What Elisabeth spoke about.

6 Oct

2026

DE Speech

Effective measures to protect and empower children in the digital world (debate)

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Thank you, Madam President Schaldemose! Especially for your own-initiative report, which is the basis for the Kids Act forms. Yes, Madam Vice-President, we can. The time is more than ripe for this. Stress, anxiety, sleep problems, loneliness: Our children today are exposed to online business models that focus on maximum attention and affect the health of our children through endless scrolling, add…

16 Sep

2026

DE Speech

Stop gold-plating, relieve SMEs: Member States must implement EU legislation without adding extra bureaucracy (topical debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I want to clear up with a frequent misunderstanding. Gold ‑Plating It is not the same as higher national standards. If Member States create unjustified additional administrative requirements when implementing EU ‑ law, then we must of course prevent this. But if a Member State wants to better protect workers, consumers, h…

30 Apr

2026

DE Speech

Women’s entrepreneurship in rural and island areas and outermost regions (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Although women are the majority of the population, they are under-represented in decision-making bodies, business and politics, including as self-employed – especially in rural areas and peripheral regions. Traditional role models are particularly persistent, as are hierarchical structures in families. This provides a dangerous breeding ground f…

28 Apr

2026

DE Answer

Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (debate)

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That's what it's all about: That we create a level playing field so that new European companies can also be created. And here we are all challenged to use corresponding companies. This is what it is all about: European companies, real competition and a variety of offers.…

28 Apr

2026

DE Speech

Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (debate)

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Madam President, Vice-President Ribera, ladies and gentlemen! The Digital Markets Act is one of the key tools we have created to ensure fair and open digital markets in Europe. Consistent enforcement is crucial. The colleagues have already mentioned questionable practices that harm consumers, distort competition and disadvantage competitors. Particularly worrying are current indications of price c…

9 Mar

2026

DE Speech

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)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, if the pace continues, then Europe's women have only achieved real equality in 134 years. What we already have is equality on paper. But that's not enough, because paper is patient. But it's not us anymore. We don't want to wait another five generations until our great-great-grandchildren are finally paid fairly and no longer have…

12 Feb

2026

DE Speech

Recommendation to the Council on EU priorities for the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (debate)

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11 Feb

2026

DE Speech

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

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Madam President, Madam Minister, Commissioner! Yes, the concept of simplification must not be used to reduce consumer protection, sustainability and transparency. Deregulation is not a panacea, quite the contrary: Good regulation is a prerequisite for fair competition in the internal market, reliable supply chains and consumer and business confidence. A major deficiency in the internal market must…

21 Jan

2026

DE Speech

Presentation of the Digital Networks Act (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, A short trip to biology: The DNA is the long-term manual of life, the RNA is the working copy that actually implements the instructions. Without the RNA nothing happens, the DNA remains only theory. Transferred to Europe's digital infrastructure, the Digital Networks Act Turn the goals and instructions into real actions: Modernise networks, overcome market fr…

18 Dec

2025

DE Speech

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

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17 Dec

2025

DE Speech

2030 Consumer Agenda (debate)

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Mr President! Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, I very much welcome the 2030 Consumer Agenda. It addresses key issues, such as the protection of online purchases, especially imported goods, but also the protection of our children online. And, Commissioner, you have also raised the issue of discrimination on the grounds of residence, and you are probably referring to the fight again…

17 Dec

2025

DE Speech

The urgent need to combat discrimination in the EU through the horizontal anti-discrimination directive (topical debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! Ladies and Gentlemen! Discrimination is unjust and inhuman. Discrimination is hurtful, both physically and psychologically. And I am appalled that some here in this House dismiss the debate about it as a waste of time and misuse it for political propaganda. Discrimination not only costs human dignity, it also costs money. And that's what I'm saying to those who just …

26 Nov

2025

DE Speech

Defence of Democracy package (joint debate)

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25 Nov

2025

DE Speech

Protection of minors online (debate)

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(Start of speech when microphone is switched off) ... takes place in the digital world. Endless scrolling, addictive and stressful content has been shown to cause anxiety, stress, sleep problems, learning difficulties, aggression and other mental problems. Girls are more often affected by declining self-esteem triggered by unrealistic beauty ideals. Boys are often the target of glorification of vi…

