really nothing more than censoring and cutting this freedom of expression. I'm always in favor of free speech, even on social media.-Area.

Madam President, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! If the European Union is talking about the fight against fake news and disinformation, then all the Democrats, all the real fighters for freedom of expression should really be ringing the alarm bells. It has long been clear that the EU is no longer a freedom project; at the latest since the decision of the Digital Services ActThis is nothing more than a censorship tool. But I would not have thought it possible for you to go so far as to applaud the fact that an entire election is annulled in a country under the pretext of disinformation because of TikTok contributions and that a country is plunged into a state crisis. In truth, you are only in favour of this election being overturned because it did not produce the desired result, because a right-wing candidate critical of the EU won. The so-called liberal democracy now turns out to be quite openly the opposite of a real democracy. Don't pretend that elections are only influenced by the outside world. No, disinformation is also carried out in the EU countries, by governments and, to a large extent, by the European Union itself. Many supposedly democratic governments in the EU resort to methods that have nothing to do with a free society. They suppress oppositional opinions and media or outsource this censorship to private companies. This also includes the so-called de-banking: Actors critical of the government, even the media, are simply deleting the account – as seen in the case of Of courseMagazine in Australia. Also draconian punishments against journalists as in the case of the editor-in-chief of the German couriers or attempts to ban opposition media outlets such as the CompactMagazines are examples of a frightening development. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are talking about influencing elections, then you should first turn in front of your own door. A democracy that suppresses and censors dissent is no longer a democracy. This is nothing more than a controlled society and supervised thinking. (The speaker declined to answer Alexandra Geese’s question under the ‘blue card’ procedure.)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! The Assad regime has fallen and the time is ripe – the time is ripe for around 100,000 Syrian asylum seekers in Austria and around a million across Europe to pack their bags and go home, now. Because if I look at how within a very short time 30,000 Syrians have marched in front of the parliament in Vienna or how tens of thousands of Syrians have shouted Islamist slogans and called for violence at the Stuttgart Christmas market, then they should leave the country sooner rather than later. This is a huge security risk that you can no longer close your eyes to in Europe. Asylum is individual protection against persecution. Assad is history – and therefore any basis for protection status. It is not a day longer to expect citizens in Europe to continue to finance these people with their tax money. As an Austrian, I can only describe it as an absolute shame that an Austrian of all people, the new EU Commissioner Brunner, advises against deportation. In addition, where his own party, the ÖVP, even demanded these deportations and not only once promised a restrictive asylum course. Double talk, hypocrisy and EPP show politics as we know them all too well. We Patriots clearly say: It is time to act. The order of the day is now called repatriation and remigration. Protect Europe at last!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! First the Draghi report, now the Niinistö report – the European Union is once again obviously particularly creative when it comes to disempowering the nation states. Yes, this is the programme of the European Union that we know. Even more competences, even more centralization, even more synchronization, until the obviously great goal of a European state is finally achieved. These reports are all – yes, under the guise of important and correct issues – but nothing more than attacks on the democracy and sovereignty of the Member States. And they always want to force them to finance immense expenditures, preferably with more and more debt – be it for the production of self-destructed competitiveness or for the expansion of the arms industry, which is the focus this time. Of course, always hand in hand with NATO, which is an absolute no-go for a neutral state like Austria. In addition, there are dangerous plans such as the creation of an EU secret service or the development of censorship or indoctrination in order to give citizens the right opinion. What that means in a European Union that labels virtually every critic as the enemy of liberal democracy can really be imagined by anyone. We say yes to increased cooperation and coordination on security issues, no to more competences for the EU or an EU army.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I say it clearly: It must finally be over! With this sentence, I speak not only for European citizens, but also for the tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have lost their lives since the beginning of this heinous war. It must finally be over with this escalation strategy, with more and more weapons, sanctions and billions in payments. If you go on like this, you are heading Europe straight for war. I always wonder: What has become of the alleged peace project of the European Union? What about the interests of European citizens? What about solidarity with our own people? We are now lacking in all corners and ends. For more than two years now, you have been unconditionally supporting Ukraine. Not a single peace initiative. Yesterday's peace activists have become today's war activists. This $35 billion package is the next step in an ever-increasing escalation process. I ask you: Where else is that supposed to lead? To believe that a war will quickly come to an end if you produce more and more weapons and deliver money is shady and irresponsible. If the EU does not finally change its strategy, there will only be losers. There will be no solution on the battlefield. What we need now is courage. Courage for diplomacy, courage for talks and courage for peace instead of ever more billion-dollar packages.

