What Lukas spoke about.

7

May

2025

Speeches EN

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Banking Union – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, when Donald Trump decided to slap new tariffs on clean tech imports again, it reminded us of one simple truth: the world doesn't wait for Europe to finish its homework. While American banks go ahead, backed by one unified system, European banks are still stuck in 27 national frameworks, 27 rulebooks, 27 different risks. It's no surprise that our capital leaves Europe. A real banking union means three things: a joint deposit guarantee so citizens trust their money is safe no matter what; a smarter supervisory mechanism that lets us act fast and together; and harmonised financial market. Because otherwise we might as well put 100 % tariffs on ourselves. Let's finish the banking union before the next crisis finishes us!

7

May

2025

Speeches DA

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High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

Madam President! Dear people of Europe. Food should be cheap and good. But right now, the food is too expensive for many people. When people can't afford food, anger comes. Then comes crisis. Governments will fall. This happened in France during the Revolution. It happened in Tunisia when the dictatorship fell. We have to act now! We need strong European rules. Rules for fair prices, fair trade and fair support for farmers. Food is not just a commodity. It's life. Life should be for everyone.

7

May

2025

Speeches ES

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Resilience and the need to improve the interconnection of energy grid infrastructure in the EU: the first lessons from the blackout in the Iberian Peninsula (debate)

Madam President, my dear peoples of Europe, last week in Spain and Portugal there was a major blackout. Many people had no electricity, no train, no internet. It was not an attack, perhaps; It wasn't a storm. It was a problem in the power grid. We switched to green energy, but we didn't make the connections right. Now we need better cables, large batteries for energy storage and help between the countries of Europe. This blackout is a clear sign: Europe needs strong, safe and clean energy. Let's act now.

7

May

2025

Speeches DE

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EU support for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace in Ukraine (debate)

Madam President, dear people of Europe! Peace as attacks on infrastructure continue. Peace, while hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children are being held in Russia. Peace, while more Ukrainian soldiers surrendering are being executed than ever before. We want peace – a peace that Ukraine does not extradite to Russia. We will remember the end of the Second World War. In Moscow, the Victory Parade will be held tomorrow, not in honor of the Russian armed forces, but in honor of the Red Army of the Soviet Union. Nearly 25 percent of the Red Army's soldiers were Ukrainians. Putin has not forgotten that. His war is nothing less than a betrayal of this common victory over National Socialism, a betrayal of peace. Therefore, peace cannot be based on its will, but only on the free will of the Ukrainian people. Slava Ukrajini.

6

May

2025

Speeches EN

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The European Water Resilience Strategy (debate)

Mr President, sorry, it's a bit broken today. Dear Thomas, thank you for your very important work on that file. I think it is a great step forward, and I'm also happy that I can see one of the main tasks that we defined in our party programme be concluded here. Dear colleagues, I would use this opportunity at the end of this debate to also broaden our view. Three to four weeks ago, I was in Syria, and I saw that the people in Syria are facing a serious shortage of water. Their water is cut off. But without going too deep now into international politics, I would like to stress why this is also important for us. It is important for us because it's bad for the environment. It is important for us because it's bad for the people there. It's important for us because it's bad for business. And it's even important because some of us do not want the people there to come here. So accessible water, clean water, is not only important inside our Union, but also in the countries bordering our Union. Let us always keep this in mind.

6

May

2025

Speeches DE

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An urgent assessment of the applicability of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Kallas! I should like to return once again to Mr Sonneborn's book criticism, which you have just had to endure. I hope you don't take them too seriously. The colleague Sonneborn has long exceeded his journalistic zenith. He recently published his own book, the Handbook of European Values. This is just white on 80 out of 100 pages, so not the most profound joke at this point. I don't agree with everything you do, and I'm sure we could talk forever about what's right and what's wrong here. I think that you have the competence to recognize that this question is more complicated with regard to Cuba than what we see here from large parts of the plenary, namely, on the one hand, communism good, USA evil and on the other hand communism evil, USA good. So, if you have a say in this, if you are thinking about whether or not to continue this agreement, I would ask you to think on one question alone: Does it lead to the freedom of the Cuban people? Yes or no?

6

May

2025

Speeches DE

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Protecting Greenland's right to decide its own future and maintain the rule-based world order (debate)

Madam President, dear people of Europe! The year is 2025, and a US president is fabulated by neo-imperialist ideas about taking Greenland. 79 years ago, it was the troops of the first US army that liberated my hometown of Wiehl, a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, from the Nazi reign of terror. My grandparents learned then that the United States is liberators. My parents have learned that they are friends and allies. A few weeks ago, I asked Commissioner Šefčovič when the US would cease to be our allies in the current situation, when it would cease to be our friends. And he told me that you couldn't just throw 80 years of friendship and 80 years of alliance overboard. I agree with that. But I would like to remind you all once again of this question through this debate: When is the United States no longer our ally?

