What Lukas spoke about.

26

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Question Time with Commissioners - Challenges in the implementation of cohesion policy 2021-2027

26

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

2025 budgetary procedure: Joint text (debate)

26

Nov

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Reinforcing EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (debate)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, I wanted to hold a speech about the saying 'show me your friends and I will tell you who you are', but one colleague already did that, so I'm just going to say, if you use troops of a tyrant in your war, you are a tyrant. But one of my colleagues caught my eye, and this is Petr Bystron from the tyrant-supporting AfD. Petr Bystron, you need to know, right now faces criminal investigations in Germany because he was bribed by the Kremlin. And why do we know that he was bribed by the Kremlin? Because he was stupid enough to complain on telephone about the fact that they gave him EUR 200 bills, which you cannot use in German gas stations. Of course, it's just an investigation, but as long as this investigation is pending, maybe Mr Bystron should not have a big mouth about Russia in this Parliament. Dear colleagues, we need to fight every tyrant and we need to fight everyone that is on tyrants' payrolls. Slava Ukraini!

25

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (debate)

Madam President, dear fellow human beings! Every act of violence against a woman deprives her of some of her dignity. Earlier, in the dark Middle Ages, women were not legally considered as human beings, but as objects under the control of their father, brother or husband. Until a quarter of a century ago, there were no laws in large parts of Europe to protect women from violence that was regularly directed specifically against their dignity. Italy did not change this until 2001, Germany in 2002, Poland in 2005. And today? Today I know stories of assault from each of my friends, 30% of women worldwide experience violence in a partnership, and today we see countless colleagues shaking with just anger. I myself have never committed violence against a woman, but I too have crossed borders to my shame. This day is a reminder for perpetrators, uninvolved people and victims alike that we will have reduced violence against women even further in one year.

14

Nov

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

EU actions against the Russian shadow fleets and ensuring a full enforcement of sanctions against Russia (RC-B10-0161/2024)

Madam President, dear people of Europe, I have voted today with the reality in mind that despite our best efforts, EU sanctions on Russia have been not as effective as they should be, as we would have wished for. One weapon in the arsenal that Russia is using as a tool of hybrid warfare are those shadow fleets as an attempt to circumvent EU sanctions. We cannot let this happen. I stand along with the rest of Europe. My party, the Party of Progress, stands along with the rest of Europe in supporting Ukraine. But of course, Russia is not only waging a war against Ukraine, Russia is waging a war against every free person in Europe. This is why we do not only defend Ukraine with imposing sanctions like this and strengthening our laws, we are also defending ourselves. Therefore, I call on all my colleagues to also vote for this in the future.

14

Nov

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

UN Climate Change Conference 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) (B10-0156/2024)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for this opportunity to speak on the UN climate conference. We had a vote regarding this topic today, and we see ourselves challenged with the fact that one of our most important partners, not only in climate protection but also in the energy transition, is a country that stands particularly against those changes and wants to keep a fossil-based industry, wants to make money on a fossil-based industry. Of course, this could now lead us to boycott this country, to boycott this climate conference. And as I have spoken out at least a little bit for the first option, I would strongly disregard the second option. We have to face the situation that when we want to save the climate, when we want to save our planet, we need to work together with people who might not earn our trust. So I hope that the next climate conference in Baku, or any climate conference, is visited by way more of the world leaders.

14

Nov

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Amendment of the EIB's Statute (A10-0013/2024 - Joachim Streit) (vote)

(Start of speech off mic) ... Rule 197. Even though I would not jump on the same point like my colleague, dear Mr Marquardt. The thing is, he's right. We have a vote here today where at every single vote, the machines failed at some point. This is not okay. We have to have a high standard. And we even have colleagues who chant and act like it would be a show or something. So what I would like to propose, dear President, even though I fully respect your ability to make these vote sessions real quick and very efficient, maybe we take ten minutes and give the IT department a possibility to see what's wrong with the voting machines.

