What Lukas spoke about.

18

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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Joint Declaration on ‘Culture for Europe - Europe for Culture’ (debate)

It's better for the environment, you know. Mr President, dear people of Europe! I wholeheartedly support this statement. So let me show you why, for example, music culture can express the feeling of an entire generation better than politics ever could: I think the youth are scared. In front of old men in office. In front of a terrible spectacle. War on the doorstep. I think the youth are scared. In front of large forests in flames. In front of a world. Where you can't live. Driven by megalomania. Pull us gold-plated offices down. We hunt white pigeons with broken wings. Every story is about hatred and lies. We're just looking for extremes. I think the youth are scared. A word to the young people: You're good enough. I don't know what the world is telling you. Just stay you. Culture helps us understand each other. Keep it up, Glenn!

17

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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Political prisoners in Nicaragua – the cases of Carlos Brenes, Salvadora del Socorro Martínez Aburto and Brooklyn Rivera

17

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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The resilience of the European transport sector and the need to ensure the supply of essential goods amid ongoing geopolitical instability (debate)

Mr Colleague, I believe that the threat to us stems from the fact that our infrastructure – our energy infrastructure, our transport infrastructure – is now increasingly exposed to acts of sabotage, coincidentally since the beginning of the Russian invasion, and that is also something that is important in the context of resilience. So negating that the geopolitical situation has consequences on our resilience is nothing more than negating facts; As an experienced politician, I would have trusted you more.

17

Jun

2026

Questions DE

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The resilience of the European transport sector and the need to ensure the supply of essential goods amid ongoing geopolitical instability (debate)

17

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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The resilience of the European transport sector and the need to ensure the supply of essential goods amid ongoing geopolitical instability (debate)

Thank you, colleague, for accepting my blue card. And let me just tell you: I am very, very happy that you are so proud of your country and that you like your country so much. And I think the French people have done great deeds for the support of the European idea. Do you think maybe then to have this greatness that you described in all of Europe, we should transfer the competence for this topic to the European Union instead of looking again only for national solutions?

17

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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Electrification Action Plan (debate)

Thank you, dear colleague. I think we all agree that in the current geopolitical situation, we would be better off if we did not get out of nuclear energy at the time when we did it. At the same time, nuclear energy as well as fossil energy just pushes the problem to the future. So, should we repeat the same mistake by relying now on energy where the problem is pushed for the future, instead of renewables, which is not only solar or wind, but also water, for example, which flows all day and all night in all of Europe? So should we not not repeat the mistakes from the past?

17

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Objection pursuant to Rule 114(3): Catches of porpoise in the Baltic Sea (B10-0274/2026) (vote)

Mr President, colleagues, maybe before you go, you can give me your attention for one final moment. I think what happened here today is more a matter of Rule 10(3). But I just want to tell you something before you leave. Now, after you leave, this Chamber will be empty again, just as it was this morning, just as it was yesterday, just as it will be tomorrow. Because this Chamber is empty. And when we are full, when this Chamber is full, and we have a topic that moves us, then this Chamber acts like a circus. Then we have colleagues who chant at each other, who scream at each other, instead of having a debate. I think this is a disgrace, and I think the European Parliament is better than that. So maybe we can take this as an opportunity to at least apply the plenary reforms that were implemented ...

16

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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2025 Commission report on Türkiye (debate)

Mr President! There are four Lukes here – two Sebastians, four Lukes – so it could happen to you too. Dear people of Europe! Turkey is a proud country; Among other things, you could see this a few days ago, when the Turkish national team lost 2-0 to Australia in their first World Cup group match in some time – and I am sorry. But, Commissioner, this pride of Turkey should never stop us from openly addressing the mistakes and crimes of the Turkish government. I think this is a criticism that has been very strong here in this House today. We cannot ignore human rights violations in our reports on Turkey. We cannot go beyond the illegal occupation of the territory of an EU Member State. We cannot ignore the Turkish secret service's support for Islamist terrorist organizations. Turkey is a proud country. And if at some point it is to become a proud country as a Member State of the European Union, then we must be honest with it.

