Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, since the Taliban regained power again in Afghanistan, life has been reduced to work and mosque for men and to family for women. Without a doubt, under the Taliban, every Afghani lost. But Afghani women really lost everything. They lost their right to work; they lost their right to education; they lost their right to choose their own identity or to choose to marry and whom they want to marry. And now their loss is complete: they are losing their voice as well. With our military withdrawal, we seem to start to look away, whereas other powers, like China and Russia, now operate in the power vacuum that has risen. And it's positive that Europe has reopened its diplomatic post. Hopefully that's a small step to hear the Afghan women and to support the women and men who are courageous in Afghanistan to stand up against the Taliban. We must not forget all the women and children who are living oppressed without control over their own bodies.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we share an important responsibility in this House and I am proud to contribute to a discussion that reflects Europe’s core values. Solidarity, looking after others and action. These values are being invoked today. The World Health Organization recently declared that the MPOX outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an international public health emergency. More than 22,000 infections and 700 deaths this year confirm the seriousness of the situation. In times like these, our solidarity must extend beyond our European borders. This is not only a moral duty, but also a strategic necessity. After all, we need to tackle the outbreak at its source in order to prevent further spread. Thus, vulnerable populations in the affected region need access to vaccines. A coordinated approach is crucial to stop the spread of mpox. The EU is already coordinating the procurement of vaccines. But we'll have to do more. Each Member State must do its part to donate vaccines and cooperate with African health organisations. Only together can we prevent this outbreak from becoming a global threat. And let's not forget that equal access to healthcare is one of Europe's core values.

Mr President, those who want peace must prepare for war: si vis pacem, para bellum. If we truly stand for peace in Europe, we must stand together with Ukraine and be united in our support for the country and in our commitments and obligations to enable Ukraine to defend its sovereignty. Europe contributes financially and sends weapons. However, this does not seem to scare Russia enough. We must therefore jointly lift the ban on the use of weapons on Russian territory. Only if we are united can Ukraine effectively defend itself and show Russia that it has nothing to do with Ukraine. Only in this way will there be peace.