Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Exactly 44 years ago, as an Austrian, as a young Austrian, I was allowed to start a traineeship at the European Commission – all young people. It was clear to us: Our fathers shot each other, we live in a better Austria. Then it took a few more years and exactly 30 years ago Austria joined the European Community – a unique success story. The EU is a peace project, especially for a small country like Austria. It is an economic project: Austrians benefit from the EU at around €5,000 per year. The EU is also a union of values. I've just been to Poland, there's a program Restoring the Rule of Law – This means that the rule of law must be restored because it did not exist in the last government. From this you can see: We have to work together, we have to rely on each other. Then we can keep this Europe safe and peaceful for the next generations. I look forward to the next 30 years.

Mr President, dear colleagues, you already talked about Doctor Gubad Ibadoghlu and we talked to him and at the same time there was his daughter, and she cannot go to him and he cannot go to her. I have two daughters and I really have a hard time not talking about this – how impossible is this situation for these people? We know about the hundreds of millions, obviously, that Aliyev and his people are stealing and bringing to London, to Europe, to any places. Okay, he wants to be rich, but why do they have to be so cruel? Why is it not possible that a father can meet a daughter and a daughter can meet the father? That's something which is really incredible and that's why we have to do something, and we have to tell him we don't want to have any business with those people. We have to tell him that this is not the way you can do business with European nations. We have to be much clearer and we have to tell the real, very clear message to the people of Azerbaijan: we continue to support you in your fight for you to have a country free of corruption and free of this political violence.

Mr President, dear colleagues, you are very right: we have to do something and not only talk about it. But first of all we have to explain it also to our voters, to the people in Europe, what is happening in Crimea. It didn't start in 2022 – no, it was more than eight years before. Then, many European companies, also Austrian companies, continued to have business with Putin, which is a problem. We have to talk now about it. We have to tell it because they said Russian gas does not stink but yes, it does stink – it stinks like gunpowder! But we also have to explain to the public in Europe what happened in Crimea. It's not ethnic cleansing – I don't like this word – actually, they just tried to harass all the Tatars, to harass the Ukrainians, and some of them really had to watch out that they were not killed. It's very difficult for politicians to understand, but we have to say it again: it doesn't make sense to appease Putin. He only respects us when we do things, when we tell him 'we are not afraid of you', when we fight. Also, again, I want to say: free all political prisoners!

Madam President, dear colleagues, for years already, Putin has been waging a war against us Europeans in different ways, with obvious lies, like his essay a year before the full-scale occupation of Ukraine, that there was no Ukrainian nation existing. He complained that we do not see how great the Soviet Union was and he always said that there are no borders for the Russkiy Mir. All this was no accident – his tactic was hybrid warfare, taking land by force and taking people's mind by lies. This strategy was paying off here in the European Union, very often with right-wing extremists. I really wonder there was a colleague from the Patriots for Europe who also sees how terrible Putin is – so some people are learning and I'm very happy about that. It's not the same case in Austria – they still love Putin and say everything is fine what he is doing. But we have to stand up against him. That's the reason why I really call on the Commission – you have to do something. Kaja Kallas explained how we defend ourselves against misinformation, but we have to do information. I've been a correspondent for a long time in Germany, also in East Germany – the East Germans, they wanted another regime because another government, because they saw it from Western television, that life there was better, the rule of law was better, and so on and so forth. We have to explain to the Russians what rule of law means. We have to explain to them what democracy means, not disinformation. We have to give them information also by the internet, by all the means we have, and then they have a problem, Putin has a problem, but not us anymore.

Mr President! Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Russia and China are interfering in our democracy, interfering in our elections. The right-wing extremists do not bother, but they are even happy about it, and then they come and talk about censorship. The interesting thing is: They use the same phrases used by the Putin propagandists. We see a strong connection here. So these are Putin's friends who are here to express their opinion, no, Putin's opinion. Social media, of course, is information, it's entertainment. But these people – Putin – also use them as weapons and I say: Finally wake up! We have to fight back. We know that there are people who publish on our social media – even though they are sanctioned for representing dictatorships, for calling for genocide against Ukrainians. This is also criminally prohibited. And how can they come out and say: ‘All this should be said’? No, there is a criminal law, there is decency! They obviously have nothing to do with it. Because Karl Popper was mentioned, the Austrian Sir Karl Popper, one last word: Optimism is a duty.

