Speeches

Madam President, dear people of Europe, at its March meeting, the European Council sent an important signal: support for Ukraine, a clear path for Moldova and Georgia, and a renewed commitment to enlargement as a pillar of peace and stability. That matters, especially in a world where democracies are under pressure. But what shocks me is how some colleagues here have used this very debate – misused it – to discredit democratic institutions all around Europe: to attack the Romanian Constitutional Court and the Romanian electoral authorities; to question the legitimacy of the French judiciary, even after Marine Le Pen was found guilty in front of a French criminal court; and to suggest that in Germany, a possible ban for the AfD would be an act of political will, rather than a legal proceeding led by the Federal Constitutional Court, which is, by the Constitution, the only institution with that competence. That irony is breathtaking, and we, the democrats, have to fight back.

Mr President, dear people of Europe, in a time of war, inflation and political fragmentation, this Parliament is doing something remarkable. We are looking beyond the crisis. The 2026 guidelines invest in security and competitiveness, in climate protection, yes, and they also invest in Europe's soul, because hidden between figures and margins lies a historic promise. The vision of a truly united Europe with funding for enlargement, for neighbourhood stability, for institutional readiness. We are saying to the people of the Balkans, you belong! (The speaker spoke in a non-EU language) Because we are not whole until our flag shines over Pristina, over Sarajevo and over Tirana. And that's why, even in dark times, we keep building the light. That's what this budget says. That's what Europe stands for.

Mr President, all students in Europe will hate this idea, but we need new school subjects in all of the European schools. Before I elaborate, let me educate some colleagues like Mr Jongen, who struggles to read Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union or, for example, Article 23 of the German Constitution, which in fact set the aim of 'ever closer union'. But a Europe-wide school policy makes sense. What difference is there in teaching English, art, music or maths. And in the same way, all our European children need to understand these topics. All of our European children today need to be educated in two new subjects. The first one is digitalisation. All the possibilities and dangers of the digital realm need to be taught to them. And the second thing – and this is ever more important – is democracy. How does this Parliament work? How does the European Union work? Those are things that children need to learn all over Europe. So let's go forward and enact these ideas.

Mr President, dear people of Europe, dear students of the DBG, Felix! Affordable energy is not just an economic issue; It is the great political front line of our time. After all, energy not only means meeting primitive human needs such as warmth in winter, but also work and the industrial future. We still source our energy largely from autocrats; There are others, but still autocrats. And we need to change that: We need true European energy independence. We need a massive solar program with which we will have solar cells on every public building in Europe by 2035. We need a €100 billion special fund to expand infrastructure, especially charging infrastructure. We need a Europe-wide wind power expansion with less bureaucracy, faster permits and minimum capacity for each Member State. Affordable energy is not a luxury, it is the basis of social peace, economic strength and geopolitical independence.

Mr President, people of Europe, let me be clear: I support the authors in their motion. But I'm also wondering, Mr Andrews, you talked about soft power and about humanitarian aid. But are we talking about economic collapse? Are we talking about a pandemic, about political instability or a natural disaster? Ms Pajín said we have to take the situation seriously. I am asking what is a serious reaction to war? Mr Heide said we need to protect the victims. How do you protect people from armed killers and rapists? Look up again on this board. It says 'child rape' – child rape. And that is something, in my opinion, where we need to send something named after this Union of ours: Eurofighters.

Mr President, dear people of Europe, Thailand has just deported Uyghurs back to China. Let's not sugarcoat it – and I thank you, colleague, that you did not. These people are being sent to concentration camps - not prisons, not re-education centres. Concentration camps. And no, as far as we know, there are no gas chambers, but there is torture, there is forced sterilisation, there is forced marriage and the complete eradication of their culture. This is not a political exaggeration. This is not based on rumours. This is based on facts reported by Der Spiegel, by the Fraunhofer Institute and by other renowned institutions. Europe knows the horrors of concentration camps. We know what happens when the world stays silent in the face of such madness. We must be clear: no country in the world shall send Uyghurs back to China. We in this House, across all political divides, must agree on one thing: when people are thrown into concentration camps, we stand up. Because if we don't, who will?

Mr President, dear people of Europe! Commissioner, I'll give you a moment. I am a lawyer, I studied law, and one of the first places where I had to deal seriously with the European Union was consumer protection law. Consumer protection law is a very popular topic in German legal education. We all have to deal with it very carefully, and accordingly it also has a meaning: It is one of the foundations of this Union, the idea that in our internal market, in this area of free trade, the people who stand in the most unprotected place of the market are protected by the Union in order to get a fair position. And accordingly, I would like this EU Consumers Day Use it to give you this story. Please always remember that European Union consumer protection law is one of the areas in which our citizens are most affected.

My question to you, colleague, would be: in times where the tech oligarchs, as you said, develop more and more into the enemies of democracy, should we maybe think about taking away these companies on European soil from them?