6

May

2025

Speeches EN

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Discharge 2023 (joint debate)

Mr President, in the same way as mentioned in other budgetary debates, the biggest mistake that was done in the budget was lack of transparency. EU funding is enormous. It affects millions and millions of people. In the same way, we do not even have sufficient data on how much the public actually accesses our publication when it comes to the budget. At a time of rising populism and attacks on democracy, the people feel our travel in their wallet the most, and therefore we need to show them more what we do with their money. We need obligations by our institutions to publish what they do with our money on social media. We need more accessible websites also for people with disabilities and for young people. We need to ask ourselves, how much do we really invest in the future instead of the present?

6

May

2025

Questions DE

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Discharge 2023 (joint debate)

Thank you, Mr. Colleague, for accepting the blue card. I would be interested to know how you would finance the necessary investments in infrastructure, education, social equality and the other issues that you understand are not ideological, because if your wet dream of a government came true – if we are already talking about Germany here.

6

May

2025

Speeches EN

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A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world (debate)

Mr President, people of Europe, I am not adequately dressed to hold a speech in the European Parliament. I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and on my t-shirt there is a funny little rabbit. I am not wearing a suit and a tie like you saw me earlier today. I am half the age of the average Member of this Parliament. I am part of the youth and while we discuss the budget – one of the most important topics – young people feel left behind in these very discussions. A future budget must invest in things that matter for the future of the youth: education, internal security, digital infrastructure, climate protection and social mobility. It must be brave enough to fund the future more than the present. Because Europe doesn't fail when the numbers don't add up; Europe fails when it gives up on the next generation. Let's build a budget that works for those who aren't yet here to speak.

6

May

2025

Speeches EN

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A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

Mr President, first of all, we are not the group, the Non-attached, that goes against the very nation ... (The President interrupted the speaker) Sorry. I know, I know, I know. I just wanted to say this. We are not the group. Dear people of Europe, dear Commissioner, in the INTA Committee, you told us: 'We will give the US two weeks and then we will respond'. It has been over a month now and the US tariffs are still in place, while we impose our 'tactical delay'. That means one of two things: either you lied to this Parliament, which I don't want to believe, or you don't know Donald Trump, which I fear is even worse. Maybe I lack the brilliance to grasp the Commission's plan. But I promise you this: if I don't understand it, the public doesn't either. And to those on the left, like Mr Schirdewan, who's gone, unfortunately: a China that locks up Uyghurs in concentration camps is not our partner, and never can be.

6

May

2025

Speeches DE

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A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

Thank you, Mr. Colleague, for accepting the blue card. You said: We should get the energy back from the cheapest supplier. I suppose you mean the Russians. Despite the Russian war of aggression, despite the Russian war crimes, despite the deportation of hundreds of thousands of children. Without going into this specific question now, I would therefore like to define your general moral understanding. What can an energy provider do to stop us getting the energy from them just because it's cheaper?

5

May

2025

Speeches DE

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Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2023 (debate)

5

May

2025

Speeches EN

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Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2023 (debate)

Mr President, dear people of Europe, dear Commissioner, when I was researching the most important administrative body of the European Union regarding the topic of this debate, OLAF – who, by the way, also has one of the funniest names of all European institutions, at least from a German or maybe Scandinavian perspective – I found a shocking truth: this so important administrative body does not have Instagram, no TikTok, nothing but a LinkedIn account and a website. Everyone in this room, maybe because of different political ideas, agrees on the fact that fraud is hurting this Union, is hurting the trust in our Union. And so I'm wondering, why do we not publish this important work of OLAF in a system that is modern, that reaches the young generation? How can this be? And maybe we should also ask ourselves, which other institutions make the same mistake? I hope you can take this with you, Commissioner, even though you are not directly responsible.

5

May

2025

Questions DE

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Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2023 (debate)

5

May

2025

Speeches DE

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Preparation of the EU-UK summit (debate)

5

May

2025

Speeches EN

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Order of business

Madam President, we see a whole lot of violations of Rule 1(10), which obliges us to uphold the values of our Union. Discrediting democratic institutions for applying the law is not free speech. It may breach that rule. We have seen this after the Romanian elections, the French court's ruling on Marine Le Pen, and we will see it again this week, when the AfD will attack German constitutional authorities for classifying them as extremists. But courts and administration, they are not meant to be popular. They are meant to uphold the law. And that is why I ask the AFCO Committee to open a debate on whether Rule 1(10) should be clarified, just like Rule 10(4) prohibits hate speech, to include the systematic discrimination of democratic institutions. And I ask the Conference of Presidents to advise accordingly so that this House can vote in full to update the Rules of Procedure, because free speech can only exist within the rule of law.

