What Matthias spoke about.

9

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, A local start-up pays its taxes where it operates economically, but a global corporation can often shift its profits to where it is most tax-efficient. This is an imbalance that we have, of course, with the 28th. They do not want to strengthen the regime. That is why our attitude is clear: Yes, on the 28th. Competitiveness regimes to deepen the single market …

8

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 18-19 June 2026 (debate)

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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A coherent tax framework for the EU's financial sector (A10-0169/2026 - Matthias Ecke) (vote)

Madam President, colleagues, we cannot carry on like this. This is not sustainable. Our financial sector taxation system needs reform. Europe needs more investment for our digital and green transitions to strengthen our security and to foster investment. We need a deeper integrated financial market, but our taxation system has not kept up with that challenge. The VAT exemption on financial service…

6

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President! Yes, propaganda and authoritarianism, that's a diabolical team; We know this enough in Germany, and that is why tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Thuringia on the weekend, because they did not want to tolerate the AfD holding a party congress in Thuringia and attacking our democracy 100 years after the re-establishment of the NSDAP. But propaganda, we also know, is s…

29

Apr

2026

DE Speech

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Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers: application EGF/2025/008 BE/Liberty - Belgium (A10-0084/2026 - Matthias Ecke) (vote)

28

Apr

2026

DE Speech

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Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 (debate)

Mr President! Europe is not investing enough in its future – everyone can see that. We are falling back in competition with other major powers in the world. And that is why it is important that this budget also focuses on future technologies, on good work, on innovation. But the member states of the EU have given the EU more and more tasks, and the financial resources have simply not kept up. And …

27

Apr

2026

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Political change in Hungary raises hope, but it will be measured by concrete actions. Because the rule of law must not only be a campaign slogan, it must also apply in practice. The case of Maja T. is a very concrete test for this. Extradition to Hungary was unlawful – as the Federal Constitutional Court has also stated – and this extradition needs to be corrected. A fair trial wa…

11

Mar

2026

DE Speech

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Rise of political violence, notably by far-left organisations (debate)

12

Feb

2026

DE Speech

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Time to address economic inequalities in the EU and worldwide (debate)

21

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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Presentation of the Digital Networks Act (debate)

Madam President, Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, ladies and gentlemen! Yes, we actually get up every morning and first look at our phones, what Trump has done again. And we can actually be happy if we see anything at all, because if our critical infrastructure, the digital infrastructure, fails, then we don't even have this access anymore. It is therefore important that this draft, and also th…

16

Dec

2025

DE Speech

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Presentation of the automotive package (debate)

15

Dec

2025

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President! Görlitz controls half of the world. This sounds a bit weird, similar to Cremona or Porvoo or Cheb or Ávila, small and medium-sized towns. But that's exactly the size if it were a city, the group that controls half the world. A small group of super-rich people hold half of the world's wealth. This is the youngest World Inequality Report shown again. And it's not just that this is a pr…

25

Nov

2025

DE Speech

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Effective use of the EU trade and industrial policy to tackle China’s export restrictions (debate)

Madam President, Madam Minister, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! In Freiberg in Saxony, the company Freiberger Compound Materials Wafer here, and for this it needs gallium. But at Gallium, we are almost entirely dependent on imports from China. If China restricts exports – and this has happened – then scarcity and rising prices follow. And this is just one example from the heart of Europe. Chi…

24

Nov

2025

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Europe’s automotive future – reversing the ban on the sale of combustion cars in the EU (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I know of no better technology than the electric car. Regardless of climate protection, the electric car is simply the better technology. Instead of emphasizing the advantages of the electric car, there is always the discussion about the preservation of the combustion engine. This is counterproductive and unsettles customers. This is not a quote fr…

7

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Time to complete a fully integrated Single Market: Europe’s key to growth and future prosperity (debate)

Madam President, Vice-President Séjourné! Why wander into the distance? Look, the good is so close. We are breaking our heads – and rightly so – about Europe’s external trade relations, but we have still not developed our own internal market properly. Let's just try to order a parcel in another Member State, then there are higher shipping costs, longer delivery times, and often there is not even a…

10

Sep

2025

DE Speech

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Taxation of large digital platforms in the light of international developments (debate)

Mr President! Our tax system is no longer working. Previously: The more successful a company is, the more taxes it pays. But today, the most successful of them are evading their responsibilities. 2021 was the low point: Amazon, then the second largest company in the world, got back in the EU money instead of paying taxes. Nobody understands that anymore. The effective taxation of digital platforms…

9

Sep

2025

DE Speech

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Cohesion policy (joint debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Tomorrow we will adopt three own-initiative reports on the future of cohesion policy, and I must say honestly: Maybe we could have saved ourselves all the work, maybe it was in vain. What is the use of a proposal for simplified funding if the Commission plans to virtually abolish regional policy as we know it by 2028? What good is a just transit…

8

Sep

2025

DE Speech

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Governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum (debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! The free internet is under pressure, and in many countries it is subject to control, censorship and surveillance by autocrats. But even here in Europe, for example, we are witnessing Donald Trump's threats against the EU calling into question our sovereign digital legislation. We need to regulate the internet in Europe democratically and in…

8

Jul

2025

DE Speech

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Need for the EU to scale up clean technologies (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! As a young child, I once experienced how a dragon did not want to take off into the air, and then there was a strong gust of wind and then it went up and stayed up. This is the blow, this wind blow, which we now also have for our Clean techThe industry needs it. We have the minds, we have the vision, we have the technology – but there is also a lot missing. With the Net…

7

Jul

2025

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madam President, Get Maja back! More than 100,000 people are asking for this in a petition. They demand a fair trial for Maja T., a non-binary person imprisoned in Hungary. Maja T. has been held in pre-trial detention for ten months, in isolation and in unworthy conditions. In protest, she is on a hunger strike and the situation is really serious and getting worse. Maja T. was transferred from Ger…

7

May

2025

EN Speech

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Winning the global tech race: boosting innovation and closing funding gaps (topical debate)

Mr President, colleagues, winning the global tech race is not just about speed; it is about direction. Technology needs a purpose – it is not a purpose in itself. We must be competitive, yes, but we must also define where we are heading. Europe's path should not be a simple replication of the hyperscaler tech giant model, relying on proprietary software and monopolistic structures. Instead, we mus…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Action Plan for the Automotive Industry (debate)

Madam President, Yes, the automotive industry is an extremely important industry in Europe – a backbone for value creation, innovation and employment. And yes, it is currently in crisis – it is right to recognise that. And that is why it is good that the Commission is acting on this action plan. But it's not in crisis because of the Green Deal. It is in crisis because it has slept through key inno…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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European Semester (joint debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! Investment and competitiveness, competitiveness and investment are closely linked. This report also reminds the Commission that it wants to be an investment commission. And this is also necessary because this Commission must be able to close the investment gap in Europe. Of course, this has to do with defence, and that is why it is right to…

13

Feb

2025

DE Speech

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Threats to EU sovereignty through strategic dependencies in communication infrastructure (debate)

Mr President! Commissioner! The basis for our digital everyday life is now mainly determined by Chinese and American companies: 5G technology from China, satellites from the USA. This threatens not only our competitiveness, but also our security and, in principle, our way of life. Executive Vice-President Virkkunen said in her hearing that almost half of 5G communications are still through high-ri…