What Carola spoke about.

9 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Gaza at breaking point: EU action to combat famine, the urgent need to release hostages and move towards a two-state solution (debate)

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Madam President, as of now, at least 2 361 Palestinians have died of malnutrition, and more than 2 000 were murdered trying to reach food distribution. Everyone in the world with a smartphone can see images of starving people, starving children on their phones. It is heartbreaking and disgusting to watch, and it is impossible to talk about this famine without talking about the intent of Israel: it…

7 Jul

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, on the occasion that I have been here for one year now, I want to speak about deadlines. Of course, nobody likes them, but some cannot be avoided – especially if they are physical or biological deadlines. In 2019, the Parliament voted for declaring a climate and environmental emergency. But where is the emergency mode for climate action to prevent literal climate breakdown? I know…

2 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Outcome of the recent COP16 biodiversity negotiations in Rome (debate)

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Mr President, we are in the sixth mass extinction of species, and the last time Earth faced a mass extinction, three out of four species went extinct. It isn't too late to turn things around, but the meeting in Rome showed that there is still a massive finance gap – somewhere between USD 300 billion up to USD 1 trillion per year, according to the International Expert Panel on Biodiversity. Harmful…

13 Mar

2025

EN Speech

A Vision for Agriculture and Food (debate)

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Mr President, it is crucial that the vision mentions 'operating within planetary boundaries'. And to remain within those planetary boundaries, we have to stop the continuous growth of resource consumption and nature destruction. However, one of the main ideas is increased growth and competitiveness. Trade agreements like EU-Mercosur will make it really hard for most farmers to sustain their liveli…

13 Feb

2025

EN Speech

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement (debate)

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Madam President, the EU-Mercosur agreement is designed to enrich the bosses of corporations in Frankfurt or Buenos Aires, at the expense of locals and farmers in the countryside on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a deliberate attack on workers' rights, on indigenous communities, on family farmers, but also on entire ecosystems and a stable climate. This agreement has already derailed the EU's de…

10 Feb

2025

DE Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President! Seven months ago, the Berlin Supreme Court extradited a person, Maja T., to Hungary, and last week, the Federal Constitutional Court upheld Maja's complaint, stating that the extradition is a serious encroachment on Maja's fundamental right, which is still ongoing. The explanatory memorandum explicitly mentions the inhumane treatment in Hungary, which violates the EU Charter of Funda…

10 Feb

2025

DE Speech

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the need for the European Union to contribute to resolving the humanitarian crisis of persons missing in wars and conflicts (debate)

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Mr President! I must say that this debate also fills me with an insane amount of anger, because there are thousands of victims whose remains lie on the bottom of the Mediterranean. People on the run who were left to die by the EU and whom no one saved when they were still alive. This crisis is the result of the policy of isolation decided in these halls. It's a disgrace! I myself, while working on…

21 Jan

2025

DE Speech

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

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Madam President, A few days ago we experienced the dystopia in which truth and lies dissolve completely into thin air. The head of the AfD claimed in a conversation on X with Elon Musk that Hitler was a communist. In the process, communists were murdered by the Nazi regime in thousands in camps. Basically, however, the problem is that X does not moderate contributions at all very systematically an…

20 Jan

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, for weeks, Serbian students have been protesting at their government's corruption. Serbia is a candidate member to the EU, and we should be watching closely why people are so angry. I have recently visited Majdanpek in eastern Serbia. A Chinese copper mine operates less than 1 000 m away from the town. The air is heavily polluted – you can feel it. Citizens suffer from cancer. Las…

20 Jan

2025

EN Speech

Powering Europe’s future - advancing the fusion industry for energy independence and innovation (debate)

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Madam President, every child knows why many parties wanted to discuss fusion energy today: the aim is to delay action against climate breakdown. The debate we should have is what we must do right now to end the use of fossil fuels by 2030. There is no point to wait for fusion energy to possibly become a reality in several decades from now. The world has already heated up 1.5 degrees. Everyone in t…

18 Dec

2024

EN Speech

Restoring the EU’s competitive edge – the need for an impact assessment on the Green Deal policies (topical debate)

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Mr President, I am not interested in a competition about how European companies and corporations can destroy the living planet even faster than they are already, causing more pollution, more health problems, more environmental destruction and more poverty. The aim of our economy must be fair distribution within ecologically and physically safe limits, and we have already crossed the planetary boun…