3

Apr

2025

Speeches DE

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Health care related tourism: protecting EU patients abroad (debate)

Mr President! I would like to start by advising you - with all kindness - to always listen to Mr Droese's speeches from the beginning. Because it is the same man who had himself photographed in front of Hitler's headquarters Wolfsschanze with his hand on his heart at that time. Accordingly, I think: We should listen carefully to these people in what they are doing. Dear people of Europe, two years ago, I romped around with my girlfriend in the hotel pool in Greece. I was a little too wild. She came too fast, too deep under water and tore her eardrum. We quickly went to an excellent Greek doctor who treated her. And yet it ended up sitting at 130 euros, which the German health insurance company did not want to cover as an additional amount compared to German treatments – and that is exactly the problem. We are always talking about the European single market, about freedom of movement. But if someone within Europe gets sick, then suddenly we have a huge bureaucratic default damage case. Health tourism is not a trick, but an expression of European freedom. Because European freedom does not end at the hospital corridor – it starts there.

3

Apr

2025

Speeches EN

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110th anniversary of the Armenian genocide

Mr President, dear colleagues, sometimes when I upload my speeches to social media, I cut them into footage of a full plenary because the emptiness of the real one is a shame to this House. This is going to be one of those speeches. Dear people of Europe, 110 years ago, the Ottoman Empire began a crime that many still deny today: the genocide on the Armenian people. But it was not foreign historians that said this, it was Ottoman officers and officials themselves who spoke of extermination plans. It was official government telegrams that call for a final removal of the Armenians, and it was Ottoman Kurds in 1919 and 1920 who convicted the main perpetrators of genocide. We Germans know how hard the path to the truth is, but we also know admitting guilt restores dignity. So, to our friends in Türkiye, I say: it's not the memory that divides us, it's silence. Have the courage to tell the truth. The Armenians and the Turks deserve it.

3

Apr

2025

Speeches EN

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Establishment of a European Day of the Righteous (debate)

Mr President, dear people of Europe, by recognising the European Day of the Righteous we honour those who did the right thing, not because it was easy, but because it was right. The righteous are those who hid families during the Holocaust, the ones who stood up to dictators, the ones who said 'no' when silence would have been safer. They remind us that conscience is not a luxury, it is a duty. This duty does not end in books or museums but calls us now to protect those who resist Russia, to defend women who fight for freedom in Iran, to support lawyers who take Trump's government to court right now – not just when it's fashionable, but when it's dangerous. Because to be righteous today is to carry the legacy of those who have been righteous before us. Let us be worthy of that legacy.

3

Apr

2025

Speeches IT

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European Action Plan on Rare Diseases (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, dear citizens of Europe, rare diseases affect millions of people in Europe: They are often children, often lack treatment and often those who are sick feel lonely. Europe must be the answer, with a European action plan for rare diseases, a plan that combines research, access to medicines and solidarity. We are calling for more funding for public research, common rules for equal access to treatments and a European network to help families and doctors. Because a disease is rare, but the dignity of every person is equal. Europe cannot leave anyone behind. Not on this, ever!

2

Apr

2025

Speeches ES

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Prosecution of journalists in Cameroon, notably the cases of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior, Tsi Conrad (debate)

Mr President, dear peoples of Europe, journalists in Cameroon are in prison for telling the truth. Amadou Vamoulké has been imprisoned without trial for years. Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior and Tsi Conrad are also in prison. His crime is to write and talk about freedom. But being a journalist is not a crime. Asking isn't dangerous. It is necessary for a free society. The European Union must make this clear: Words are not weapons, silence can kill. Cameroon must free all journalists now, because without free words there are no free people.

2

Apr

2025

Speeches EN

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Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights (debate)

Madam President, I am basing my point of order on Rule 10(1) and Rule 10(4). In relation to the colleague who just said that the elites here in this House do not want a certain policy or a certain candidate – I think this is a blatant disrespect for the fact that we are all democratically elected officials, elected by the people of Europe. We are not elites – we are people from all political and societal backgrounds, and we have heard stuff like this for the whole week. I cannot take it any more. I ask you, Madam President, to stop at least such insulting behaviour against our Parliament in the very institution itself.

2

Apr

2025

Speeches EN

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Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights (debate)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, a few years ago I watched the Cologne Pride, and I saw a man dancing on a wagon, wearing a strap-on dildo, and right next to him two children on the sidewalk. And I thought to myself: maybe sex toys don't belong in a public parade. That would have been a proportionate response – one that respects the rights of the performer and the dignity of the children, one that the Hungarian Constitution demands. But banning Pride altogether? That's not about child protection; that's about hate and populist politics. And for that, President Orbán is willing to sell off the rights and the dignity of part of his own people, forgetting that he, as President, is meant to serve all the people. And that we will not let slide. We will be in Budapest. We will take their batons, we will take their tear gas and we will take their cameras, because we will not back down! In the end, we are all the people!

2

Apr

2025

Questions EN

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Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights (debate)

Thank you, colleague. You asked: 'what is the problem?' And then you talked a lot. I think I can educate you. The problem is that the human right of assembly – which is guaranteed by the Charter of European Human Rights, to which Hungary is a signatory state – is taken away. So in the light of this problem, would you change your opinion?