16

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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2025 Commission report on Türkiye (debate)

Dear colleague, thank you for accepting my blue card. I agree with you that the Turkey that we see right now is not the Turkey that we can go forward with. And you come from Cyprus, the country which is partly under Turkish occupation. So, if we cannot go forward with the State of Turkey as it is right now, I was wondering if you could tell us how the people of Cyprus might be on their way to solve this, no matter on which side of the demilitarised zone they live right now.

16

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Question Time (Commission) - State of play on the European Commission’s pledge to reduce the reporting burden, in particular for SMEs

Thank you, Commissioner, for your explanation. Maybe I put myself not clear enough. I'm not questioning that there is support within the business community for this change in policy. My question is, how to address the sunken cost of SMEs that established systems to comply with the former regulatory approach – because big companies can just switch back; SMEs cannot. So, how to address the sunken cost problems for SMEs that cannot afford just to switch back now?

16

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Question Time (Commission) - State of play on the European Commission’s pledge to reduce the reporting burden, in particular for SMEs

Mr Commissioner, I think if bureaucracy and paperwork serves really no purpose then we should cut it. At the same time, many, many, many SMEs in the European Union now spend years and years to prepare for these reporting obligations. They invested in software, in staff, they established audit systems. And now, of course, the Commission says, we encourage them to keep those systems, we encourage them to keep what was built up, but I think one of the main reasons why we deregulate here now, why we simplify is because many of the SMEs cannot keep up with it. So, all of this investment then turns into sunken cost, and this sunken cost only exists because, in opposition to how we would act in a business, where you have long-term planning, there was no long-term planning in our political development in the European Union: 'last mandate, we wanted to do this; now we want to do this'. So how does the Commission want to address these sunken costs for SMEs and take this burden off them?

16

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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Russia’s unacceptable provocative actions and drone incursions into Romania, the Baltic states and Finland (debate)

Thank you, dear colleague, for accepting my blue card. Often when we have this debate, it shifts into geopolitical discussions or necessities of action of this Union. Now, if I understood you correctly, you said that you are from the very same city that suffered the drone incursion. So I would like to know: for you, as a human being, how does it feel when war comes to your town?

16

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, I would also like to thank you for repeatedly dealing with my own disproportionate need for communication. Dear people of Europe! I would like to say right to Mr Kelly, who said: We need to look at the facts here. And the facts say that this is not yet a peace, that this is a mere declaration of intent for a peace that ignores essential points, such as the peace in Lebanon or the Iranian nuclear program. It is really a big question mark whether there will be an agreement in the end or just another round of war. If all this shows us anything, it is that those who lament Europe's weak role in this whole context are right. As the European Union, we must work to reform the system of international law, international security and, in particular, to either completely reorganise or abolish the UN Security Council.

16

Jun

2026

Speeches DE

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

16

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Dear colleague, you said that if there is no peace, there should be consequences. What should be the consequences then?

16

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Let him reply, please, Madam President.

16

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Madam President, as Mr Botenga attributed a certain opinion to me in his reply, I would do a personal statement instead of a reply on the blue card, which fortunately within the Rules of Procedure allows me to elaborate a little bit more than I would in just 30 seconds. Dear colleague, I think you (inaudible). First of all, I am definitely not in favour of Israel committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people. And just for your information, I just met with young Palestinian and Israeli activists before this debate to discuss exactly that: a peaceful solution, a peaceful future for both people, both states. I just want to make this very clear. Also, I would be in favour of sanctioning Israel, so I'm not saying that sanctions are not a good idea or are not appropriate in this situation. You said that we need to sanction Israel and that this is our solution. I don't think that this is the solution – in the same way as it is not the solution for Russia. If we would have only sanctioned Russia, the war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine would be over in Russia's favour already. I think we need to think about more than that, about things like reforming, for example, the UN Security Council which – as my colleague Ms Al-Sahlani says – has stopped serving everyone equally. So I'm sorry that you felt attacked by my statement and my question, I was more asking ...

16

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

I was wondering: do you really think that sanctions would stop Israel? Would they really stop Israel from producing weapons? Would they really stop Israel from waging war? Is this a promise that we should give to our citizens, that we can stop a state that is perpetrating violations of international law with sanctions?

