What Li spoke about.

8

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Future of EU support for Russian democratic forces, anti-war actors and repressed civil society (debate)

Madam President, missiles and drones are killing people in Kyiv every night at the moment. Putin has shown that he is a modern‑day fascist leader by trying to conquer Ukraine militarily, but also by attacking those in his own country who oppose his imperialist ideology and who do not fit into his patriarchal and heteronormative notion of the nation. It is not only our moral obligation, but also in…

8

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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EU’s response and preparedness to protect people against recurring heatwaves and upcoming wildfires (debate)

Mr President, deadly heatwaves, thunderstorms, flooding and rampant wildfires – this is the world that the wealthy and the powerful have created. These are the consequences of our fossil fuel‑based economies. This is human‑made climate change. And we must be honest – we are not prepared for this. Our buildings and our cities are not designed for this. Our agriculture, our nature cannot stand this.…

20

May

2026

FI Speech

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Reviewing the ETS system to support European competitiveness (topical debate)

Mr President, Mr Trump's illegal war in Iran has once again shown how Europe's dependence on fossil energy is an economic and social disaster. Fossil energy dependency is one of Europe's biggest competitiveness problems. Because of the war in Iran, we are now paying 20 billion more than normal for fossil energy in the EU, and it is this dependence on fossil fuels that drives up electricity and hea…

20

May

2026

FI Speech

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High time to deliver on the Single Market, providing certainty and predictability for EU businesses and quality jobs (debate)

Mr President, I do not know which option is worse: the fact that the Commission is actually trying to weaken workers' rights, even though it publicly claims the opposite, or the fact that the Commission does not intend to weaken workers' rights, but the level of drafting of the law is so weak that it still ends up doing so. President von der Leyen, you have said many times that the proposal for a …

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr President, a civil servant from a ministry in one Member State stated the problems with the MFF very clearly to me. He said: how are we going to defend social spending when it is all lumped together under the NRPPs? Are we going to ask the disabled, poor children and the elderly to take to the streets? This is why EMPL has called for a separate, stand‑alone ESF+ with dedicated funding. This is …

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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AccessibleEU and the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities: state of play and the future of EU accessibility policy (debate)

Madam President, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the only human rights convention that the EU itself has ratified, and I think it demonstrates a strong commitment to improving the rights of persons with disabilities. But this commitment also needs to be seen in action with new flagship initiatives and concrete proposals and, Commissioner, we are still waiting for those…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

Madam President, the root cause of the housing crisis is complete market failure. The problem is not a general lack of supply, but a shortage of not-for-profit, affordable housing that could balance out the negative effects of this profit-driven market. This point is exactly where this report – that mostly focuses on increasing market supply – falls short, and therefore it constitutes a huge misse…

9

Mar

2026

FI Speech

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Mr President, the euro for women in Europe is 88 cents. In Finland it is only 84 cents. This indicates that equality does not progress on its own. It requires concrete action and it requires decisions. We know from history that no action for equality would have progressed if women had not dared to organize themselves, demand change, be difficult and stand up to opposition. Wage inequality…

11

Feb

2026

FI Speech

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Addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights (debate)

Mr President, labour exploitation is, at its worst, modern slavery. We have read many such examples in Finland time and time again: exploiting and exploiting Ukrainian refugees both at Turku Shipyard and at the construction site of Google's new data centre in Hamina, cooks working in Nepalese restaurants and Thai berry pickers. In almost all cases, long chains of subcontractors and various interme…

11

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

Madam President, I come from Finland, a country where child poverty is on the rise. This is due to the Finnish Government's deliberate decisions to cut social benefits, especially social benefits for families, even though they knew it would mean over 30 000 more children living in poverty. What many Finns are wondering at the moment is what the role of these strategies and these targets is, if Mem…

11

Feb

2026

FI Speech

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Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)

Mr President, the Commission has made a historic mistake in reducing the whole issue of European competitiveness to a deregulation agenda. While focusing on deregulation, the Commission has not addressed the main problems of European competitiveness. Where are the proposals for the major investments needed in Europe? Where are the ambitious measures to safeguard our digital sovereignty? Instead, t…

10

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr President, blackouts are a part of the everyday life of Ukrainians. In Kyiv, thousands of homes are without heating or water, while temperatures outside are even -20 degrees. This is a result of Putin's relentless, systematic and targeted attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with the explicit purpose of freezing the Ukrainians into submission, breaking their resistance and forcing them t…

