Speeches

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, Armenia – what a country. At a time when democracy is under siege and autocrats act with impunity, Armenia stands like a beacon of hope, surrounded by autocracies. It proves that democracy can thrive even in the toughest neighbourhoods. Armenia is Europe, with its values, history and culture. Yet Armenia's democracy now faces a very critical test, the parliamentary elections in June. We know Putin will stop at nothing to sabotage this process – we cannot let this happen. People ask me: why do you talk about Armenia, is Armenia important for us? Yes, it is important for us. It's in our neighbourhood. It's a democracy and we want to have trade, we want to have good relations and we need security. For all that, a democratic Armenia is very necessary. One more thing that's interesting – there are so many countries who want to be part of the European Union. Do you know any country that wants to be part of the United States? No, they want to be here because this is the continent of freedom. This is the continent that thrives, this is the continent of human rights – Europe is great.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, Russia is a terrorist state. Russian bombs rain down on Ukrainian hospitals, schools and homes; every day, innocent lives are stolen, families shattered, and cities reduced to rubble. We need more sanctions, we need stronger sanctions, and we have to kick out those Russians who live in peace here in Europe, but are part of Putin's terror regime. One more thing: I never hear from the right wing and the right wing extremists – nobody's here. They never even condemn what Putin is doing to Ukraine. And Donald Trump, he doesn't do it either. On the contrary, he wants to invite Putin to the G20. Mr Commissioner, please, there is no way that any European goes to a G20 meeting with Putin. Please promise that to us, I think that is really very important. To the Ukrainians, I want to say: there is a huge majority here in favour of you. We will not forget you, we will fight for you.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Europe is the continent of human rights, Europe is the continent of human dignity – as the Charter of Fundamental Rights states, which we adopted 25 years ago. And yes, I know that many things are not perfect, but we have the basis for living on a continent where we are doing better than anywhere else. And we have to keep that. Of course, there is danger. There is a danger that there are people from outside who want to destroy our democracy – through hatred on the one hand, disinformation from Russia and, of course, the American platforms that live off this hatred. We have to defend ourselves against that. And yes, the manipulation of elections must not take place, corruption is bad, we have also noticed that, and especially if the media are restricted, then our democracy is in danger. But we have the basis for this, for the best possible world that exists here in Europe. And that's why I'm asking for those rights that scream so loudly: Let's get back to that consensus that we have the basis for it. Let's talk about how we can make Europe even better. And let's not shout around that Europe is supposedly bad. We are glad and grateful that we can live in this Europe of human rights and dignity.