15

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI) (debate)

Madam President, luckily, this week we have a new reform in this plenary that obliges us Members to have a more vibrant debate, so I will also try something new and just react to the other catch‑the‑eye speakers. So, Mr Warborn said simplification is the solution and therefore I will vote for it, and Mr López Aguilar said simplification is dangerous. What I want to say to both of you is: I think it is not black and white. Only because you simplify or do not simplify, it is not the solution. Now, Mr Warborn, you said we need to regulate the problems, not the technology. To that, I can just say that AI will develop so fast, you will not be able to believe it and if we do not regulate the technology, then the technology will come to the conclusion that we are the problem and might get rid of us. And finally, Mr Tynkkynen, talking about the complicated procedures and all these different languages – welcome to the European Union. Luckily, we have AI that allows you to translate everything in time and also explain complicated matters like the title of this debate.

15

Jun

2026

Questions EN

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Time for European economic independence (debate)

Thank you, dear colleague, for accepting the blue card. I sincerely hope you changed since yesterday. And let me just say that Germany won 7‑1 – I have to! I'm just kidding, of course. I was wondering: as you talked about the algorithm – which, as you say, influences everyday people's lives more and more – in what capacity do you think the corporations should be obliged to lay open the algorithms to the state or to the European Union on that matter?

15

Jun

2026

Speeches EN

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Order of business

Madam President, dear colleagues, I could talk about the fact that I don't really like debates about the independent decisions of other institutions of the European Union, but I think, for me, the more important aspect is what you, Madam President, mentioned: that if we take this debate, then the debate about the returns might be deleted from the agenda. Now, let's face the fact that the majority of this House is willing to sacrifice most likely our morals for our security when it comes to this Return Regulation. And if we go down this path, if we indeed sacrifice our morals for our security, then we should at least have the guts to explain ourselves to the people of the European Union. This is why I think this debate about returns should not be deleted from the agenda.

21

May

2026

Speeches EN

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Advancing towards a care society: addressing the gender care gap (A10-0083/2026 - Eleonora Meleti, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, we cannot continue to ignore the gender care gap. Millions of women across Europe still carry most unpaid care responsibilities every single day. Women spent on average 13 hours more per week on unpaid care work than men. Many are forced to reduce working hours, pause their careers or leave the labour market entirely because care responsibilities are still not shared equally and support systems remain insufficient. This is not only a gender issue. It is also about fairness and social justice. I voted in favour because this report pushes for better child care and stronger long-term care systems, because the people carrying these responsibilities every day deserve recognition and support. Because a society that depends on care work must also value the people providing it.

21

May

2026

Speeches EN

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Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (A9-0157/2024 - Javier Zarzalejos, Lucia Yar)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, behind every crime statistic, there is a person and, more and more, this person is a child. This is something that we cannot accept – we can never accept if people are left behind by society, if they are left alone by society. This can be anything, from a woman fleeing domestic violence, a man attacked because of his identity, or a child that is used by criminal gangs online. A victim should never feel abandoned by the justice system. But for many people across Europe, this is still the reality. That is why I supported this report. This is why we must strengthen victims' rights across Europe, why we must increase support, legal protection and dignified treatment during judicial procedures, because justice is not only about punishing offenders, it is also about protecting victims of crime.

21

May

2026

Speeches EN

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Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (A9-0157/2024 - Javier Zarzalejos, Lucia Yar)

Madam President, it's a problem when the MEPs have fun also in this room, then they forget to work, and then the whole proceeding goes down south.

21

May

2026

Speeches DE

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Decision of the Azerbaijani Parliament on suspending cooperation with the European Parliament (debate)

It's wonderful. (I have technical problems.) We have a little more time in the end, so that's possible. Thank you very much! I am completely with you in the role of mediator. Now, in the past, and perhaps in countries such as the one we are talking about today, I have noticed that there are sometimes some problems with understanding the functioning of parliamentary democracy outside Europe: It is assumed that when a particular voice says something uncomfortable, it is representative of the whole institution or the whole Union. How, then, could we, in a stronger role for Parliament, be assimilated to thinking that perhaps we do not think that the crooks of this Parliament are the ones who really represent Parliament as such?