What Sebastian spoke about.

22 May

2025

FI Speech

Deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2023 (debate)

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Mr President, it is vital for democracy to take account of the wishes of the citizens of the Member States, and I therefore welcome the fact that everyone has the opportunity to submit petitions at EU level. However, I would like to remind you that the Treaties clearly define the areas that fall within the EU's decision-making powers. Over the past decade, these Treaty requirements have been viola…

22 May

2025

FI Speech

Choose Europe for Science (debate)

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Mr President, the EU's decision to spend a staggering EUR 500 million on the Choose Europe for Science project is incomprehensible, especially at a time when our security is screaming more money than Europe has put into it. The presentation of the package clearly revealed what this money pool is in response to: In the United States, there has been a tight line of funding for diversity and anti-rac…

21 May

2025

FI Speech

Single Market Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, the EU's internal market is one example of how the Alliance of Independent States can actually benefit its members. The free movement of goods and services is one of the bright spots that still illuminates Europe from the gaps of all the shadow of arbitrary EU regulation. As an export-led country, Finland benefits significantly from free and duty-free trade with its European neighbou…

21 May

2025

FI Speech

The Hungarian government's drift to Russia-style repression: legislative threats to freedom of expression and democratic participation (debate)

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Mr President, a very worrying law is being drafted in Hungary. This law would give the government the right to conduct raids and impose disproportionate fines on organisations that receive funding from outside Hungary, including from the EU. If this sounds familiar, it's because Russia has a very similar type of agent law in place. It is obvious that Putin-inspired laws do not belong in Europe. Th…

21 May

2025

FI Speech

The EU's response to the Israeli government's plan to seize the Gaza Strip, ensuring effective humanitarian support and the liberation of hostages (debate)

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Dear Mr/Ms President of the Republic of Gaza, Why do you hate Israel more than you love your own children? Why have you taught your children from textbooks to hate Jews and to raise fighters from them? Why have you used the cement and supplies Israel has donated for years to build the offensive tunnels? Doctors in Gaza, why have you allowed killers to build command centers in your hospitals? Teach…

21 May

2025

EN Speech

The EU's response to the Israeli government's plan to seize the Gaza Strip, ensuring effective humanitarian support and the liberation of hostages (debate)

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Madam President, I always stick to the rules. Thank you for mentioning that the rules were being broken by MEP Incir for the political symbol there, but now I see that also MEP Rima Hassan came to the Chamber with this political symbol. And this seems to be a pattern from the left side, you're using these Palestinian symbols. And if this doesn't end so we can come here from the right side also wit…

8 May

2025

FI Speech

Old challenges and new commercial practices in the internal market (debate)

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Mr President, a strong internal market is also the foundation of Europe's security. Now, more than ever, we need to make the defence industrial market, especially within our Union, as efficient as possible. There is a talent in Europe. My country, Finland, is a good example. At Patria, a world-class defence technology company, we develop state-of-the-art armoured vehicles and systems that strength…

8 May

2025

EN Question

80 years after the end of World War II - freedom, democracy and security as the heritage of Europe (debate)

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Mr President, in an alternative reality we would be living today under Hitler's rule – not just all of Europe, but maybe even the whole world. In that reality, I wouldn't be standing here. I would have been killed in a gas chamber, my ashes drifting in the air. Many of you also would not be here, because of your ethnicity, your sexuality or disability. That reality nearly came true. Too many in Eu…

7 May

2025

FI Speech

Banking Union – annual report 2024 (debate)

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Mr President, the EU is once again moving towards a federal state, this time by blackmailing the citizens' money. The EU Banking Union aims to achieve common deposit insurance. Dangerous, I say. In the EU's infamous way of working, this fits like a nose in the head. Let's try to hold those who have handled their affairs well to account, so those who have handled their affairs poorly can benefit fr…

7 May

2025

EN Speech

The role of gas storage for securing gas supplies ahead of the winter season (debate)

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Madam President, the Russian invasion of Ukraine exposed how vulnerable our energy supply chains are, especially for countries like Finland. With extremely cold winters, supply of energy is a fundamental part of national security and public health. But so is the source of the energy. Buy cheap Russian gas now, pay later for your mistake. Ask the Germans in this room; they have learned this lesson …

7 May

2025

EN Speech

Malta's Golden Passport scheme circumventing EU sanctions against Russia (debate)

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Mr President, we have pledged our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people in their fight against imperialist Russia. This is why it is unacceptable that we have allowed a Member State to provide Putin's cronies a backdoor to acquiring EU citizenship. I am talking about Malta and its passports that are for sale. Many of those who have exploited Malta's golden passport scheme have been sanctioned…

7 May

2025

FI Speech

High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

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Mr President, when we are discussing the rise in the price of food today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to remind you of the realities. Climate action has raised the price of food. That policy has first appeared on farms, then it has appeared in shops, and then it has appeared on the table. I would like to tell you what the Finnish Government has outlined as a guideline for the entire four-ye…

