Speeches

Mr President, pay inequality pays women twice, first during their working lives and then again in retirement. I would like to highlight my own country, Finland, as a warning example. Finland is currently the number one country in European unemployment statistics. When care work is cut, or when school support services are cut, it is cut not only from those in need, but also directly from women and their future pensions. Greetings to the Finnish Government a few days after International Women's Day. Why is the EU Pay Transparency Directive on the Finnish Government's list of surgical cuts? On paper, the Finnish government claims to promote equality, but statistics show that women still earn 16% less than men. Same degree, different salary. And above all, the Finnish Government is working against its own women's organisations and is determined to promote the facilitation of fixed-term employment relationships. With these medicines from the Finnish government, women will indeed pay dearly for all of this.

Madam President, dear Commissioner Mînzatu, dear colleagues, education is not only about knowledge; it is about equal opportunities and the power to shape one's future, and yet, access to quality education is still too often determined by the circumstances into which you are born as a child. Among the most disadvantaged are children in foster and alternative care. Many face disrupted learning paths, lower completion rates, and limited access to higher education. Instead of strengthening support, we see increasing political neglect. For example, in my home country, Finland, the aftercare age of foster children has been lowered from 25 to 23, weakening support precisely when they need it the most education-wise. We must close educational gaps, improve EU-wide data and better connect education with child protection. I would like to thank all colleagues who supported my proposal to have this discussion here today.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, online piracy might feel like no big deal – a simple anonymous click. But behind every illegal stream there is an athlete who trained for years, an artist who rehearsed throughout the night, a technician that set the lights before the dawn. Piracy is not abstract. It drains up to 30 billion globally every year. Piracy also leaves its users exposed, nearly 40 % of them falling victim to credit-card fraud and identity theft. The Commission itself admits that our current rules are not enough. The playing field is not even. Some Member States act; others don't. This kind of fragmentation protects criminals. This is why Europe needs binding, harmonised legislation. Stealing is stealing, and stealing should not be accepted in any form.

Thank you very much for this very important topic and question. Finland shares a 1 300 kilometre border with Russia. We have lived in this shadow for decades and before we gained our independence, we were under their scrutiny. So, the matter for us is something that we take into account every day. You ask very justly, should we take a stronger approach to this? I think the more united Europe is on this matter, the more we invest in different aspects of defence, also how resilient our people are, disinformation and misinformation – for example, this week we spoke about deepfakes – all that affects our nations and we must put a stop to those as well.

Madam President, dear colleagues, 5G, cloud services, fibre, artificial intelligence and communication technologies are crucial components of our security. Our critical infrastructures are constantly under attack. From destroying our cables to hacking our networks, to us Finns, this is everyday life. In this unstable geopolitical environment, we have to better our digital sovereignty. We cannot leave backdoors open for infiltration. That is why the Digital Networks Act matters. We need modern, secure and high‑capacity networks and for that, we need to work as one. Fragmentation weakens us, slows innovation and leaves Europe exposed. We are as secure as our weakest link.

Madam President, little girls forced into marriage, sold as slaves or abused sexually by jihadists. 303 children were taken from their beds at St Mary's school. Since 2014, more than 1 500 children have been abducted from Nigerian schools. All these children should have been safe, enjoying what all children in the world should have: a safe childhood and a safe school environment. Violence like this grows where poverty and insecurity gives opportunity to extremists and gangs to take over. Turning schools into fortresses is not an answer. The problem is deeper. Nigeria needs to protect its children, its future. Society itself needs repair. The Nigerian authorities must act. When societies turn their back on their most vulnerable, there is no hope in the future.

Madam President, in just two years – in just two years – 92 % of Europeans have encountered online fraud or scams. This is a systemic failure for the EU. Unsafe products are only a click away, threatening our consumers' health and safety. Our children are targeted by aggressive marketing, by addictive design, by content and products that put their safety at risk. Our merchants are also facing unfair competition. Only last year, more than 4.5 billion parcels entered the EU, many of them bypassed our rules and controls. This undermines trust and it weakens our single market. Strong consumer protection – it is not a choice; it is a necessity. The Consumer Agenda 2030 must, at its core, protect people, defend fairness and put citizens, not platforms, at the heart of our single market.