22

Jan

2026

EN Speech

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A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Mr President, Executive Vice-President, dear colleagues, we are living in a time of uncertainty: geopolitical instability, the green and digital transitions, and deep demographic change are reshaping our societies and economies in unprecedented ways. This changing environment affects how we learn, how we work, how we live and, crucially, who benefits and who is left behind. Our labour markets, edu…

18

Dec

2025

FI Speech

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European Democracy Shield – very large online platform algorithms, foreign interference and the spread of disinformation (debate)

16

Dec

2025

EN Speech

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Presentation of the European Affordable Housing Plan (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, the financialisation of the housing market has been one of the key drivers of the housing crisis, and therefore it is also one of the key problems that must be addressed. We must regulate short-term rentals and we also need more financing instruments for non-profit housing. For a long time, Finland ensured that a sufficient share of all new rental flats were not-for-…

27

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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Outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference - Belém (COP30) (debate)

Mr President, 'it could have been worse' – this is a phrase that I hear more and more now every time we talk about climate and environmental policies. But let's be honest: even if – and it's a big 'if' – all countries complete their current pledges, we would still be heading for a planet that is 2.5 degrees warmer. That means we are failing, big time. The COP in Belém failed to deliver clear, suff…

26

Nov

2025

EN Speech

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EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities post-2024 (debate)

Madam President, today’s debate is about human rights and the everyday lives of over 100 million people in the EU. One in four adults is estimated to have some kind of disability. Some disabilities are visible; some are not. Some people need daily assistance, while many need none. We are talking about a very diverse group with very different types of needs, but our task as decision-makers is to cr…

25

Nov

2025

FI Speech

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Communication on the Democracy Shield (debate)

Mr President, the loss of confidence is one of the most dangerous developments for democracy. According to the latest UN data, less than half of the world's population trusts their own government, and less than a third think they trust other people. At the same time, the confrontation based on strong emotions is intensified. That is why we need action to strengthen trust, both in Europe and elsewh…

12

Nov

2025

FI Speech

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Conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (debate)

Mr President, who protects marine areas that are common to all? The seas cover more than 70% of the Earth, produce more than half of the oxygen we breathe, sequester vast amounts of carbon and produce food. Yet we have allowed them to decay. Therefore, the UN Convention for the Protection and Restoration of International Marine Regions is one of the most important environmental agreements in recen…

21

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Commission Work Programme 2026 (debate)

Madam President, what were the main reasons Europeans voted in the last European parliamentary election? It was rising prices and the cost of living. And what are the issues that they think the European Parliament should address as the main priority? Inflation, rising prices and the cost of living. I think we have been given a pretty clear message, and a very clear mandate to act. That is why, las…

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Second World Summit for Social Development (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, in a world plagued by growing contempt for international law and human dignity, by environmental crisis, and by the increasing concentration of wealth and inequality, the UN World Summit for Social Development is more important than ever. It offers a platform, a place to discuss how we can create stronger global action to turn the tide. Equally important is that we g…

8

Oct

2025

FI Speech

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Establishment and functioning of European Works Councils - effective enforcement (debate)

Mr President, the bigger and more international a company, the harder it is for an individual worker to make his or her voice heard. Legislation on European Works Councils responds precisely to this problem by safeguarding the right of workers to be heard and informed. The larger the size of the companies, the more employees this will affect. In Finland, the first works councils for social enterpr…

7

Oct

2025

FI 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, two years of genocide in Gaza and now peace is being debated on the basis of a plan that repeats historical injustices by completely bypassing the Palestinians and their right to self-determination. Peace and a two-state solution cannot be achieved without the Palestinians' right to self-determination. It cannot come about without the dismantling of the illegal occupation. 700,000 il…

7

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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

Madam President, I was expecting this debate to be speech after speech about the successes of the Single Market, and that's why I think it's important to point out that there is also another side to this story. That is the story about all of the Europeans who have not benefited or gotten their share of this success. It is the story of workers who have had to leave their homes to work elsewhere, be…

11

Sep

2025

FI Speech

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Solidarity with Poland following the deliberate violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones (debate)

Mr President, Putin's drones in Poland and his escalating aggression in Ukraine show what we have already known: Putin is not interested in peace; he is now increasing pressure to the maximum to test how NATO reacts and is trying to improve his position on the front in Ukraine. In addition to the need for close but peaceful coordination between the EU and NATO countries and the creation of a commo…