13

Nov

2024

Answers DE

Watch

Fight against money laundering and terrorist financing: listing Russia as a high-risk third country in the EU (debate)

Yes, so I'm trying to answer the three questions one by one. First question: Is it possible to end a war with diplomacy? I believe that a war of aggression, a war of aggression contrary to international law, can only be ended by striking back the aggressor. The second question was: How do we get the Russian people to join us? The Russian people are not the question here. We have a dictatorship in which a dictator with all evil power rules over his people. And we have to bring down this dictator and then we can work with the Russian people again. And the third question: Is it theft? Yes, if you say that the theft of Ukrainian land by Russian troops is theft, then you would say that it is also theft. But I don't think the Russians deserve better in this situation.

13

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Fight against money laundering and terrorist financing: listing Russia as a high-risk third country in the EU (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is not only conducted with assault rifles, tanks or missiles, it also includes means of hybrid warfare. It is an attack on our democratic system, and Russian capital, whether frozen or not, is one of those weapons in this arsenal. It is one of the weapons used to promote extremism and populism within our societies. In view of the upcoming elections in Germany, I take this matter personally. We are witnessing a critical moment when we must do everything we can to protect our democratic institutions. And this includes not only – here briefly greetings to the Federal Government – a fair electoral admission system also for small parties. No, it includes, above all, protection from hostile foreign powers. By classifying Russia as a high-risk country for money laundering and terrorist financing, we are sending a clear signal of our willingness to defend our values, stand up for our freedom and democracy. Dear Members, there is only one decision: Put Russia on this list.

13

Nov

2024

Speeches NL

Watch

Deplorable escalation of violence around the football match in the Netherlands and the unacceptable attacks against Israeli football fans (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for me as a German, the events in Amsterdam are a disgrace. We're all human. Of course, it's a shame when people celebrate the deaths of other people in a football stadium, but it's an even greater shame if this leads to mass attacks on people because of their faith or nationality. We're all human. My country has revealed the cruel face of inhumanity to the whole world. No one should forget the lessons of the Nazi era, regardless of religion or nationality. We are all human, be kind to each other.

13

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Georgia's worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud (debate)

Mr President! High house! We are having a debate here about the elections in Georgia and what we are witnessing is a long line-up of MEPs who have appeared there as election observers. And some stand up and say: I've seen all this, it looks great, the choice was completely unproblematic. And the others stand up and say: I've seen it all, it's just a joke, it has nothing to do with democracy. I don't want to get too close to you all personally. I believe that you, as an individual election observer, are not in a position to really judge what has happened in Georgia. What can be judged, however, is the overall flow of information regarding the state of democracy in Georgia. And what we are witnessing there is a government, a political system that is taking over more and more demands, ideas and sometimes even entire laws from Russia, a state that is definitely not democratic, it was presumably never – and that is the big problem. And I would like to ask everyone to take this with them today: Georgia is a European country whose democratic future we must fight for.

13

Nov

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

UN Climate Change Conference 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) (debate)

Mr President! I actually wanted to talk about the fact that there was no sow going to the climate conference, but to whom do I say that? Because there's no sow in this room anymore. Nevertheless, I would like to comment on what has been discussed here. And it shocked me a bit to see that many people have portrayed climate protection as an alternative to politics that we can do. Here, a colleague - from over there about - said that we can do either climate change policy or policy for our people. That doesn't make sense. I'm making this clear to you just for the right side by way of an example. They are always particularly afraid of the bad people with the black hair. The more we drive our climate to the wall, the more of them come to Europe. Yes, climate protection is an interest of society as a whole. This is something that concerns all of us. And accordingly, I hope that at the next climate conference a few more of the powerful people of this world will appear, that we will not put this issue on the sidelines as in recent years. We only have one planet. When he goes to the dogs, we all go to the dogs. Let's tackle it together!

13

Nov

2024

Speeches ES

Watch

The devastating floods in Spain, the urgent need to support the victims, to improve preparedness and to fight the climate crisis (debate)

Madam President, dear citizens of Europe, in addition to more than a hundred dead, countless people have been injured. Tens of thousands of people lost their property and businesses in the region suffered damage worth several hundred million euros. You'll be surprised, but I'm not talking about the flood in Spain. I am referring to the flooding of the Ahr valley in Germany three years ago. It has been three years in which the fight against climate change has been relegated by other important issues such as the economic crisis, the challenges of migration or Putin's war of aggression. Today, in this debate, the majority can think of nothing better than insulting each other. The price of this inaction is paid by the citizens of Spain. Let's stick together.

