What Sebastian spoke about.

18

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Tackling abusive subcontracting and labour market intermediaries (debate)

Mr President, citizens are being sold the argument that we need massive immigration to support Europe. But which of these vendors is willing to tell us what will happen to Europe? Not only are there huge security problems, but massive low-cost immigration is also reshaping our labour market. We are creating entirely new classes where places are filled with immigrants. In Finland, for example, food…

18

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining and the right to strike in the EU (debate)

Mr President, the right to strike is an important means for workers to influence their working conditions. It is a right enshrined in the constitutions of many countries. Political strikes aimed at opposing government decisions are a completely different matter. In five EU Member States – Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Spain – political strikes are explicitly prohibited. It is easy to un…

18

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Preparation of the EU-Western Balkans Summit (debate)

Mr President, relations between the EU and the Western Balkans are overshadowed by Serbia's pro-Russian spirit, the tensions caused by the region's history and its much less developed economic conditions. However, the EU's strategy towards the region seems to be a patch of money for the countries and hopes for the best in terms of their eligibility for the EU. However, wishful thinking and simply …

18

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024 (debate)

Mr President, the coldest season is at the door and there are critical moments in Ukraine. Recently, Russia carried out one of the largest attacks on Ukraine's energy system, launching 93 missiles and 200 drones. This is an indication of the kind of war that Russia is waging every day. It's a war against civilians. In order to put an end to these attacks, too, Ukraine needs stronger support. Russi…

17

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Mr President, without freedom of speech we have nothing. Look at that title: Mis- and disinformation in social media and their risk to the integrity of elections. Here we are discussing ways to increase censorship in social media so that we have free elections. This is North Korea's way of life. Changing TikTok's Chinese ownership base may be required from a security point of view, but here we are…

17

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Mr President, after years of war in Syria, Assad's criminal regime collapsed in just 11 days. The years have been devastating. Since the start of the civil war, around 4.5 million Syrians have fled to Europe. We have witnessed a massive wave of people making their way to this continent, but now we are in a new situation. Many European countries have already ceased processing asylum applications fr…

17

Dec

2024

FI Question

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Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)

Mr President, when the war began and people fled, it was said that they should be protected as long as these conditions prevail. And now that this Assad regime has fallen, I am sure many people rightly think that it is the right time to return home. Instead, you talked about using the situation here to promote hate speech. I think this is realistic talk. Do you think that Syria can be built from o…

16

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Regional Emergency Support: RESTORE (debate)

Mr President, it often seems that the EU budget has become some sort of common piggy bank. A piggy bank that can only be used to make money for all kinds of needs when the economy of one's own country has not tasted it. Are we really going to create a machine in the EU that can brew hundreds of millions of euros, if not billions, now also to make up for the natural disasters that are being propose…

16

Dec

2024

FI Speech

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Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2023 (debate)

Mr President, when we have such a huge power as the EU, because if someone has to have watchdogs of power. In this Himmel, the guard dogs have plenty to look out for. What have we seen at the top of the EU in recent years? For example, transactions worth billions of euros carried out via text messages. We have repeatedly made findings that reveal how money is constantly being misused in this EU co…

28

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Foreign interference and espionage by third country actors in European universities (debate)

Mr President, industrial, technological and research espionage are China's means of trying to reach the level of knowledge of the West. This espionage is also happening under our noses in our universities, because we have allowed it with naive eyes. China pushes its researchers into our universities and legally obliges them to cooperate with the Chinese authorities. We need to take a whole new app…

28

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Strengthening children’s rights in the EU - 35th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (debate)

Mr President, what is the most widely ratified UN Convention on Human Rights in the world? This is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It states, among other things, that children must be protected from all forms of violence. Female genital mutilation is one of the most brutal forms of violence against children. Unfortunately, it is still a very common phenomenon in the world. But how do co…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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2025 budgetary procedure: Joint text (A10-0014/2024 - Victor Negrescu, Niclas Herbst)

Mr President, the EU budget is growing every year. The budget is already reaching the 200 billion euro mark. Although there is a war in Ukraine, new targets for blaming money will be found, but where are the targets for redeployment and cuts? Not anywhere, then. I was one of the few people who did this. I made a great deal of proposals for a 20% cut in EU development aid. They were voted down beca…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Election of the Commission

Mr President, Europe is facing uncertain times. The keys of power have now been handed back into the hands of the person from whom many would certainly have wanted to take them away before. Remember, you who voted in favour of this Commission, that for the next five years you will have very weak means to be surprised when this Commission will certainly do something that you will not like. So don't…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Recommendation on smoke- and aerosol-free environments (debate)