Madam President, Russia is a terrorist state. Their list of abhorrent crimes is endless. Russia's deportation and forced transfer of 20 000 Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity. These children – stolen, renamed, forced into Russian families – are victims of a systematic campaign. The Vice‑President of the Duma proudly showed himself with a baby that he 'adopted' – no, which he had stolen – and now he is proud he has a new baby. Across Africa and other regions, vulnerable men are being lured with false promises of work, of education, only to find themselves forced onto the front lines of a brutal war. One video, uploaded by the Russians themselves, shows an African mercenary, Francis, with a landmine attached to his body – a horrifying illustration of how the Kremlin dehumanises its recruits. Russia's actions are a shameful stain that will never wash away. We stand on the right side. We want to help Ukraine. We want to help those poor people. I am very sad that in this House there are Members of this Parliament who are still on the side of the war criminal Putin.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, what an attractive community we are, the European Union. The Brits want to come back, in the majority, Iceland will have a referendum and there are many countries in the Western Balkans, Moldova and Ukraine that also want to join us. To all Ukraine haters: they are making, like all the other countries, a lot of reforms. They know what the rule of law is. And, by the way, money robbers should be in prison, but not in government. So what do we have to do? We have to support these countries in their work for these reforms because they are necessary and, as I said, we know they are doing it. But we also have to ensure that one or another would-be autocrat cannot stop the process, because that is what they want to do for their political reasons. So what I say is: this veto is wrong. So let us build an even stronger European Union. We need it and we can do it.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The mullahs' terror regime has killed many, many thousands of people in recent weeks alone. And, of course, there are now many innocent victims in the recent Middle East war. But we also have to see that many people in Europe are now also affected. We have also noticed that the energy supply is essential through Putin's attack on Ukraine. Now we notice: Oil is becoming more and more expensive. And there are many people affected, including by the unjustified, rapid increases in oil companies. The Commission should also come up with something. But above all: Now, hopefully, everyone has understood the importance of alternative energy sources, that we – whether it is water, whether it is electricity, whether it is wind, hydrogen – must promote this. And we need an Energy Union in Europe. People will then realise how essential the European Union is. And one more thing: If President Macron says that we need to do geopolitics, that is, to accompany ships through the Strait of Hormuz, we can do so only as a part of Europe – i.e.: Yes to a united Europe for the people of Europe.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the courageous people of Iran must know we in the European Parliament do not forget you. We stand with you. We have a resolution now, again. Thank you to all parties for the cooperation. The resolution is very clear – again, we say that the Revolutionary Guards, the IRGC, are terrorists. But that's only the beginning. Now we need the consequences. Now we have to do something. So the resolution also says, and it calls on all states, that we have to ban trade with those organisations. We have to know that the backbone of the Iranian industry and the Iranian economy are those Revolutionary Guards, and they are making money in Europe in order to destroy their people. That has to stop. Here we have to be very clear. I really have to say it's European banks, it's Germany and Italy foremost having this trade. That has to stop. And sanctions against persons as well. One more thing, because some people ask me, 'why are you doing something for Iran? It's not important for Europe.' Oh yes, it is. What Iran is doing is also destabilising the whole region – killing their own people, destabilising the region and also Europe with sabotage acts and so on and so forth. So it is also important for us in Europe. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, it was a very impressive but also sad experience to go to the Holodomor museum in Kyiv. Holodomor was Stalin's genocide through famine, and now we have Putin's genocide through cold. He is Stalin II – he is a copy of Stalin, he wants as many people as possible killed because he sees he cannot win the war how he had planned it. He wants to destroy the spirit of the Ukrainians – he wants to kill as many people as possible. It is important that we help as far as we can help for Ukraine. Then I hear these people from the right wing who say: 'no, we don't want to help'. So what does that mean? They want people to die – we have to say that very clearly. There are people here in this European Parliament who say: 'no, no support for Ukraine, we don't mind if Europeans die from the cold because the dictator wants that'. Thank you very much, Commissioner Marta Kos. Europe stands with Ukraine – you said it, and I think the majority in this House mean it.

Thank you Mr Dömötör, I just have a question – is it right that Mr Orbán said Ukraine is our 'enemy'? And is it right that you are buying a lot from Russia, so, you know, you are also financing all these war crimes of Russia?

Madam President, Commissioner Kubilius, thank you for your words, but especially thank you for your work. Finally, we are building up a European defence, and I say that coming from a neutral country. The Austrian liberals already said in 2019 that we need a common European defence. And, by the way, there is also a strong defence industry in Austria, so we will work together on that as well. But there is one more thing – that is disinformation. And today we heard again that the people from the right wing are against the support for Ukraine. Yes, of course, because they're for the support of Russia and that's dangerous for us. And I tell you one more thing: in the Financial Times, the headline was 'Germany's painful estrangement from the US'. We also have to talk about that. 81 % of Germans say they are afraid that the Russians want war all over, but 65 % are afraid of the US as well. So we have to have a strong Europe. And thank you for your work again.