Madam President, our airspace is violated, our borders are probed, our cables are cut. This is hybrid war. And the aim of a hybrid war is simple: to sow confusion, to weaken trust, and to break the unity of the target before a single bullet is fired. It is outrageous that even within our own Union, Putin's useful idiots try to echo his narratives. Madam President, Finland knows the cost of a long border. We defend it every day. This is not the time for half measures. This is the time for unity and adequate financing. This is the time for action. We must shield our cables, guard our ports, secure our skies. We must protect our people.

Madam President, history teaches us hard lessons. 1925 – Germany signed the Locarno treaties. 1934 – the non-aggression pact with Poland. 1938 – the Munich Agreement. All presented as peace efforts; all used to buy time for further aggression. So let's not forget, not every peace is a real peace. Today, we face a similar risk. The United States is leading talks on a proposal for Ukraine, and we see clearly what Russia is willing to accept – so clearly that Washington had to explain that the plan was not written by Putin. It is the US and Russia who are shaping the talks and setting the terms. The agreement would limit Ukraine's army while Russia rebuilds its own. The agreement offers amnesties for war crimes and forces territorial concessions. Europe must stand up. We will not agree ...

Mr President, what is unacceptable in the real world should not be acceptable online. What is illegal in the real world should also be illegal online. Algorithms are currently guiding children into dark alleys. Cyberbullying is commonplace and chatbots at worst encourage self-harm. With one click, the child can access harmful content, content that is dangerous to mental health. According to studies, one in ten young people suffers from harmful content on the web. Anxiety, sleep deprivation, concentration disorders, screen addiction. It is up to us politicians to make legislation that genuinely protects children and young people. Protecting children and young people should be a priority for everyone, including online platforms. It takes an entire village to raise children. It is the responsibility of families, it is the responsibility of all our communities, it is also the responsibility of our politicians.

Mr President, Commissioner, when a problem is so obvious, we should be able to resolve it politically as quickly as possible. This hasn't been the case. Clock shifting, depression, concentration disorders, sleep problems, even an increase in myocardial infarctions have been proven. Changing the clock causes all of these. In Finland, Timo Partonen, sleep researcher and research professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, says that everyone would benefit from abandoning clock changes. Studies have shown that even a slight change in schedule, especially when combined with the darkness of our northern citizens, causes many health problems. Citizens have spoken, Parliament has spoken, the Commission has given the green light, and yet we are here. So what's the matter? It is important to note that the member states have not been able to make a decision. That is to say, the representatives of the Member States, the ministers sitting in the Council of Ministers, have not been able to take a decision on such a matter, which endangers the health of Europeans. In Finland, Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne is sitting on this matter. Greetings from the European Parliament. Is it not time to reach agreement in the Council of Ministers, to bring this matter to a final conclusion and to put an end to this madness, to the shifting of clocks? This is the right time. Here in Parliament we are waiting, in the Commission we are waiting, Europeans are waiting. Do your job.

Thank you very much for the question. Simplification is in order in this manner, but also customers, and protecting Europeans from faulty products that can even endanger lives – for example, with children. If the toys – 80 % of them do not apply to our regulations. This is a big danger for the future of Europe, because children are the future of Europe. We need to educate our people, already at the school level, and we must teach that everything that looks gold is not good for you, and everything that is claimed to be good for you can actually be a very dangerous thing.

Mr President, dear colleagues, in 2024 alone, the EU received 4.6 billion e-commerce parcels, mostly from outside our borders and many of them failing to meet European safety standards – the risk in millions of European homes – products that endanger consumers and harm our fragile environment. This alone is a call to action. The new legislative framework was adopted over a decade ago, and it no longer reflects the huge changes in our economy, technology and environment. This gap must now be closed. Customers deserve the power of knowledge – clear, trustworthy information, through tools like the Digital Product Passport – to make decisions on their purchases. Without this transparency, our ambitions fall flat. This revision is a crucial opportunity to align our product rules with today's and tomorrow's realities. So let's not waste it.