I wholeheartedly agree with what you just said. I was just wondering, in the very end, you said that it should be seen as a down payment on the reparations. Wouldn't you agree with me that the reparations should be on top? Because that is what Russia actually deserves for its behaviour.

Mr President, dear people of Europe, I would like to touch on two main arguments that were brought before this House. The first one is that all of this is an infringement within the competences of the Member States. I just ask those people: 'why do you think our beautiful flags are at that end of the room?' Because this whole thing here, this whole Union, is about giving competences to the Union instead of letting the Member States regulate that. Yes, we have to have discussions about this, but it will happen more and more and more, whether you like it or not. You can cry about sovereign nations all day. Those sovereign nations – all of them – decided to form this Union. The second point is ideology. That just makes me smile, because while one part of the aisle just really wants to talk about the rights of people and self-determination and children's rights, the other ones are actually imposing religion – the religious idea that only a man and a woman can have a family and only a man and a woman can raise a child. If that's the baseline of your politics, please go back to 300 years ago.

Madam President, dear people of Europe, imagine Karl and Bertha Benz sitting here in our Chamber today, listening to our debate on the future of the automotive industry. Karl – the visionary, the man who invented the car – would probably shake his head and say, 'Again, the same old arguments.' And Bertha – the true pioneer, the woman who took the first long‑distance drive to prove the world wrong – would roll up her sleeves and say, 'Enough talking, let's move forward'. Back then, people called their invention a 'devil's carriage', they threw stones at it, they laughed at it. Now, 140 years later, some of you sound just like those sceptics. Some deny the need for green transition, when in reality you're just (with another round of green-bashing) clinging to power, and some cling to outdated models under the pretext of technological neutrality, when in reality you know change is never free. Yes, our automotive industry faces challenges, but progress never comes looking backwards. Instead of protecting the past, we need to move forward.

Thank you very much, Mrs. Colleague! I can only agree with you that we have to take people with us, that we have to be brave. I wonder, or I would like to ask you: How exactly can we prevent us from standing here again in five years and just as we have unfortunately broken down the Green Deal of God a bit for this Clean industrial deal, this Clean industrial deal And then again, and in the end, it's just a Industrial deal Does the climate go to the dogs? How can we ensure in the long term that we do not have to soften our climate targets even further in the future?

Mr President, honourable Members! When we talk about defense, we talk about war. A war that hopefully never comes, but a war that will not be waged by the average MP here, at 55, but by my generation. My generation! But when it comes to that, I guarantee you: My generation, which grew up with peace and freedom, will never let this freedom be taken away. We will defend our Union, whatever the cost. We will fight on our coasts, we will fight on our borders. We will fight on our fields and roads, and if need be, on every hill and in every valley of Europe. Because Europe is our homeland, and for our homeland we will defend ourselves. We don't want war, but if we have to, we will fight for our freedom.

Mrs. Colleague! My question to you would be: Do you really think anyone is at war? Do you really think that we strengthen the defense industry, that we strengthen the defense because we enjoy it, because we like to build weapons? Or do you not think much more likely that we are doing this, for example, because a bloodthirsty dictator in the east of this continent has launched a war of aggression and his army is committing countless war crimes?

Thank you for taking the blue card, colleague. I'm just wondering – because I'm hearing the word 'Germany' a lot here – as a German, I want to ask you: don't you think that the times where we put people in camps in Europe should be over? And don't you think that we can have better solutions to the problems that do indeed rise with illegal immigration than putting people in camps, locking them away, taking their phones, taking their liberty and taking their rights? (In response to laughter from another Member) ... And you laughing at that is a shame indeed!

Madam President, dear people of Europe, Commissioner! Imagine someone in your family desperately needs a drug, but in your home country that just doesn't exist, while in the neighboring country it is present in rough quantities. Absurd, but unfortunately bitter European reality. And ironically, EU law allows for just that: All four fundamental freedoms of the internal market have exceptions on grounds of public health. These regulations from the last century have to be abolished, because public health is not a national, but a European issue, especially for vital medicines. The Critical Medicines Act I welcome it, but let's be honest: If we really want to ensure Europe-wide supply, then we must go deeper and finally eliminate the legislative roots of exceptions in the European treaties themselves. The pandemic has shown us: Diseases know no borders, and so we should not know any in Europe. Because medicines have to go where people need them – without borders.

Mr President, dear people of Europe, my mother was born in 1966, in a small village in western Germany. Around the age of 16, she became the first female member of the local rifle club. A few years later, she became the first woman in our family to study - dentistry. Together with my father, she opened a dental practice and had two children, one of whom, as you know, has a special level of energy. When my parents' marriage fell apart, it was my mother who mainly provided for us, ensured we received a good education and continued to run this practice on her own. Women can achieve incredible things if we just let them, and that alone is why we should let them.