Mr President! I want to bring in a bit of calm, because we live in times when disinformation is stronger than information. This means that people's trust in information must be increased. We know that it has fallen sharply, unfortunately also in the public broadcasters – and I am also talking about Austria here. We know that in many countries, the greater the influence of government policy, the more people's trust in these media decreases. And that is why it is so important that we, together among ourselves in Europe, ensure that free broadcasting is guaranteed in all countries, that journalists can work independently. And ultimately, we do that for our good. Why? Because if the media no longer has trust, then politics no longer has trust either. And this is dangerous for all of us, especially in this challenge we are facing. We are witnessing this in America, where all of a sudden alternative facts become facts. We have the extreme disinformation of Russia, we have the algorithms that often work against us. This makes independent media all the more important, especially for public service broadcasting.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Viktor Orbán sat here when Hungary had the presidency. I said to him: “Mr Orbán, everyone knows that you are corrupt. What does that do to you?" He was completely indifferent. He didn't even wobble with the earwash, as one would say in Vienna. It's all about money. He takes the money where it comes from – for himself, for his people. It's about corruption, we know that. It's not about safety, Mrs. Kallas. You talk about security, you talk about peace – the opposite is true. They haven't defended Ukraine for a day at all. I just received reports from Ukraine. People are freezing there. They urgently need money to help them. And what do you do? They stand here and say ‘We want peace’. They don't want that at all. And one more thing, and I know that from my Austrian friends, these FPÖs there – they worship Trump, you worship Trump. What did Trump do? He has imposed high tariffs on European goods. This puts the economy in Hungary at a disadvantage. She's already so bad. Your friend Trump is hurting you and you keep cheering him. Maybe it's because he gives money. And that's why: If the FPÖ cheers Trump, he will harm Austria. No, we want a strong Europe and an end to corruption in Hungary.

Madam President, I am very grateful that I lived in this Europe. We have the European Convention on Human Rights and last year we had the 75th birthday, but we have to realise it is not a turning point, a Zeitenwende, as Scholz said; it is a Zeitenende, the end of the world how we knew it. It is now four years of Putin's war; he commits all possible crimes and what he is planning is a genocide. We know it. Then we have Mr Trump and I quote Stephen Miller, one of his most important advisors; he says the world is governed by strength, by force, by power. Just a few minutes ago, Trump said on the American television he wants to destroy the United Nations. And what says Soloviev, one of Putin's friends? Humans are made for war. In war, you see the good characteristics of humans. That is the world we live in. But here we have our Europe. We have a strong, united Europe and we can keep our human rights here in Europe. We will work for it. We will fight for it.

(Start of speech when microphone is switched off) ... Mr President, High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! The figures we hear from Iran are frightening, with 20,000 dead and many injured. What I heard today: This terror regime has apparently also brought Hezbollah fighters to assassinate even more people in Iran. We have to face the realities. However, one thing is also the case: This regime has lost something, namely that people are no longer afraid. People take to the streets. That is why we need to support them all the more in different areas. Now I'm sometimes asked: Why? What do we care about Iran? And here I say: Yes, there are many reasons. Firstly: We are also threatened. There has been talk of cyberattacks. Secondly: Many people from Iran live with us, work with us, help us and are a very important part of our society. Of course, human rights also apply to us. Of course we have to look closely there. That is why we must support the opposition even more. And I also ask that it be discussed, is it Reza, are there others? In any case, I believe that we should invite opposition members to join us in the committee to discuss with the people how we can support Iran even more.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, Elon Musk is doing a lot of research on self-driving cars. Just imagine a system in which the strongest, most aggressive car will always have priority. It is impossible. It would be a lot of dead people. But what is happening right now on X is exactly that: the most hateful, the worst postings have the most viewers because of the algorithm. So the algorithm he is organising is against us. And the next thing: he's buying politicians in the United States, even judges. And that's what he wants to do in Europe as well. He wants to buy European politicians and he already tries to influence European politics. And we are standing here and saying, 'no, that's fine'? No, it's not fine. We will not accept it. If the right-wing people say there is censorship, yes, there is censorship right now, because the algorithms of Mr Musk, they are they are censorship. People cannot see what they want. They have to see what Musk gives them. And that is hateful. I tell you, as a former journalist, that as an editor‑in‑chief you have a lot of responsibility. And Musk has everything, but no responsibility. He doesn't care. On the contrary, he wants hate speech, and if you had that on a normal medium, you would go to jail. So that's the point. Mr Musk must accept he has to have responsibility, and that's the only way we can do that. Mr Commissioner, we need very strong legislation and we need a strong Commission, and he has to pay for that.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, 30 years ago the world watched as the guns fell silent in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton-Paris Agreement was not just a document; it was a lifeline, a promise of peace after years of unspeakable suffering. And for that, we always must be grateful for Dayton. But let us be clear: Dayton was never meant for 30 years. It was an emergency solution, a framework to stop the bloodshed and create space for healing. The people of Bosnia are resilient, determined and European. They deserve more than the political system they have now, and now I have a strong plea to those politicians in Bosnia. We have been on a delegation in Sarajevo and we talked to many politicians, and they all talked only about the past, they talked about their groups. They did not talk about a common Bosnia. But then we talked to so-called normal people. We talked to NGOs, we talked to young people, and they asked, 'What is our future? How can we have a common European future?' And that must be our message: yes, there is a common European future, but only if the political class in Bosnia finally understands that they have to work together, that they have one country, that they have different problems – I know, they have a lot of problems, but they can do it. And of course, it needs trust, it needs working together. I know it; you know, in Austria also, we had difficult situations, but then people finally understood that you cannot conquer the future with the past. So please, politicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina, come together and understand that you have to work for your people, and they are strong, they are resilient, they are European. And then we can work together.

Madam President, Mrs. Minister! Commissioner! Espionage sounds like adventure, but only in the movie or maybe in a book. In reality, it is one of the greatest crimes imaginable, especially if in a democracy there are people who exploit the free society to possibly spy for the regime of a war criminal, a dictator. And we know there are examples. There are these Voice of EuropeThat is to say, an institution in Prague, where, apparently, MEPs from European countries, including the European Parliament, worked for this Viktor Medvedchuk, a friend of Putin, who spent money on spying in Europe. In Austria, we have the case that was uncovered by the magazine Profil. A former Wirecard board member, a big fraudster, has gone to Moscow, works there for the secret service, for the FSB, and now works with people he uses in Austria against our country. Let posters against Austria etc. etc. Try to carry out acts of sabotage. We must say that theoretically we are the weakest, because we are in an open society. We want all people to enjoy freedom, of course, but in reality, I believe that this rules-based order is also our strength if we only use it properly and if we build trust in the population. And Commissioner, I really want us to do this together. Democracy Shield, build this shield for our democracy, the Commission with our Parliament, that we as Parliament also organize this exactly, that we also check this closely, that we work together here. And then, I think, we can also defend ourselves against any form of espionage.

Mr President, Minister, it started as a Georgian dream, but it turned out to be a Georgian nightmare. But there is hope – we see it's now 385 days since people started to take to the streets. They are so courageous; I really admire them. I sometimes ask myself, what would I do? Would I be afraid? Would I do what they do? They are courageous. They fight for democracy. The so-called Russian world crept into Tbilisi in this time, not with tanks, but through the hands of a Russian oligarch with his nightmare. But the Georgians, they have a European future and we know that. On the other hand, there is no one from the right wing parties here. Just one was here and he explained what the Russians want; he explained the 'russkiy mir'. And that should remind us that our democracy is also not a given. We have to work for it, we have to fight for it, and we have to understand what they want. They also want us in a 'russkiy mir', but Europe will be free and united if we work together.

Mr President, I still think about the Americans who helped to free Europe, who helped to rebuild our continent. They were our friends, the US standing for democracy and for freedom. And then came Trump. He said Europe was founded to screw the United States. We know he knows nothing about history, but we also know that there are a lot of Americans who still are in favour of good relations with Europe, and that is what I say: we need better relations with cultural institutions, with students, with young people, with civil organisations, the Americans in the majority. They are still our friends. And it must be clear: the Europeans work for peace. Trump works with Putin to make deals in Ukraine. We the Europeans, we want peace in Ukraine and that is important. And it has to be the Russian money to rebuild Ukraine, and here I think we are in a huge majority. Vive l'Europe.

Mr President, dear Mr Commissioner, in 2019, Lukashenka was in Vienna and he said he wanted to position Belarus between Russia and Europe independently. As we know, after the 2020 fraudulent elections, he subordinated himself to Putin. Ever since, he is one of the weapons of Putin against us here in Europe. Those attacks against Lithuania are terrible and we hear about them, but they are not only against Lithuania. We know he is very much against Poland. We know he tries to get migration refugees to the border to send people to Poland, so it is part of the master plan of Putin to destabilise Europe. And that's the reason why there is only one answer, and the answer is a common united Europe. We have to tell him, 'No, you have no chance because we are together. We will fight you together because we are European Union. We work together and solidarity – that's our European common solidarity.'