What Mārtiņš spoke about.

21

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Need for actions to address the continued oppression and fake elections in Belarus (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues every day 1 500 political prisoners in Belarus – teachers, students, journalists, parents, wake up in the cells not for crimes, but for daring to dream of freedom. Among them Dzmitry Kuchuk, leader of the dissolved Belarusian Green Party, sentenced for six years in prison simply for standing up for his beliefs. Since the stolen elections of 2020, the Lukashen…

21

Jan

2025

LV Speech

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Need to detect and to counter sabotage by the Russian shadow fleet, damaging critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea (debate)

Mr President, Dear Commissioner, The Baltic Sea is threatened by Russia, in particular by the Russian shadow fleet. We can only imagine what would happen if, as recently as in the Black Sea, a Russian tanker crashed in the Baltic Sea and large-scale oil spills occurred in the Baltic Sea. Such a disaster would be irreversible for my region. The marine ecosystem would have been destroyed, and for se…

21

Jan

2025

EN Question

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Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

My question is, what more can American and Chinese platforms do to continue to undermine democracy in Europe? Should they eliminate fact checking entirely or promote hate speech more aggressively, or maybe interfere more bluntly in our elections or design algorithms that expose our children to harmful content? Perhaps Elon Musk, who allegedly gave a Nazi salute twice yesterday, can convince you th…

17

Dec

2024

EN 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, our children are not for sale. As parents across Europe, we must be confident that the platforms our children use are safe, not a tool for exploitation or harm. And unfortunately, TikTok failed this test. This platform bombards children with addictive algorithms and toxic content, material that would never be allowed in China, where strict time limits and educational videos protect y…

27

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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

Madam President, dear colleagues, so Putin's goals go beyond destroying Ukraine. He seeks to break the unity of the West and destroy our values. Russia's first weapon is fear. Through arson, infrastructure attacks, cyberattacks, assassination plots and disinformation, Russia spread fear in our societies. A frightened person is easy to intimidate. The second weapon is greed. They use politicians wh…

14

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Enhancing Europe’s civilian and defence preparedness and readiness (debate)

Madam President, thank you Mr Niinistö for this report. I appreciate that it was written by President of Finland. As much of what we Latvians know about civil defence readiness, we actually learn from Finland. This is a special week for Latvians as we are not only celebrating our independence, but also remembering our freedom fighters. Our national guard has launched a new campaign called 'My Latv…

23

Oct

2024

LV Speech

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The important role of cities and regions in the EU – for a green, social and prosperous local development (debate)

Dear Chair, Dear Members, Dear Members, The 19th century was an era of empires, the 20th century is an era of states, but in the 21st century it is cities that play a much greater role. Three quarters of Europeans live in cities. They are driven by our growth and also innovation. If there are brave leaders in the city, they take decisions faster and more efficiently than national governments. Clea…

9

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Presentation of the programme of activities of the Hungarian Presidency (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, today the people of Ukraine are showing incredible bravery in the face of brutal aggression. Hungary, like Ukraine, Latvia and other nations, suffered under the oppressive occupation of the Soviet Union – an evil empire that once dominated its neighbours. The same evil has been reborn in Russia. Nations that remember this history are standing firmly with Ukraine. …

18

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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The severe situation of political prisoners in Belarus

Madam President, dear colleagues, for supporting the Belarusian people's desire to live in a free and democratic country, the Lukashenka regime has opened a crime case against me and declared me 'wanted'. Lukashenka has promised me 12 years in prison. But I am here to take every opportunity to remind you of the heroes that are the Belarusian people who are being tortured every day in Belarusian pr…