Speeches

Madam President, dear colleagues, Moldova chose Europe. Recently, Moldova was at a crossroads and in its history, and despite all the Russian interference, they chose to walk the path that leads to Europe. In the quickly changing world order, we need to start backing words with deeds. And this growth plan shows that we will invest to lift people out of poverty, build solar panels, schools and hospitals. This growth plan shows strong reforms will make Moldova ready to join the EU. And this growth plan shows Europe chose Moldova. And it tells it tells those that want to join our Union, if you walk the path to Europe, Europe will walk with you. We did this in four months, which for the EU is as fast as travelling at the speed of light. And the Moldovans are not wasting time either. Last week they joined the Single Euro Payments Area. So let's vote in favour of this growth plan and show the people in Moldova, you'll never walk alone.

Mr President, let's play a game. You are an entrepreneur with a new business idea. In which continent would you choose to build your business? In the first continent, you can't hire the best people – borders are closed. You can't plan ahead – regulations change unpredictably. You can't innovate – old, polluting industries are protected. You can't expand – international cooperation is replaced by isolation. In the second continent, you can build your dream team because you can hire international talent. You can trust the system because rules are stable, predictable and fairly enforced. You can pioneer because investments in the green and digital transitions unlock new opportunities. You can skill globally because of open international collaboration. Now, tell me, where would you build your business?

Madam President, 'penny-wise, pound-foolish' – that sums up the impact of the defence budget cuts in the first 20 years of this century. So it's good that the Commissioner for Defence has proposed to start with a big bang of EUR 100 billion as a European investment plan, because the threats are banging on our door so loudly that everybody seems to agree that we need to invest. I agree as well, but unfortunately, the government of my home country, the Netherlands, is still stuck in a 'penny-wise, pound-foolish' mindset. On Monday 3 February, the Heads of State will meet for a European Council meeting dedicated to defence. And my plea here today is that the Dutch Government uses that moment to stop being foolish and change their position on Eurobonds: be wise or we'll pay a much higher price.

Mr President, it's cold outside today, so imagine going outside and standing there for the next six hours. You shiver, your stomach rumbles and you fear the police might beat you for no reason. Sitting on the couch at home with your family would be so much better. But you stay and you go again tomorrow, like you have been doing for the past 55 days, because you want your country to stop becoming a dictatorship. Because you want your country to have democracy and freedom, because you want your country to join the European Union. Now, how would you feel if that same Union, after months of debates, would decide that they maybe, just maybe, make it a little bit harder for the officials of that oppressing regime to travel by plane? European Commission, what are you waiting for? Georgia needs our help! Travel to Tbilisi, support President Zourabichvili, and with a coalition of the willing enforce real sanctions!

Madam President, imagine that everything we do online is like an ocean. In that ocean, social media are islands and some of those islands enable people to connect and participate in the public debate. But in this vast digital ocean, some social media are not islands, but icebergs. Icebergs where you only see the content the owner of that platform wants you to see. