Speeches

Mr President, the fall of the dictator al-Assad is joyful and reassuring news for all Syrians and for the whole world. However, the future of Syria remains a matter of great concern. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's commitment to women's rights and polyphonic democracy, for example, is still a big question mark. Turkey and Israel are now taking advantage of the situation for illegal territorial conquests. Turkey is attacking the Kurds in the self-governing region of Rojava and is arming Islamist groups for this purpose. The EU must put pressure on these countries to immediately stop the illegal activities in Syria. At a time when the EU is apparently establishing formal links with the new Syrian regime, the recognition of Rojava's self-government must be a condition. When discussing the future of Syria, the Kurds must be involved both nationally and internationally. The international community must not and cannot turn its back on the Kurds, who have persistently and with great sacrifice fought for equality in the region against ISIS terrorism.

Madam President, around three weeks ago, I was sitting on a train from Kyiv going back over the border to Poland. We were visiting Ukraine with a delegation of representatives from different left parties, having meetings with NGOs, trade unionists and the Ukrainian left organisation Sotsіalniy Rukh. Everyone in Ukraine was telling us the same thing: they expect this winter to be the hardest period since Putin started this war of aggression, with attacks on energy infrastructures, soldiers getting worn out, and relentless drone and missile attacks keeping people in constant alert. It is therefore of utmost importance that we stand firm in our solidarity with Ukraine. It is up to the Ukrainians to decide when the time is ready for possible negotiations. But for the possibility of a just and lasting peace, there must be enough pressure on Putin. That is why we need military support, and that is why we need to strengthen the sanctions regime. But Ukrainian society also need other forms of support. There is a pressing need for social and non-profit housing models to address the housing crisis. Trade unions need to be strengthened so that collective bargaining and social dialogue can be continued as soon as possible. A strong civil society and transparency is needed in the fight against corruption. And Ukraine's sovereign debt also needs to be cancelled so that we can ensure the economic and political sovereignty of the country, in addition to its independence and territorial integrity.

Mr President, everyone is talking about skills nowadays. Companies have highlighted the lack of skilled workers as the main obstacle to growth in Europe. There are many sectors affected by labour shortages, and the Draghi report also sent the message that all European workers must be guaranteed the right to education. It is important that Europe unequivocally puts skills and learning at the centre of competitiveness. We must not compete by trampling wages, weakening working conditions, exploiting natural resources or allowing inequality to explode. We need to do things in a new and better way – both to strengthen the economy and to improve people’s lives. But are we really ready for an education policy that responds to these great challenges? Then both employers and societies must be prepared to finance the studies of working-age people more than at present. Employers must then be prepared to allow employees to spend time on it. The unemployed should then be given the freedom and opportunity to study. Then our education system must also respond better to the needs of different learners. All of this requires investments of a completely different scale than what we have seen so far. We also need to understand that labour shortages are not just about skills or lack of them. It is also about working conditions – wages, working conditions, working conditions and opportunities to make a difference. No amount of skills or education in the world will make up for giving people the opportunity to do their jobs well, for good compensation.

Mr President, we in Europe must do everything in our power to make the war as costly as possible for Putin. It is a key means of putting pressure on Russia to end war crimes and violations of international law in Ukraine. With the help of the Shadow Fleet, Russia finances its illegal war of aggression through oil trade and acquires defence and security technology. In addition, tankers in poor condition pose a huge risk of environmental disaster in the Baltic Sea. We heard from the Commission representative what action the EU has taken so far and what tools the EU has at its disposal, but tankers continue to circulate in our seas. The EU must therefore take more decisive action. We can't afford to wait another minute, we have to act. It is our duty, both from the Ukrainian and the environmental point of view.

Mr President, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey, the most common reasons for voting in the European elections were related to the rise in the cost of living and the voter's financial situation. That is why the future Commission is forced to take the social dimension seriously, and housing policy is a very central theme here. We expect the Commission to take concrete action to promote affordable housing. State aid regulations must enable social housing and the housing first principle must be implemented throughout the EU. In Finland, homelessness has been successfully combated for a long time, but right-wing politics are now changing the situation. Evictions have increased at a record rate as a result of social security cuts. Insufficient housing is being built, which will soon lead to housing shortages. Homelessness is therefore combated with long-term work, but the situation in Finland shows that the results can be quickly destroyed by short-sighted cuts.

I would encourage all Members of this Parliament to actually read up. How is China competing with Europe at the moment? With what type of technology and what type of cars is China actually beating Europe at the moment? If we want to make sure that Europe is not a museum, if we want to make sure that Europe does have a possibility to stand up in this competition, we need to make sure that the automotive industry in Europe keeps developing, because that is clearly where we haven't done a good enough job. Making sure that we in Europe also develop affordable models of electric cars – that is also important for all of the low-income earners in Europe, that is important for the European workers. So we should combine the possibilities for everyone to make environmentally friendly decisions with an industrial policy through which we secure jobs in the European automotive industry, also in the future.

Madam President, the crisis of the automotive industry in Europe affects the future, the jobs and the income of millions of workers. But this crisis is also a textbook example of why we need better industrial policy. Global competition, especially from China, is tough, and new technology has changed the whole industry. We need investment in technology that brings us new, affordable models of electric cars. The public sector can accelerate this transition by providing stable regulation and also by investing in charging infrastructure. The bottom line is that emissions still need to come down. Some will use this crisis as an excuse to say: 'we should back down on environmental regulation, we should do less'. But the situation is exactly the opposite. The European automotive industry has not adapted fast enough to these changes, and the worst thing we can do now is to slow down even further. That would also be much worse for the 14 million workers in the industry. Europe's autoworkers have demanded a just transition in this sector. We need coordination between Member States, cooperation with the unions, and EU-wide solutions to support the workers. Our job is to answer their demands, now.

Mr President, Ukraine's support is about how we react to the imperialist conquests of authoritarian leaders such as Putin and great powers such as Russia, and to the blatant violations of international law. In addition to tougher sanctions against Russia, we must continue to support Ukraine both economically and armedly. A cessation of arms assistance would not bring peace, but would lead to Russia's conquest of Ukraine. That would put us further away from a just peace. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved by supporting Ukrainians, both financially and armedly, in their defensive struggle and by bringing to justice those responsible for war crimes in due course.

Mr President, Mrs von der Leyen, the results of the European elections should be a real wake-up call for all decision-makers in the EU committed to human rights and democracy. Now is the time to find the right solutions to the concerns and problems that people across Europe are struggling with. With prices rising less and less, people on low incomes are particularly affected by the return of economic discipline in Europe. Right now, investments in fair working conditions and social justice must be placed at the heart of European decision-making. Combating poverty and promoting affordable housing are very important objectives, but strategies, seminars and fine words are not enough. The EU must also exercise its legislative powers. I would therefore like to ask you where are the concrete measures to promote well-being at work, to ensure corporate responsibility and to ensure fair working conditions for all Europeans. It is precisely such initiatives that must be at the heart of a socially just policy.