13 Nov

2024

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, I was shocked to read that the EU ambassador to Argentina plans to advance dirty deals for fracked gas and lithium mining in Argentina. I wonder if the ambassador has actually visited the communities affected by pollution of water, air and soils due to that mining and fracking. Because I have visited Jujuy and also Vaca Muerta, and I can say that in Vaca Muerta lung diseases, cancer,…

9 Oct

2024

EN Speech

Recent devastating floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina (debate)

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Mr President, on behalf of my delegation and The Left Group, I extend my condolences and solidarity to the communities affected by the catastrophic floods across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 20 people have died in Bosnia already, with many still missing. The floods caused by Storm Boris a few weeks ago across central Europe killed many more. The storm in the US, called Helene, killed even more, an…

8 Oct

2024

EN Speech

The crisis facing the EU’s automotive industry, potential plant closures and the need to enhance competitiveness and maintain jobs in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, I want to share a story of inspiration and hope from Italy. Three years ago, the automotive supplier GKN decided to close its production plant close to France and dismiss 800 workers. They called a prominent workers' assembly and occupied the factory. Here it becomes interesting – because they didn't ask GKN to keep producing car parts; they decided to convert the factory into a p…

7 Oct

2024

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, nations are meeting in Colombia to discuss how to stop the destruction of ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity and the pollution of land, air and water. The EU Commission is proposing a financial market to trade biodiversity credits and certificates, and they will be used for offsetting. But all of us know that carbon offsets haven't worked at all. They're rubbish. They're greenwa…

7 Oct

2024

EN Speech

The reintroduction of internal border controls in a number of Member States and its impact on the Schengen Area (debate)

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Madam President, in 2021, the new German Government coalition announced progress. But the closure of the Schengen borders is a regression towards a past which we saw long gone, a past of separation and nationalism. I and many Europeans – and particularly young people – we work for a future where we will take down the walls and border fences that divide us and be united, not only with our Schengen …

19 Sep

2024

EN Speech

Possible extradition of Paul Watson: the danger of criminalisation of environmental defenders and whistle-blowers, and the need for their protection in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, I would like to raise a point on Serbia, since it is a candidate to become an EU Member State. In August, over 120 000 people protested at a planned lithium mine, a project by the Australian company Rio Tinto, which is infamous for its horrendous environmental record. The scale of these environmental protests has led to escalating state-led repression by the Vučić government, with ac…

19 Sep

2024

DE Answer

Droughts and extreme weather events as a threat to local communities and EU agriculture in times of climate change (debate)

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Let me sum it up: The countries of the global north have historically emitted 92% of greenhouse gases. Germany, the country where I was born, has produced the fourth highest emissions in the world, and we really don't have the fourth largest population by far. In other words, Germany specifically has an extremely large responsibility. I can tell you that as a trained ecologist, I am really committ…

19 Sep

2024

EN Speech

Droughts and extreme weather events as a threat to local communities and EU agriculture in times of climate change (debate)

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Mr President, we talk about EU climate and agricultural policy as if it were a solution to the existential crisis we face. But the fact is, the opposite is true. EU policy is a massive driver of climate breakdown and extreme weather events. EU fossil fuel subsidies were, on average, EUR 56 billion per year between 2015 and 2021. Last year, EU fossil fuel subsidies were EUR 123 billion. So even now…

18 Sep

2024

EN Answer

The devastating floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the loss of lives and the EU’s preparedness to act on such disasters exacerbated by climate change (debate)

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The European Union and, of course, to different degrees, specifically people with high incomes, corporations are responsible for the vast majority of emissions. Germany, for example, the country where I come from, historically has produced the fourth‑highest emissions. We as European citizens have a responsibility to act. We cannot blame others. We have to do both – we have to urgently mitigate so…

18 Sep

2024

EN Speech

The devastating floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the loss of lives and the EU’s preparedness to act on such disasters exacerbated by climate change (debate)

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Madam President, let me say the obvious: adaptation to five or four or three degrees and the breakdown of ecosystems is plainly not possible for our societies. How can we even ask families to adapt to the loss of their loved ones, just for the profits of the fossil corporations, which are making historic profits at this point? Eighteen people have died now in Europe and 11 000 last year in Libya. …