24

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Protecting our oceans: persistent threats to marine protected areas in the EU and benefits for coastal communities (debate)

Madam President, this House! At the end of this plenary week, I would like to reiterate the principles that must be followed in this House. I know that I myself am sometimes disruptive when it comes to Parliament's practices, but there are some things we should definitely follow here. One of them is to speak the truth, the whole truth, not just part of it. That is why I would like to comment on a truth that Mr Droese mentioned earlier. Mr Droese from the far-right party AfD said that there have always been climatic changes in the world, there have always been changes in biodiversity. Yes, that's true, no one doubts that either. The fact is, however, that these changes have taken place in recent years and decades on a scale never seen before in the world. Even if the colleague obviously does not listen to me – which is a pity at this point – I would still like to make him aware: They must always look at the whole truth, especially when it comes to climate change issues, such as protecting the oceans.

24

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Resumption of the sitting

Mr President, honourable House, Rule 202 deals with the point of order. Last plenary week, I had the honour to shed some light on the blatant misuse of this rule inside this House. We were talking about Rule 202(1) that states that you shall use a point of order to address a failure to comply with the parliamentary Rules of Procedure. Today, I want to talk about Rule 202(4) that states that in all regular cases like this, the President shall take an immediate decision about the point of order raised. That is not what happened to my point of order. Instead, right after I finished, we kept on seeing the same thing. For example, since then we heard about the suffering of the Palestinian people or the necessity to honour a Polish priest. Understandable topics, but nothing to state inside a point of order. In my legal opinion, immediate means on the spot. So, Mr President, with all due respect and being thankful to also having the possibility to forewarn President Metsola on this directly yesterday, I request an immediate decision about stopping the point of order being misused.

24

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Abuse of new technologies to manipulate and radicalise young people through hate speech and antidemocratic discourse (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, honourable House, as we talk of young people here with my, in other cases, little life experience of 27 years, I am happy to take the floor today. I may present you with three truths. Number one: TikTok is owned and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for atrocities like putting Uyghurs in concentration camps. Number two: because of that, the algorithm is, of course, also controlled and manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party. Number three: if you, my dear colleagues, do not join TikTok, and if you are not active there, you will leave this platform and the young people on this platform to the enemies of democracy inside this House and outside this House. So please be active there no matter what. I am not much, but I am young, so I hope you trust me on that.

23

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Seven years from the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia: lack of progress in restoring the rule of law in Malta (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, whenever a journalist is murdered it's a big problem for democracy, as many of our colleagues have said. I just want to add something to what Mr Saliba said, also what you said here, my dear colleague. Here in Europe, we are a family. So when there is a problem and we call out the problems of the other family members, it's nothing personal. You shouldn't take it personally. You shouldn't take it as something against your country or your people. We should be able to openly discuss when there is a problem without our feelings getting hurt. So whenever there is a nation mentioned in this title, we see the same thing. We see the people coming from this nation being hurt emotionally. They are angry. They feel like their country's being made fun of or something like that. But that's not how it is. So I understand that sometimes the debates here are heated and sometimes people do not use the words that they should use, but keep an open mind to criticism from your colleagues, to criticism from your fellow Europeans, from your family.

23

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Findings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on Poland's abortion law (debate)

Madam President, this House! First of all, I would like to raise the question of whether we would even have to have a debate about abortion if the majority of the positions of power had been occupied by women in the last few centuries. There are religious people who appeal to God. But if they are religious, who are they to interpret God's will? I don't know when the unborn life outweighs the woman's right to self-determination over her own body, but I do know that the balancing of rights in any case does not work in such a way that one right can exclude the other. If I were a woman, I would really want to be able to have an abortion whenever I think it's right.

23

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Continued war crimes committed by the Russian Federation, notably killing Ukrainian prisoners of war (debate)

Mr President, I am referring to Rule 178, which states that in every debate also the non-attached Members shall have speaking time. So I'm wondering why there was no non-attached Member in this debate who got allocated speaking time.

