What Helmut spoke about.

8

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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2025 Commission report on Serbia (A10-0163/2026 - Tonino Picula) (vote)

I will have this oral amendment, but first I have to tell you and I will do it in German – according to Rule 180, I must have the possibility to say that what he just said is not true. Ich habe gestern gesagt: Es gibt den deutschen Bundestagsabgeordneten der AfD namens Matthias Helferich, und er hat sich einmal bezeichnet als „das freundliche Gesicht des Nationalsozialismus”. Matthias Helferich, M…

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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2025 Commission report on Serbia (debate)

Mr President, dear Commissioner, I admire the young Serbian people. They are very brave; they go on the street; they fight for a life in freedom. And then they listen to the Commission, and the Commission says, 'we want to open Cluster 3, we want to continue the process'. No! Right now it's not the moment to continue the process because there is a backlash. There are no reforms, as I hear now. On …

7

Jul

2026

DE Answer

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2025 Commission report on Ukraine (debate)

So, you know, if you start by saying that someone somewhere would have banned something – if I look at what the AfD is doing, what I saw again recently. These are the ones who say they are the friendly face of National Socialism. Please stop these stories. And no matter what, it's all about what's now. Putin, to whom you also went, murders every day. I can bring you the photo now; I'm going to do …

7

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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2025 Commission report on Ukraine (debate)

That was when? I can't remember. When was that supposed to be?

7

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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2025 Commission report on Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, “We don’t want to be Putin’s slaves” – this is the phrase I heard most often in Ukraine. Yes, people in Ukraine talk about freedom; They want to live in freedom like we do, and that is why they belong to the European Union. There is still a lot to be done. And if here, of all things, from the right, where there are corruption scandals again, corrup…

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Presentation of the Action Plan on Cybersecurity and AI (debate)

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, always in those difficult times, I talk about good news. So, it's good news that there is an action plan for cybersecurity and AI. The good news is that we had a very interesting debate here. And the next good news is that I think most of us have understood it is not true that it's always the Americans who invent and we who have regulation. But yes…

6

Jul

2026

DE Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President! Russia's hybrid conflict management is becoming more aggressive and hitting Switzerland directly. This is what the Swiss intelligence service writes, and this is what I would like to say to my compatriots in my Austrian homeland: So, even neutral Switzerland is threatened and then, of course, Austria. And they also write very precisely: What is new is the extent of Russia’s hybrid co…

17

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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Deteriorating situation of political prisoners in Belarus, in particular the case of Aliaksandra Pulinovich

Madam President, Belarus is a European country. The Belarusians are just Europeans like us, but they have a brutal dictator: Lukashenka. He is brutal, but he is also very weak. He was afraid of a 16‑year‑old girl who was writing graffiti, because the graffiti was against Putin. And Lukashenka is afraid of Putin, so he threw her into prison for ten years. Aliaksandra Pulinovich. Only for graffiti. …

17

Jun

2026

DE Speech

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Protecting EU citizens’ data from hybrid threats: the Lithuanian case (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Just today someone wrote to me on social media: I should not exaggerate, there is no hybrid war against Europe and against European countries. But here we have the proof: Yes, there is. In this case, it has just affected 600 000 entries from the registration register of Lithuania. It can also meet us in Austria at any time – each of us, with all the consequences. And ye…

16

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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An EU future for the Western Balkans (joint debate)

Madam President, dear Commissioner Kos, I want to speak to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not to the ethnic groups. I want to speak to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I want to tell them: many of your politicians are still caught up in the past. But I can tell you, Europe is all about understanding our past, understanding our often difficult past, but to have a better future, espe…

16

Jun

2026

DE Speech

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Achieving digital sovereignty and resilience for Europe, in light of recent developments affecting access to advanced AI technologies (debate)

21

May

2026

DE Speech

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The Union’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies: the case of the MV Hondius and the hantavirus warning (debate)

Mr President! Commissioner! The FPÖ MP Hauser has said so much inhuman nonsense that I want to correct this. The first: He meant, yes, with the Hantavirus a few people died, people died again and again, that's just the way it is. It's unbelievable! Then he said, there's the next plandemie going on. This is a big conspiracy industry. A plandemic that some secret powers are planning, just as Corona …

21

May

2026

DE Question

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The Union’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies: the case of the MV Hondius and the hantavirus warning (debate)

I only have one simple question: What lockdown has just been imposed? Can you explain that? And the second: Do you also believe that this is a plandemic, and was Corona a plandemic?

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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Repression and execution of protesters, dissidents, political prisoners and religious minorities in Iran

Mr President, dear Commissioner, the streets of Iran are stained with the blood of tens of thousands of citizens murdered for daring to demand freedom. Over 1 600 have been hanged by a regime that used the death penalty as a tool of terror. Their only crime is that they were hoping. Women are beaten, killed for the crime of showing their hair, while the families of the oppressors sip champagne in …

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Europe's response to reduced US military deployments in Europe, particularly at its Eastern flank in the light of the latest US decisions (debate)

Madam President, dear Vice-President, Americans need Europeans; Europeans need Americans. So it's both ways. Americans are not only here to defend Europe, but also for US power in Europe, in the Middle East and in North Africa. Europe is the largest market for American weapons. That should change. I recently visited Ramstein and the FBI in Washington, and I found out that American officials say th…

19

May

2026

DE Speech

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EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! I quote Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: “It is my personal conviction that the new world order will be built out of Europe.” And he spoke of common values: Peace, rule of law, democracy. Sometimes you can see better from a distance. Yes, Mark Carney is right, of course, but we need to get faster and better. This is my appeal to the Commission:…

19

May

2026

DE Speech

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EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)

Madam President, Madam Executive Vice-President of the Commission! We agree: Artificial intelligence will rearrange our world and we need to do more to keep us from falling behind. The Commissioner recently said the good news: There are 45,000 start-ups in Europe, and 8,000 are engaged in artificial intelligence. But we need a Capital Markets Union, and we really need to talent Get out of the Unit…

29

Apr

2026

DE Speech

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Topical debate requested by a political group (PfE) (Rule 169) - Commission interference in democratic process and elections (topical debate)

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Supporting democratic resilience in Armenia (debate)

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 parli…

28

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Ensuring accountability and justice in response to Russia’s continued attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine (debate)

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 th…

28

Apr

2026

DE Speech

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Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

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 …

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Human trafficking and grave human rights violations linked to the recruitment of non-Russian nationals, in particular from Africa, for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine

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 …

11

Mar

2026

DE Speech

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AccessibleEU and the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities: state of play and the future of EU accessibility policy (debate)

11

Mar

2026

DE Speech

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Immunity of International Criminal Court officials and the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to strengthen EU strategic autonomy (debate)

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EU enlargement strategy (debate)

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 l…