7 May

2025

FI Speech

Resilience and the need to improve the interconnection of energy grid infrastructure in the EU: the first lessons from the blackout in the Iberian Peninsula (debate)

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Mr President, the massive blackout in the Spanish, Portuguese and French regions is a warning example for Europe of the chaos that could arise if the security of electricity supply were to be shaken in modern society. What is the security of electricity supply built on? A huge role is played by the fact that we have diverse electricity production. Production, a large part of which is covered by nu…

7 May

2025

FI Speech

Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

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Mr President, the EU's competitiveness has reached the end-of-life stage. In the midst of it all, we hear the gentlemen of Europe talking about beautiful innovation and unity, but the fact is that the green transition has put our businesses on their knees and on different kinds of subsidies. When someone dares to tighten the faucet, the scream begins. Greenhump and the hump subsidies that maintain…

7 May

2025

FI Question

EU support for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace in Ukraine (debate)

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Even though I'm not one of Ursula's biggest supporters, I think that was a bit of populism. We understand that the President of the Commission has quite a lot of work to do instead of listening to us for a long time. It is good that Ursula is here, at least briefly, in this debate. Second point: You said that you are not in favour of an illegal invasion of Ukraine, but you are surprised that weapo…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Kosovo (debate)

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Mr President, Kosovo's alignment with EU values and our foreign policy will not go unnoticed. Unfortunately, we have had to witness how third‑country actors are trying to destabilise their process. The usual suspects – Russia and China – are openly backing Serbia, trying to undermine Kosovo's independence. Through disinformation, diplomatic pressure and media manipulation, they are aiming to weake…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Serbia (debate)

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Mr President, there should not be a place in the European structures for a country that continues fence-sitting while Russia keeps bombing Ukraine. Serbia must make a choice: align fully with the core values of Europe, or choose to be on the wrong side of history. I will make this very clear. Russia is not a partner. They cannot be trusted. It is a destabilising, authoritarian aggressor waging war…

6 May

2025

FI Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Türkiye (debate)

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Mr President, Turkey is not a free democracy. It is an authoritarian state where human rights are systematically trampled upon. Erdoğan, a dictatorial ruler of Turkey, has made his country a society in which free media have been suppressed, the opposition imprisoned and the judiciary subordinated to power. The European Parliament's recent annual report is unusually clear. Turkey is moving away fro…

6 May

2025

FI Speech

The European Water Resilience Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, Finland is a pioneer in water issues. In the land of thousands of lakes, we have the cleanest drinking water in the world. We do not need instructions on these issues from outside our country. But what does the EU do? It is now adopting a water resilience strategy aimed at controlling water use at European level. Some Member States can benefit from this, but does a country like Finla…

6 May

2025

FI Speech

Discharge 2023 (joint debate)

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Mr President, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economies of the Member States, the Commission tried to resolve the issue with reckless debt. Citizens were promised that the recovery package would be the solution to put the European economy back on its feet. Do you feel that this has happened? The recovery package brought increased risks of fraud, opacity and hastily distributed money. It is not …

6 May

2025

FI Speech

A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world (debate)

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Mr President, the EU's spending priorities are seriously flawed. For example, we are calling for accelerating the green transition and for stronger support for it. It is not enough for the EU to manage its own property; it is required to act as the world's leading provider of climate finance and development aid. The EU is confusing not only social policy, but also housing policy, even though these…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

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Mr President, our greatest adversary is not the United States, but a dictatorship far more dangerous to Europe's trade future: China. It is quite astonishing that some in Europe have started to seek closer cooperation with the Chinese dictatorship as a response for the US. You are willing to turn a blind eye to what China presents, just to get to show your middle fingers to the other side of the A…

3 Apr

2025

EN Speech

110th anniversary of the Armenian genocide

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Mr President, up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by an empire determined to erase them. Men, women and children were deported, tortured, raped and murdered. Türkiye's refusal to confront its dark history is one example of why its membership in the EU cannot come into question. They may attempt to bury their history, but the truth cannot be silenced. Just as the Turks sought to destroy Arme…

3 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Establishment of a European Day of the Righteous (debate)

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Mr President, European day of the righteous is an opportunity to honour those who have dared to stand against injustice and oppression. Too often, people tend to speak grand words, but hesitate when real actions are needed. This must not be just another symbolic gesture. Today I want to highlight a group too often forgotten ‑ those brave Russians and Belarusians who risked their lives resisting au…

2 Apr

2025

FI Speech

Energy-intensive industries (debate)

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Mr President, in my country, Finland, the forest industry is an example of a success that has not been built thanks to Brussels, but thanks to a Member State. The forest industry alone accounts for 17% of our goods exports and directly employs tens of thousands of people from the south to the north. We have modern factories, such as the Äänekoski advanced bioproduct mill. Finland has used hydropow…