Mr President, Mr Commissioner, we Europeans, we have an idea of freedom and democracy based on enlightenment. Dictators have a plan to destroy our life, to destroy our values. And part of the values, Mr László, is media freedom. Putin attacked Ukraine with rockets, but he also attacks us by other means. Also Russia, China, Iran and other illiberal actors, they are waging a hybrid war against our democracy. This information in the media, bribing governments, bribing people, as we saw in Moldova, sabotaging our infrastructure, these are their weapons. So, ladies and gentlemen, we also have to have a plan. We have to have a plan to defend our democracy. What do we need? You mentioned it, Mr Commissioner, it's a cyber security. I think it's cooperation of the different countries, also of the services, cooperation with countries we can trust. And I hope that the new Austrian Government will be a government where you also can trust. We already had the Interior minister, where we know other services did not trust him. And we need, of course, a hub of exchange. We have to talk to each other. We have to inform each other about the attacks against our freedom and our democracy. So we have a plan. We need a plan. We have to work together. Freedom, democracy, our values. We will save it for the children and their children.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to express my deepest sympathy for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina here. I know many have lost their loved ones. A lot has been destroyed. And I have a very clear message to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina: We, the European Union, are on your side. Immediately after seeing the first damage, I spoke on the phone with the Austrian Foreign Ministry and it was made clear to me: Yes, the European Union Civil Protection Programme will be put into effect immediately. Many, many countries will help, and this is also very important. But I have another message: From my visits to Sarajevo and also from conversations with people from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Austria, I know that there is often a difference between political parties on the one hand and civil society on the other. Many people in civil society, NGOs, want to join the European Union because they know that this is a huge advantage for people. Many in politics do not yet see it this way, and when I have often asked “What should be the next step? What do you want next?”, not much has come of it. The disaster now is quite terrible, but it is also an opportunity. It must show politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina that only together with civil society can they now repair this damage to the disaster. And there is a lot to do. We must also prepare ourselves for the next natural disasters that will occur, but at the same time see that everything can only be organised together, that society grows together in such a way that it also advances this accession to the European Union together across all ethnicities. We know that this is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina. We know that it is important for the European Union that the countries of the Western Balkans come to us. We have to do it together. Once again, all the best to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are with you, we do not forget you – quite the contrary. The European Union, many countries will help, and I hope that you will all survive this terrible natural disaster well now.

Madam President, Mr Orbán, you have spoken of competition on a number of occasions. Why do you discriminate against Austrian companies through higher taxes? And if there is a case before the European Court of Justice, then there is also harassment against these companies. That doesn't bother Mr Vilimsky. This bothers me, because I am the lawyer for the Austrian companies. You spoke of competition with China – yes, this is very important – and you continue to go into debt in China, becoming dependent on this dictatorship. What is Hungary's debt to China? They want more contact, more business with Russia. Are you aware that Putin is a war criminal? And your foreign minister was only recently in Iran to establish stronger economic relations between Hungary and Iran. This is a terror regime. They say they are for Israel. At the same time, Iran wants to wipe out Israel. How can you do good business with this regime? And personally, I would like to ask you: If you're always accused of corruption – and you know it's true – what does that actually do to you?

Mr President, Commissioner! We're talking about Georgia, but we're talking about Europe. We are talking about right-wing extremists talking about Georgia's sovereignty, but we think Georgia should submit to Putin. They are against foreign influences and at the same time they are happy about Putin's influences. They are pleased that Georgia has passed a Russian law that harms Georgians. These gentlemen do not want to take note of the fact that the Georgians are Europeans and that they also want to live in peace and freedom. They stand for democracy. They want a lively political system in which they can have a say. Of course, they also wish that their country is united, that their country can live together again and that there are no more occupied territories. I think we just have to see that this Russian influence is doing so much damage to Georgians. Dear friends in Georgia, you must fight for your freedom, you must fight for your independence, but you can assume: We are on your side.

Mr President, Commissioner, we Europeans love liberal democracy. The Moldovans are Europeans, so they also love democracy. On the other hand, Putin – there's nothing more than he hates than our democracy, and because Moldova is a democratic country, he also hates Moldova. So the Kremlin sends titushky, brutal street gangs, to hijack the pro-European government. He spreads propaganda and lies through his puppets and social media. He blackmails Moldovans with gas and electricity, and instructs his oligarchs to buy votes. None of this will work because the people of Moldova, they have made that choice. They want to be part of Europe and not of the crumbling Russkiy Mir. They have a very strong president, Maia Sandu. I really admire her and met her a few times, and I'm very impressed. I'm confident the people of Moldova will again say 'yes' in the referendum. Dear Moldovans, Moldova is part of Europe! We're with you! We stand with you.