Madam President, dear people of Europe! Our President-in-Office of the Commission, von der Leyen, will not know, but she was once my superior. While she was Minister of Defence in Germany, I served as a loader with the Panzertruppe in Munster, in Leopard 2 tanks that are now in use in Ukraine – and that is where they belong. The European Union is a peace project, but as long as the UN is a toothless tiger, peace must unfortunately be defended. And for this we need a European army in the long term, because it is unlikely that the Spaniards will attack the Portuguese, the Poles the Czechs or, God forbid, the Luxembourgers us Germans. In the medium term, the obligation to provide assistance under Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union must at least be equivalent to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, but in the short term the struggle for our freedom in Ukraine will be waged. And accordingly, our greatest priority in our own defence must be to advance the further and now even stronger rearmament of Ukraine with the disappearance of the United States. Because the enemy is in the east - unfortunately, just like in our exercises at that time on the military training ground.

Madam President, dear people of Europe! When we talk today about the future of the European Social Fund Plus after 2027, we are talking about the future of Europe itself. This future does not start tomorrow, it starts today – in our classrooms, lecture halls and training centres. Education is not a side issue. Education is the absolute basis for sustainable social development. Those who promote education invest in democratic values, social justice and economic development. Therefore, after 2027, the ESF+ must above all be one – an education offensive for Europe. Let's focus together where the future is made – in smart minds, curious hearts. Because only education creates opportunities, builds bridges and makes societies – our European society – sustainable. If we invest in education, we invest in Europe's future!

Madam President, to the people of Moldova. In Moldova's steadfast home tonight, a family gathers, brave in fight; outside lurks shadow, dark and cold, yet freedom's fire burns so bold. From Europe's hearts comes aid anew, financial locks to see them through; this firewood feeds hopeful flames, that warms their dreams and breaks their chains. With every lock their courage grows, as Europe's strength through aid bestows; defying shadows, fierce and grim, Russian threats shall not break in. And so Moldova, proud and free, takes up the chance for all to see; Europe's support a beacon bright, turns darkness into hopeful light.

Madam President, dear people of Europe! The Commission's Omnibus proposals provide the necessary relief for small and medium-sized enterprises and strengthen our industry champions in global competition. At the same time, I am very concerned about the relaxed climate protection standards. Above all, however, we continue to ignore a decisive step in the development of international law, thus once again missing out on being pioneers rather than merely pursuing reactive policies. Large transnational companies are not just a collection of European parent companies or subsidiaries, but independent global players. But that's not how we look at them. Legislatively, we always confine them to our own company law and are unable to think beyond our borders. Only when we finally recognize multinational companies as independent subjects of international law can we effectively bind them to international human rights and environmental standards. Europe must be at the forefront here. Let's recognize multinational corporations as independent subjects of international law!

Madam President, dear colleagues, yes, the moustache is gone, if you do not recognise me. I was just wondering about that colleague that said the people elected this candidate. They didn't elect this candidate in a fair election; it was an election that was scammed by Russian propaganda and Russian bots and Russian influence. I know that you are fond of stuff like this, because it tends to help you as well in our elections. But democracy also includes the free will of the people without manipulation, without foreign interference. That is the problem here. It is not that a fair election was taken away; it is that a scammed election was taken away. If the institutions – the Constitutional Court, the board of elections – decide like this, you have to respect it. You cannot just cry aloud because the candidate that you wanted to run was taken away.

Mr President, colleagues, I thank you all – nearly all – for your words, because Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová died as heroes of freedom, of our freedom and of the freedom of our people. Therefore, for the end of this debate, I would like to use the remaining speaking time that I got for a moment of silence, and I would like you to join me and invite you hereby to stand with me in remembrance, thank you. (The President intervened and took the floor)

Do you know, fellow Members, why I prefer to argue with the right rather than with the left? The left, they just sometimes lose themselves in their idealism. You just want to puff! Just that's what it's all about. Latest hit on the Pöbelklaviatur: Europe first. Well, let's assume for a second, we do this, this outflow of your mental creativity. The United States is no longer our ally, but our competitor. Just like the rest of the world. Let's do it an example For you, I'll make it easy: The US economy is over 60% larger than that of the EU. The US has much larger gas, coal and oil resources – yes, you'd be fine if we had one – and it has the largest stock exchange in the world. The US is superior to us economically, technologically, militarily and geopolitically in all areas, and so we will lose the competition. We need allies. I know that even you know the principle of allies in your small drum circle of nationalism. But you forget again and again in your adoration: Trump laughs at you. For him, you are just the little man he always likes to pull over the table.

Madam President, I'm sorry, but because of the shortness of the time, I'm not able to quote the particular rule, but there is one rule, dear colleague, which says that it's not allowed to impose hate speech in this Parliament. And I can tell you, calling transgender people 'crazy' for being what they are is nothing more. So I ask you to not say that again, and I ask you, Madam President, to stand up against hate speech like that in this Parliament, because we represent all the people and not the people that you deem correctly.