Mr President, dear colleagues, media freedom: it's one of Europe's core values. It's the heartbeat of our democracy. And today, once again, we discuss Google's dominance, and we must remember what's at stake. Google controls much of how Europeans find news, how publishers earn on it. As a digital gatekeeper, it decides who is seen and who is silenced. Our media depend on visibility and fair revenue to survive. When these are taken away, our press weakens, our voices shrink, and democracy itself is poorer. But Europe has never been afraid to stand up for fairness and freedom. So let's keep fighting, not against technology itself, but for our values, for our journalists, and for the right for every citizen to be freely and truthfully informed.

Mr President, we are living in dangerous times in Europe. We often look at the dangers according to their size. We think that dangers are visible, that they are easy to detect. But the reality is that even smaller dangers need to be taken seriously. The subject we are discussing here is very serious. I myself come from Finland. We have a huge problem with ticks right now. But if we look at diseases spread by mosquitoes worldwide, for example, we cannot avoid realising that climate change has brought infectious diseases to Europe that are increasingly transmitted by mosquitoes and mites. Singapore is a good example of how to reduce the spread of mosquitoes, for example. Households can even be fined there if they do not take care to avoid the accumulation of extra water on their plots. Mosquitoes spread in the water. But preventing the spread of ticks is a more difficult case, and that is why we need to be able to prevent the diseases that these small organisms cause to humans. In Finland, a good example is tick buses that go to village centres and where people can often get their vaccines for free, because we, as a society, consider that the treatment of tick-borne diseases is much more expensive than the administration of vaccines.

Mr President, I come from Finland. We have less than six million inhabitants, and the figures are bleak: 100,000 Finns are on long-term sick leave every year due to mental health problems. This is a serious problem, and these figures for Finland are not very different from those for other European countries. We shouldn't be able to afford this. Our society cannot stand the fact that something that should be able to prevent and deal with effectively after the first signs have emerged causes such personal catastrophes, which also affect the well-being of society as a whole. Today, mental health problems are also increasingly concentrated in children and adolescents. Almost one in five 18-22 year-olds in Finland have had to use mental health services alone. One of the reasons for this is the internet. When we have rules in the real world, how we protect children and young people, the internet is still the Wild West. We have DSA legislation that should be able to make the internet a safe place for children and young people to move around. But the DSA has been implemented in such a way that it has not been looked at enough. Here we in the European Parliament also have a place of influence now.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, societies can be valued by the way they treat their elderly. Is age discrimination common? About 50 % of Europeans say that it is. There is inequality in housing, in work life. Pensions threaten social cohesion. Public services do not treat people equally. We need to recognise that the future of Europe depends on how we care for all generations, not just in words, but in policies that honour both the young and the old. In this, I am happy to say that Finland leads by example. Youth and elder councils are a standard in municipal decision-making. Both groups have a legal right to influence local decisions. This was one of my priorities when I worked as a Minister of Social Services. What Europe needs is well-being that derives from age-aware policies. They must be taken into account in everything, from age-friendly communities to lifetime learning and extending careers. The Commission's European care strategy and its work on a strategy for intergenerational fairness are welcome, but these frameworks must now deliver. We need investment in quality long-term care, inclusive public services and age-friendly communities. No age group should be invisible – each generation deserves to be heard, valued and supported.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, to begin with, I want to thank my S&D colleague Hannes Heide for his excellent work on this very important file. Thank you, Hannes. Athletes have been powerful role models for our youth throughout time. For example, our Finnish basketball team or the Special Olympics athletes I recently met; they inspire with their courage and strength. But there are unfortunately different kinds of sports examples. Profit-driven spectacles in the US and around the world risk compromising athletes' health and send the wrong message to our youth. I am talking, for example, about the Enhanced Games said to begin next year. They have very little to do with the pure sports. Our youth needs its heroes and the understanding that the basis of sport lies in a healthy lifestyle. Sport brings people together. It promotes health, peace and unity. It teaches core values such as solidarity and respect. To protect these values, we need strong EU support. We need investment in sports infrastructure. We need positive examples of sportsmanship. And when we talk about the youngest, we need to ensure that the joy of movement and achievement is every kid's right.

