What Hans spoke about.

19

May

2026

DE 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, The United States withdraws troops it had transferred to Europe in the wake of the Ukraine crisis. This was politically announced and therefore foreseeable. If you are worried that the US will soon abandon Europe completely, you can turn to the other side with peace of mind: Great powers tend to make their vassals tremble occasionally. The United States will certainly not give up …

19

May

2026

DE Speech

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

Madam President, Modern AI needs top-level research. But we distrust excellence and declare social democratic mediocrity to be a political virtue. AI needs a strong interplay of universities, capital, start-ups and large-scale industry. But we stifle entrepreneurship in regulations and reporting obligations. AI needs top personnel and attractive conditions. But we scare off the best minds and pref…

28

Apr

2026

DE 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, From the outset, the European Parliament has reiterated and rightly condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in violation of international law. However, it has not yet condemned the US war against Iran, which is also contrary to international law. The US war against Iraq in 2003, with more than 500,000 civilian deaths, has not yet been condemned. This is obvious and pr…

10

Mar

2026

DE Speech

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Tackling barriers to the single market for defence - Flagship European defence projects of common interest

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! The European Union loves crises. After all, crises are a wonderful means of enforcing extraordinary policy measures. Typical features of crisis rhetoric are, first, the existential threat: Climate death, corona death, Russian death. Second, the time pressure: We must act immediately! Thirdly, the alleged lack of alternatives. Fourthly, the nature of the measu…

11

Feb

2026

DE Speech

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Regulation implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the Ukraine Support Loan for 2026 and 2027 (vote)

10

Feb

2026

DE Speech

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

22

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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Drones and new systems of warfare – the EU’s need to adapt to be fit for today’s security challenges (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! Mr Pozņaks' drone report is characterised by excellent expertise, but it completely ignores the actual danger situation in which we find ourselves. We must bear in mind that Europe today faces a heap of security policy shards. For decades, it had been believed that geopolitical influence could be exerted solely as an economic power. But only those who have their…

20

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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CFSP and CSDP (Article 36 TEU) (joint debate)

Mr President! Ladies and Gentlemen! In terms of security policy, Europe is facing a heap of shards, in all directions: Overstretched to the east and entangled in a hopeless war, open and defenseless to the south, to the west in conflict with our own leading power and to the north to the Arctic, we are heading towards an iceberg. And it could get worse. A withdrawal of the US from Europe would leav…

19

Jan

2026

DE Speech

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Order of business

Madam President, I refer to Rule 10(4) of the Rules of Procedure, according to which insulting remarks must not be made in parliamentary debates. In December, during the debate on cases of pro-Russian espionage, Mr Kelleher of the Renew Group described members of the right and left as useful idiots. This expression characterizes people as manipulable and stupid. It degrades other Members and damag…

17

Dec

2025

DE Speech

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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)

Madam President, Colleagues! The US National Security Strategy shows that international relations are being reorganized. The goal of the United States is now to reach a strategic balance with other major powers. As a result, Europe will have to take more responsibility for its own security in the future. It is therefore not in the European interest to make Ukraine the total frontline state, the st…

16

Dec

2025

DE Speech

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Condemnation of the terrorist attack against the Hanukkah celebrations in Sydney and solidarity with the victims and their families (debate)

26

Nov

2025

DE Answer

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

26

Nov

2025

DE Speech

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

25

Nov

2025

DE Speech

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Mr Sieper, it is wrong to assume that it would be in Russia’s interest to dominate and control Ukraine as a whole. Because then you wouldn't have gone into invasion with such a small army. The goal of Russia is: no NATO membership of Ukraine and the return to Ukraine's neutrality status, as was the case until 2014. That was and would be the best thing for this country, and that is why we should su…

25

Nov

2025

DE Answer

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Mr Sieper, thank you very much for the question. Due to its temporal interpretation, the EDIP project will no longer be able to benefit Ukraine in any way. What it will do, however, is to provide a strong incentive for Russia to move the western border with Ukraine, the line of contact, as far west as possible. This is not in Ukraine's interest.…

25

Nov

2025

DE Speech

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European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! It is perfectly true that the European states themselves want to master the technological and industrial foundations of their defence capabilities. However, it is completely wrong to include Ukraine as an equal and even privileged partner in this project. Because the country is in a war that it threatens to lose and is paralyzed by notorious corruption. Suppo…

21

Oct

2025

DE Answer

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Stepping up funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction and defence: the use of Russian frozen assets (debate)

Mr Colleague, the mistake you are making is that Russia would ever pay reparations. Russia simply won't do that. How are you going to force Russia to make such reparations payments? You can't do it. The result is: Either the central bank reserves must actually be expropriated, or the EU will remain seated on its gifts to Ukraine.…

21

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Stepping up funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction and defence: the use of Russian frozen assets (debate)

Madam President, The planned seizure of Russian assets is not an expression of the rule of law. It's their hollowing out. State immunity is a cornerstone of the international order. Does the EU want to bring down this order? A reparation loan sounds harmless, but here is nothing more than the legally camouflaged expropriation. In doing so, the EU opens a Pandora's box. If we confiscate foreign cen…

21

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Institutional consequences of the EU enlargement negotiations (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to make the EU a central state, you should say so to EU citizens. Those who lay their hands on the unanimity principle – and this is exactly what this report does – lay their hands on the sovereignty of the Member States. They claim that Article 49 allows for a transition to qualified majority voting without amending the Treaties. Here we are apparen…

9

Oct

2025

DE Answer

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Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society (debate)

Here I can refer – I reply in German – to what Mrs Boßdorf has already said. These are issues to be decided by the peoples in their national legislation and not at the level of the European Union, as Slovakia has done. If a people decides to criminalize abortion, that is a decision that that people are allowed to make.…

9

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. Equal rights for women are fully realized in European societies. And that's a good thing. If you want to talk about equality, you should not consult the left-green education emergency, but the evolutionary psychology. A man with 100 women can have a hundred times more children than a man with only one. A woman who has 100 men, on the other hand, cannot have a si…

8

Oct

2025

DE Speech

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United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. The most dangerous drones do not circle in the sky above Poland, Frankfurt or Copenhagen, but in our heads. The call of the black-green religious warriors presented here for a common reaction, for a holy struggle against Russia, is the most frightening example of this. What you expect us to do is a hodgepodge of unproven claims and wild speculation. The drone…

9

Sep

2025

DE Speech

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Ukraine (joint debate)

Madam President, The only effective security guarantee for Ukraine would be its return to neutrality. The EU claims to be seeking a ceasefire. But by requiring EU and NATO states to monitor it, it only gives Russia the incentive to occupy even more Ukrainian territory. Why this nonsensical action? Firstly: Any compromise with Russia is considered a geopolitical loss of face – morality beats realis…

8

Jul

2025

DE Speech

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2023 and 2024 reports on Georgia (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. The European Parliament likes to present itself as a moral institution, as a judge of good and evil in politics. For months, Parliament has been outraged that Georgians did not elect the government that the EU had planned in October 2024. For months, committees and bodies have been pondering how Georgians should be punished for doing so. The Georgian governme…

18

Jun

2025

DE Speech

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Upcoming NATO summit on 24-26 June 2025 (debate)

Madam President, The EU is about to become a victim of its own propaganda. It is propaganda when it is spread that Russia wants to attack an EU and NATO state after Ukraine. The truth is, Russia has neither the human resources nor a reason to take such a step. According to its own intelligence chief, NATO has no evidence that the Russian leadership has such intentions. The EU's common security pol…