Mr President, what is this bullying? There is a war raging in Europe, our competitiveness is at the bottom of the mud, and our borders are wide open to all potential arrivals. But now, we're going to focus here on talking about banning smoking on the terraces. This sums up what is wrong with the EU. The EU was created to promote trade, peace and freedom, but now it has become the Big Brother watch…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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The arrest of the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and the call for his immediate and unconditional release, and the repression of freedom of speech in Algeria (debate)

Mr President, the well-known French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal has been remanded in custody in Algeria. What is his alleged crime? An attack on national security, officials say. Sansal is known for his strong attitudes against both authoritarianism and Islamism. His criticism of Islam concerns not only Algeria, but he has also warned of the threat of Islamization in Europe. In Europe, fines ca…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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The increasing and systematic repression of women in Iran

Mr President, in Islam, women are second-class citizens. Look at Islamic countries like Iran. The government is forcing women to wear a hijab. If you show up in public without a headscarf, you may be imprisoned, tortured or killed. When an Iranian woman was recently suspected of a shawl violation and faced the authorities, she protested by taking off other clothes. Outcome: arrest and transit to a…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Hong Kong, notably the cases of Jimmy Lai and the 45 activists recently convicted under the national security law

Mr President, in 1997 Hong Kong was transferred from British control to China. At the same time, it was agreed that Hong Kong would keep its own system separate from mainland China for fifty years. China has blatantly broken this promise. Under the so-called national security law that came into force in the summer of 2020, China has ruthlessly attacked pro-democracy activists. Ask yourself who you…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Promoting a favourable framework for venture capital financing and safe foreign direct investments in the EU (debate)

Mr President, the most popular social media app in the United States is owned by China. China is the largest producer and processor of pork in the country. $900 billion of the country's public debt is owned by China. In the United States, the threat of China has been seriously exacerbated. For example, last week, the governor of Texas ordered all state agencies to sell their investments in China a…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Recent legislation targeting LGBTQI persons and the need for protecting the rule of law and a discrimination-free Union (debate)

Mr President, the term LGBTIQ+ is what should apparently be used today for sexual and gender minorities. We're about to run out of alphabets, so let's talk about these letters for a moment. Work in favour of the LGB, i.e. equal treatment of lesbians, gays and bisexuals, is the usual work of equality. It has been going on for a long time in Europe and everyone should support it. There is still a lo…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Rise of energy prices and fighting energy poverty (debate)

Mr President, Europe needs stable, clean and cost-effective energy production. The solution to the energy crisis is right under our noses: nuclear power. But unfortunately, it is not obvious in Europe that it will be seen as a solution. There's been a lot of nuclear idiotism. Let me give you an example that illustrates this idiotism in Europe. In 2010, Greenpeace erected a pole of shame in the mid…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea (debate)

Mr President, there must be zero tolerance for Russia's hybrid influencing and it must be combated at all possible levels. This applies to threats in the Baltic Sea region as well as at the EU's eastern land border. Therefore, Finland’s eastern border has been completely closed since December 2023. There is only one reason for this: Russia's hostile action when it began pushing instrumentalized mi…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Stepping up the fight against and the prevention of the recruitment of minors for criminal acts (debate)

Mr President, Finland, too, is already in a situation where the most common suspect of assault is a 14-year-old. In Sweden, young people are even recruited for assassinations and bombings in Denmark. What is the main cause of this problem? Why is it so easy to attract and incite younger and younger people to commit crimes? Where did this culture of violence come from? The answer is uncontrolled im…

27

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Presentation by the President-elect of the Commission of the College of Commissioners and its programme (debate)

Mr President, there is now a new Commission available for Europe to lead this continent in a difficult situation. The question now is whether we trust in piloting skills. I've made an assessment and my answer is that I don't trust you. What would Europe need most now? Much stronger support for Ukraine, the suppression of the migratory spiral and the protection of borders, pro-European climate poli…

26

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Political and humanitarian situation in Mozambique (debate)

Mr President, elections were filled with electoral fraud, including ballot tampering, voter suppression and restricting press freedom, all conducted by the ruling party. After the elections, violence has escalated to a point where members of the opposition parties have been murdered. This is the reality of politics in Mozambique. Meanwhile, the country faces another challenge in the north, where a…

26

Nov

2024

FI Speech

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Urgent need to tackle the gender pay gap (debate)