Mr President, dear colleagues, as a daughter of a mother who suffers from dementia, I often ponder the essence of being human. The illness takes so much, leaving behind only basic needs. For us, the relatives, the gradual fading of a loved one's mind feels like a very slow, long goodbye. Each visit to my mother in the care home is a goodbye, as I never know whether she will remember me tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. And what I experience with my mother, it is experienced and affects the relatives and the sufferers of dementia – 9.1 million people – all around Europe. And according to the World Health Organization, this number could exceed 14 million by 2050. So, the work we're doing here and in the Commission is very important. Dementia is often associated with older individuals, but increasingly it affects also working age people. So we must invest in dementia prevention throughout the lifespan. It involves how we use our brains, take care of our health and how society responds when people, individuals, need help. Doctors, paramedics, nurses and even police encounter individuals with dementia and their families daily. During my time as Minister of Basic Services, I aimed to ensure that society supports those with dementia and their families humanely. A person with dementia is not a piece of furniture that can be tossed around. When I visit my mother, I admire the staff at her care home. They approach their work with love. My mother's cheerful smile, her neatly combed hair and the clothes reflecting her personality – they ease my mind as her daughter. I'm passionately committed to ensuring that caregivers do their jobs efficiently and have a chance to do it efficiently, and that families who care for their loved ones at home receive the necessary support. They all deserve the support of us, the support of societies, and recognition for the important work they are doing.

Madam President, last weekend, Russia launched 818 drones against Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Putin is laughing in Moscow. President Trump sends mixed signals: one day promising peace; the next, praising the leader of Russia. In Beijing, President Xi gave Putin yet again a global stage and Europe were absent. Peace talks are shaped by others. The days when trade power gave us leverage is over. This has given Putin a clear table to push harder and further crush Ukraine's fight for freedom. As said in the report, Ukraine is the single most important area of EU activity in the external relations realm. Madam President, if Europe is not at the table, we are on the menu.

Mr President, Commissioner, I thank all the colleagues with whom we worked together on this file. I call it the 'stop the Chinese crap tsunami' file, because it is a crap tsunami that we are under. EU consumers waste EUR 19.3 billion per year buying low-quality, dangerous products that can lead to injuries and severe health problems. EUR 19.3 billion that are detrimental to European businesses. But this file has united us – this House. In this House, we agree that concrete action needs to be taken urgently. Every seller from outside the EU should have an accountable person here in Europe. We agree on stronger enforcement of the rules we already have, with better tracking of where products come from, more testing to make sure that they are safe. We agree to push for fairness: a proper EU customs authority by 2026, a stop to massive shipments that slip through without checks, and stricter controls on foreign warehouses operating on European soil. We are making it clear: European small and local businesses deserve a fair chance to compete. They play by the rules. It's time others do too. It's about protecting what Europe stands for: quality, fairness and responsibility, and protecting our businesses. The vote on the file is on Wednesday. This file is a solid message from this House to the Commission and the Council to act with the urgency that the situation demands.

Mr President, the desire to protect children unites us in this house. What happens on social media has real-life consequences. This Directive improves access to justice and support for victims. Legislation must keep up with the digital reality. Parliament is proposing important clarifications to the directive, including on AI-generated content, and we will need tools to prevent crime and harmful content in the future. We need to implement EU legislation on digital and media services much better than at present. Platforms must be required to take the right measures to manage the identified risks. Digital literacy must be included in school education in all Member States, bearing in mind that digital literacy alone is not enough, but we must ensure that our children are aware of their right to mental and physical integrity.

Mr President, war always has many dimensions and the cost of human fate is immeasurable. We Finns know this well. We fought against Russia decades ago, and the consequences of its war are still visible in our tombstones and in the human fates that pass through generations. With more than one hundred thousand Ukrainians dead, four hundred thousand wounded and tens of thousands of children forcibly taken to Russia, Ukraine must not be treated as yesterday's news. People are still dying in Ukraine, the tragedy is real. The statement by the Council and the Commission is very important. Together we must remain resolute. By supporting Ukraine, we are also safeguarding the very foundations of European peace and security. One of the most important ways to find a path to lasting peace is to keep Europe relevant even in the midst of geopolitical plate collisions. This can be achieved by working together on the basis of European values. Europeanism is at its best when solidarity links individuals and governments to a collective effort, and here we have a place of effort.