What René spoke about.

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DE Written Statement

UN Climate Change Conference 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) (debate)

Once again, representatives of nearly 200 parties to the UNFCCC Framework Agreement on Climate Change will meet to talk about "saving the planet". Once again, the "green transition" is promoted, which in plain language is a large-scale de-industrialisation, job reduction and money destruction programme for the EU Member States in the name of so-called climate protection. Once again, tens of thousa…

6 Oct

2026

DE Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro (debate)

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Madam President, "This is Europe" is the agenda item. And I would like to talk to you about what Europe once was and can be again. Europe, like Germany, was once a cultural space of inventors, engineers, masters and researchers. A cultural space where progress was seen as a promise. Robert Koch changed medicine, Konrad Zuse built one of the first functional computers in the world. And behind them,…

6 Oct

2026

DE Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 15-16 October 2026 (debate)

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Madam President, Two German researchers have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Congratulations! I think this Nobel Prize shows even more, namely what is still possible in our country and on our continent with our cultures, our scientific tradition and our research infrastructure. This is how we imagine Germany and Europe in 2050: A country and continent where we can cure diseases that are …

16 Sep

2026

DE Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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8 Jul

2026

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 18-19 June 2026 (debate)

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7 Jul

2026

DE Speech

Welcome

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Madam President, I refer to Article 187. Under this rule, Members should be able to table amendments to this decision, but you are not giving us an opportunity to do so today. That's why I have only one thing to say: Our AfD ‑ party conference on the weekend could only take place under a massive police contingent. Violent left-wing extremists had publicly called for him to be prevented. Members of…

17 Jun

2026

DE Speech

Preparation of the European Council (joint debate)

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15 Jun

2026

DE Speech

Time for European economic independence (debate)

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20 May

2026

DE Speech

Rule of law, fundamental rights and misuse of EU funds in Slovakia: the need for an EU response (B10-0245/2026) (vote)

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Madam President, (noise) All right, I'll try anyway. I refer to Rule 164. Strange things happened yesterday. The meeting was interrupted for the award of the Order, although it appeared to be on the agenda. But be it for that. Then incredible things happened. Non-Members were allowed to enter the Chamber as guests – and they sat down as a matter of course in Members’ seats. When colleagues from th…

20 May

2026

DE Speech

High time to deliver on the Single Market, providing certainty and predictability for EU businesses and quality jobs (debate)

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(Start of speech when microphone is switched off) ... I always go when I go to the lectern. But still I wish you a nice day. The AfD and ESN are in favour of European cooperation, where it is good for all of us, where Europe creates real added value; That is what we stand for. The single market is one such example. Acting freely across European borders – that is what our industry needs, that is wh…

29 Apr

2026

DE Speech

EU strategy in response to the ongoing Middle East crisis, its implications on energy prices and the availability of fertilizers (joint debate)

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25 Mar

2026

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 March 2026 (debate)

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Madam President, Gasoline and diesel over 2 euros, here and now. Everyone says it's because of the Iran war. That's partly true. But it's only half the truth. What no one tells them: Brussels has already decided – in black and white – that CO 2The price will continue to rise from 2028. Citizens and businesses will have to go even deeper into the pocket for energy. Experts calculate another 4…

11 Feb

2026

DE Speech

Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)

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Madam President, De-industrialisation, ladies and gentlemen, of which we are talking, is obscured, because it is about fates – in Ludwigshafen, in Zwickau, in Heidenau, in the Ruhr area –, closed factory gates and rising unemployment. Unfortunately, this is also the responsibility of the German government and governments, but also of the European level: political micromanagement, regulations and g…

21 Jan

2026

DE Speech

European Council meeting (joint debate)

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Madam President, In a world that is reorganised geopolitically on a daily basis, the EU would have to do everything it could to appear united to the outside world. But it is the European Union itself that repeatedly torpedoes this internal cohesion: Violence, centralism, paternity of the Member States. Instead of focusing on the essentials – the internal market, the protection of the external bord…

20 Jan

2026

DE Speech

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

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Madam President, Cyprus focuses its Presidency on economic competitiveness. And rightly so. What we are currently experiencing in Europe – and in Germany in particular – is a rapid loss of substance for the industrial base. An example: The chemical industry – the backbone of entire value chains, from agriculture to mechanical engineering – is in free fall. Sales fell by more than 15% within two ye…

17 Dec

2025

DE Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 18-19 December 2025, in particular the need to support Ukraine, transatlantic relations and the EU’s strategic autonomy (debate)

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Mr President! For ten years we as the AfD have been insulted by you, as militarists and as anti-Americans, because we demanded that we become independent from the United States in terms of security policy, because we demanded that we invest in strategic autonomy, because we wanted to invest in our capabilities and skills in security policy. Instead, they have denied reality. Barack Obama already s…

26 Nov

2025

DE Speech

EU position on the proposed plan and EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine (debate)

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13 Nov

2025

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23 October 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, In this Parliament, there are increasingly majorities that are patriotic. So something is moving, albeit too slowly, because the world is changing rapidly. Technological upheaval, demographic shifts, geopolitical tensions – change everywhere, only Europe stands still because of the EU Commission. While China is moving away in artificial intelligence, India is becoming a global tec…

22 Oct

2025

DE Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 23 October 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, Once again, the European Council meets, and once again, the same topics are on the agenda, the same speeches, the same promises – and in the end, everything stays the same. As America and Asia invest, you're discussing ever-new policies and regulations. While there is trade, there is bureaucracy here. As a result, Europe is gradually losing its prosperity and competitiveness, even…

20 Oct

2025

DE Speech

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (debate)

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Mr President! Poverty is destroying lives. It destroys the lives of children and young people because they cannot fully develop their talents, abilities, characteristics in poverty. This makes it impossible for young people to become great craftsmen, technicians, doctors, entrepreneurs and so on, even though they have the potential to do so. This is deceiving these children and young people of the…

7 Oct

2025

DE Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! What defines Europe should be the topic today. But it would have to be: What Europe once was. Europe was once the engine of progress – the continent of inventors, engineers, craftsmen and entrepreneurs. A continent where ideas were born and world markets conquered. Today, however, not a single European company is among the top 20 in the world. And that's no c…

10 Sep

2025

DE Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Madam President, Europe was once a dream: a continent where families could build their own homes; a continent that was the engine of global progress; a Europe where women could live safely, poor people were protected by good social legislation and young people had the chance to build a good life out of what they had worked for themselves. But this dream has been destroyed by politicians like Angel…

9 Jul

2025

DE Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 26 June 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start with something positive, because the nation states have made it clear that they want to weaken the supply chain directive. Finally, therefore, the Council is also moving in the right direction, as is sometimes and increasingly happening in this Parliament - but unfortunately still too slowly - because the world is changing, it is changin…

8 Jul

2025

DE Speech

Preparation for the 2025 EU–China Summit - Tackling China's critical raw materials export restrictions

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Madam President, China is a country with 1.4 billion people and a state order derived from over 3,000 years of cultural history. Anyone who believes that such a country can be changed with teachings and exhortations is not only mistaken, he is endangering the stability of global relations. China has proven time and again in all conflicts that it is willing to be reluctant. I recall that in 1999, d…

7 Jul

2025

DE Speech

Motion of censure on the Commission (debate)

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Madam President, Wherever Ms. Ursula von der Leyen is given responsibility, she does harm. As a family minister in Germany, she wanted to introduce the first network lockdowns 20 years ago – which earned her the nickname censorship sula. Even then, the cost of dubious consulting contracts skyrocketed. As Minister of Labour, the same picture: Millions for external consultants, millions for self-sta…