20 Oct

2025

DE Speech

A new legislative framework for products that is fit for the digital and sustainable transition (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, Commissioner, the existing 2008 legal framework has become too narrow for the challenges of our time. Digitalisation, global supply chains, artificial intelligence and the green transition need to be readjusted so that legal developments do not constantly lag behind technological and factual developments. This own-initiative report sends a str…

9 Oct

2025

DE Speech

Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Every ten minutes a woman is murdered because she is a woman. One in three women in the EU has already experienced violence, as our EIGE Institute repeatedly shows us. Violence comes mainly from men and usually takes place in a personal environment – in one’s own family, in a partnership, in a familiar place where people should actually feel safe. …

8 Oct

2025

DE Speech

Promoting EU digital rules: protecting European sovereignty (debate)

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Madam President, The DSA and the DMA are clear commitments to a fair, free and secure digital Europe. They apply to all those who operate in our markets, whether they come from the US, Asia or Europe, they create transparency and responsibility and fair competition if applied correctly. We need to protect our standards from external and internal attacks. Europe is facing not only the threats of Tr…

7 Oct

2025

DE Speech

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

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Madam President, The single market is undoubtedly at the heart of our economy and should be a source of growth, prosperity and solidarity for all. I should! Decades after its creation, it is still unfinished, and in many areas sand has gotten into the gears. Fragmentation, territorial supply restrictions and unfair trade practices that have crept in are dividing the internal market. This is especi…

1 Apr

2025

DE Speech

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I can connect seamlessly with my previous speaker and colleague Lopatka. I would like to address the question of what the European model of life is, what makes up the European Union. The first thing you get is the answer: the commitment to human rights and democracy. As the report shows, real democracies around the world that respect human right…

11 Mar

2025

DE Speech

Roadmap for Women`s Rights (debate)

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Madam President, dear representatives of the Commission and the Council! It is good that these Roadmap There is. In the sense of gender mainstreaming, it is a task for the entire Commission to act so that it does not stick to headings. So what needs to be done? The principle 1: Freedom from gender-based violence. The crime of rape should be defined as an EU-wide crime; This must happen immediately…

11 Feb

2025

DE Speech

US AI chip export restrictions: a challenge to European AI development and economic resilience (debate)

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Madam President, Madam Executive Vice-President! Ladies and Gentlemen! In July 2023, the European Parliament adopted a crucial piece of legislation, the European Chips Act, to strengthen the domestic chip industry and promote Europe’s strategic autonomy, not even knowing how current this project will be. In order to reduce our dependence on third countries and especially in view of the current geo…

22 Jan

2025

DE Speech

Addressing EU demographic challenges: towards the implementation of the 2023 Demography Toolbox (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! We are in the midst of demographic change, which is accelerating. It is therefore necessary to swiftly set the political course, for example by exploiting all labour potential, by developing childcare also in rural areas and by avoiding the need for women to ask themselves the question – either children or careers? – but is both a matter of course …

19 Dec

2024

DE Speech

Recommendation to the Council on the EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women - EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (joint debate - EU priorities for the upcoming session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women)

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Mr President! Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The 30th The anniversary of the Beijing Declaration next year is only a limited reason to celebrate. Yes, there has been some progress. In many countries around the world, the constitutions, even simple laws, have been changed in favour of women, in Austria even the federal anthem. But at the European level, much has gone further in the last legisl…

17 Dec

2024

DE Speech

Use of rape as weapon of war, in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, High Representative, Ladies and Gentlemen! The use of rape as a tactic of war is not only a cruel crime against humanity, but is also capable of destabilizing entire societies. Rape and sexual violence in war is not only a war crime – ‘only’ – but also an expression of a deep-rooted patriarchal abuse of power. Here, the European Union must stand up to these crimes wi…

23 Oct

2024

DE Speech

Findings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Poland's abortion law (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The right to self-determination over one's own body is a human right that every woman in Europe should enjoy freely, and that is why the European Parliament is indeed the right place to debate it. A de facto abortion ban poses a major threat to women's mental and physical health. And not only in Poland, but in all European countries, we need saf…