Mr President, Commissioner, This Rule of Law Report is nothing more than a tool to regulate unwelcome governments – an instrument of power and pressure of the European Union against patriotic governments that do not want to uphold this centralism, this policy of open borders or your policy against the interests of citizens. They want to put financial pressure on you to make them docile. This is the purpose of this report and nothing else. This is obvious to everyone. This can be seen from the fact that media policy in Hungary is the big problem for you. At the same time, however, you are not even worth a word if a medium is banned in Germany and raids take place in editorial offices – keyword Compact magazine. At the same time, no one will open their mouths if media are monitored by the secret service in Austria and journalists are denied access to parliament. That alone shows the hypocrisy. This is demonstrated by your hypocrisy in this report, which is filled with hypocrisy. This Rule of Law Report is in fact one of two major censorship tools of the European Union. The first is the Digital Services Act – it silences citizens – and the second is this Rule of Law Report – it blackmails governments. In doing so, you are once again revealing that you are all sorts of things, just not Democrats. This demonstrates once again the importance of further strengthening the sovereignty of the Member States.

Mr President, Commissioner! Thanks to you and your inability to finally give the clear political mandate to protect the external borders, Frontex has become nothing more than a synonym for fake border protection, a synonym for the inability of the European Union to take care of the security of its citizens. Thanks to you, Frontex is nothing more than a reception committee for illegals from all over the world. This blurring of the eyes is also of no use if Ms von der Leyen is now talking about increasing Frontex to 30,000 people. Because that doesn't change anything until the mandate is finally changed. Even this is the untruth, because in fact only 15 000 more are planned, and only in ten years. Mrs. von der Leyen's promises were broken before her fake news even left her mouth. If you want to know how border protection works, take a look at Hungary. But they are punished by you with 200 million euros because they show how border protection works, and without Frontex. On the other hand, the Commission, in particular Mrs von der Leyen, is responsible for all the suffering caused to European citizens by this uncontrolled immigration, for the murders, for the rapes and for the Islamist terror. And, unfortunately, God's new Commissioner-designate will not change anything.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! Without an affordable and secure energy supply, there is no functioning and competitive market in Europe. Our industry and companies have been tormented to death for years with more and more bureaucracy, regulations and environmental regulations. Europe is no longer competitive. The only thing that has saved us in the past has been favorable energy. And I find it very apt that, in the previous agenda item of all things, the Draghi report was on the agenda, which calls for countless measures to save our competitiveness, on hundreds of pages, and the majority of them are more harmful than useful. Draghi would not have had to write so much and research so long, because it is quite simple: Finally, stop with this left-wing ideology-driven energy policy in the name of climate protection, which is making energy increasingly scarce and more expensive – keyword energy transition. And finally stop with this sanctions policy, which affects us much more than Russia. Dear Commissioner, if you actually claim that we, I quote: “no longer relying on Putin’s pipelines” is a correct goal, but it is simply the untruth: Russian oil and gas continue to come to Europe in rough quantities – not directly, but now indirectly via detours, via third countries, and at much higher prices. This is pure eyewash you're doing here. And I also find it hard to deny that the European Union is watching and doing absolutely nothing when Ukraine, an official candidate country, threatens our energy security and puts Member States in serious energy and financial difficulties. Keyword: Hungary, Slovakia, but also Austria – our transit contract expires in 2025 and Ukraine refuses to renew it. Commissioner, where is the European Union's response? Where is the commitment to energy security and the economy? Where is the pressure on Ukraine, to which we also transfer billions? To this day, I miss all criticism, but you probably don't hear anything, because it is precisely those countries that have dared to stand up for diplomacy and peace instead of a constant escalation of the war. Well, Mrs Simson, it may be so, and I would also like to congratulate you on the fact that your home country Estonia is no longer dependent on Putin's pipelines, but that is not the case for other countries. And as a member of the European Commission, you are also responsible for these states and their energy security. Energy debates are to be conducted solely on the basis of physics, existing infrastructure and, above all, real-political conditions. Stop leading the energy debates ideologically! This has no place there, otherwise our economy and our prosperity will finally hit the wall soon.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! The heinous attack in Solingen is the latest proof of a complete failure of the European Union in terms of security. Terrorism and crime go through the roof. People feel like strangers in their own country. The policy of open borders is deadly, and all of you here are responsible for it. But instead of protecting Europe's citizens and finally ensuring security, you are adopting an asylum and migration pact that once again only manages and distributes migrants, rather than finally protecting borders. But what else could we expect when Mrs von der Leyen, the closest ally of the “We can do it”-Merkel, is at the head of the European Commission? There is no need for solidarity in distribution, there is finally a need for solidarity in border management and returns. Remigration is the order of the day! And if the European Union is not able to finally fully protect the external borders, it goes without saying that the Member States must take action and protect their own borders. Ladies and gentlemen, come to your senses at last, or you will be responsible for all those citizens who have to pay for this insane policy with their own lives.