23

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Managing migration in an effective and holistic way through fostering returns (debate)

Madam President, Dear people of Europe, we can do it! A sentence that has obviously traumatised some of the Members here more than – I don’t know – a crossing of the Mediterranean Sea on a rubber dinghy. Let me tell you an inconvenient truth: Experts tell us that hundreds of millions of people are expected to migrate to Europe as a result of climate change. These people will come. One colleague said: We are now philosophizing about reform. There is no philosophizing about reform; a reform was adopted in the spring of this year – the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Of course, illegal migration does not help anyone and creates problems. Of course, legal migration also comes with challenges. But migration is also our opportunity to tackle problems – skills shortages, the collapsing pension system or, for example, rural exodus. This topic is not easy, but we can do it!

22

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, I would like to take the time to do a little sensibility training with all of you on the 'caviar diplomacy' that a colleague of ours mentioned. I am not speaking from personal experience, because as yet I am not important enough for Azerbaijan to spend any caviar on me. But I have some information on how it works when the state of Azerbaijan wants to bribe you as a Member of the Parliament. So I want to tell you so you can recognise it when it happens. Once you are in Azerbaijan and you are in a hotel room – that is, of course, filled up with cameras and microphones – the first thing that they do is they will lay a golden pen on your table. And when you leave the hotel and you have taken the pen, then they know, okay, he took the pen of gold and he's about to be bought. The second stage, after you take the pen, is that they send a sex worker to your hotel room at night. And of course, it goes the same way: if you let this person in, then they know you can be bought. And then, of course, the third stage is the briefcase of money that some people here are, unfortunately, familiar with. So watch out, don't get bribed!

22

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (debate)

Mr President, dear fellow human beings! Labour policy is, from a very crucial point, an essential part of any policy decision we make here in the EU; After all, our own work is closest to the people we represent. If we really want them to stand with Europe, to stand with this idea of a common continent, a common space of peace, freedom and justice, then they need a reasonable basis for this, and they want to create this basis for themselves. That is why, as some colleagues have rightly said here, the guidelines are an important contribution to the implementation of the European idea. We should always remember that these people we represent are above all people who have a normal job; No people sitting in a large, semicircular hall debating important things.

22

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025 – all sections (debate)

Madam President, dear fellow human beings! In this general debate on the EU budget for 2025, the last thing I would like to draw your attention to is one aspect that, fortunately, has been mentioned many times here: the Erasmus+ programme. This EU flagship project enables young people in education and training, teaching staff and general administration to take the step towards Europe. It is the cornerstone of preserving and developing the European idea. And that is why, not only because I loved my Erasmus in Amsterdam myself, or because my friend loves her Erasmus in Paris right now, I cannot understand why the Council and the Commission want to cut this budget for Erasmus+ next year. In these times of economic crisis, war, threats to democracy and climate change, what do we have but to invest in a better future? Education is the best investment in this better future. Don't let us save on it, don't let us save on the Erasmus+ programme!

22

Oct

2024

Speeches DE

Watch

Establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, dear fellow human beings! In this debate on financial support to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, many MPs talk about peace. Peace as Putin's regime mercilessly bombards schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure. Peace, while the Russian army executes more and more Ukrainian soldiers who surrender on the spot. Peace, while the Ukrainian people are unbroken in their will to defend their entire homeland. Peace, while the majority of our population – and some will not like to hear this – but the majority wants support for Ukraine until victory. Do you know, ladies and gentlemen, Putin's conditions for starting peace negotiations? He recently announced it at a press conference: The total surrender of the Ukrainian military. You can imagine what these peace negotiations would look like. Slava Ukrajini!

22

Oct

2024

Speeches EN

Watch

Establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (debate)

Mr Parliament, Rule 178, paragraphs one and three, sentence two, states that you may only speak when given speaking time. And also, when you are at your place in this debate here today, which is a troublesome debate. And I also feel that some things that are being said here are despicable. We have Members screaming stuff from their seats into the plenary multiple times. So I request that we stop this, because this is not the way that we should debate here. We should be civilised. We should listen to each other. Of course, we can applaud and we can boo, because this is what people do. But if we don't have speaking time, we should keep ours mouth shut.