Mr President! The borderless Europe is not a dream, but we already had this reality. But unfortunately, as Mr Negrescu has rightly said, fear of right-wing populists has meant that we have not allowed Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area. Representatives of Romania and Bulgaria demonstrated in Vienna that it makes sense to no longer control the borders within the two countries, but to make strong external borders. That's what we wanted, that's what we should have done together, but the fear of a state election prevented that. And vice versa: Viktor Orbán, who just sends people through, he really torpedoed Schengen and not these two countries. That is why I would like to appeal that – and this has been rightly said, because Romania and Bulgaria fulfil all the conditions – we include them in the Schengen area and that we then strengthen the external borders. And then we can live this borderless Europe again.

Madam President, Commissioner, I'm thinking about Sergei Tikhanovsky and all the other prisoners, and especially about their families. I'm in regular contact with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and she gave me a short message for all of you: 'Belarusians are Europeans. We share the same values and dreams. And one day, Belarus will take our rightful place in the European family.' But until then, we have to help the opposition. We must fight for the political prisoners in Lukashenka's dungeons, those who sacrificed everything and stood up to tyranny. Lukashenka is not a legitimate president. Everybody knows it – probably he knows it himself. Lukashenka allowed, as we know, the Russians, to bomb and destroy Ukrainian cities from the territory of Belarus. He handed Belarus over to Putin and turned it into a Russian colony. Lukashenka – and that's very important – Lukashenka and these criminals must face tougher sanctions, but sanctions against him and not against the people of Belarus. And we need more people-to-people contact with the people of Belarus. And one more point: Belarusian media in exile is the only source of truth for many Belarusians living under tyranny. We must continue to support civil society, media and democratic forces in Belarus. And one more thing, which I know from my conversations with Ms Tikhanovskaya, the people in the prisons of Belarus, they hear when we talk about them, they know that we think about them. It's very important – I can tell you, we will not abandon you. We will not forget you.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, of course, we all have sympathy for the victims of the floods in Central Europe, in Eastern Europe, but of course also for the victims of the fire in Portugal. The EU is a community of solidarity, which is why it is now being held together. I hope the help works quickly. But I also have to tell you, the help among each other, the help of the people has also worked. Many thanks to all the offers to Austria from Bavaria, from other countries, who have told us that they want to help, want to help the flood victims. Even offers have come from Ukraine. Because here again against foreigners was rushed, I would also like to say a few things: We have a lot of asylum seekers – Syrian asylum seekers – in Austria who have now helped as well, who have seen what solidarity means and have also shown us their solidarity. A word about the volunteer fire brigades, just an offer to everyone: Take a look at this in Austria, in Bavaria, in other countries! It works very, very well. Collaboration works. But Europe is also a Europe of science. Do we believe what she tells us? Yes, there is climate change. Yeah, we gotta do something. If Mrs von der Leyen has said that the European plan for adaptation to climate change will come now, then I hope that it will work really quickly now. A word to my friends in Portugal: Madam President, my thoughts also go to the victims of the fires in Portugal.

Mr President, dear colleagues, first of all, our Ukrainian fellow citizens need us. We have to support them with weapons because they have to defend themselves, and we have to support them with a lot of humanitarian aid. Second, we need our Ukrainian fellow citizens because they are defending European values. They are defending Europe at the same time as they defend their country. What Putin did was he destroyed the order of the Charter of Paris of 1990, and 32 European countries promised each other to accept the borders. And that's what Putin did not do. On the contrary, and that is my third point, he tried to destroy Ukraine by killing an elected president. And I really tell you, please read this book. It's a book by Simon Shuster, a Russian writer, and he explains exactly how the Russians tried to kill Zelenskyy in order to take over Ukraine. Please don't forget, again, he's also attacking us with all the propaganda. And we can read this in the papers. Fourth point, very important: Please go there. I know it from the Austrian right-wing parties, they always say, 'No, no, we don't go there. We don't want to know what's happening.' Also they have a contract with Putin; They are not allowed to go there. Please go there to see all the destruction in the schools, in the humanitarian destruction, in the houses, in the hospitals and so on and so forth. Fifth point, we have to rebuild Ukraine also with Russian assets, of course, frozen assets. And one sentence in German: Many thanks to all Austrians who have supported Ukraine so strongly. We have a great message in Kyiv, we help a lot. Thank you also to Ukraine. Many thanks to Ukraine, because they offer to help us because we have all the floods in Austria. Thank you very much. They are European citizens; We have to help them.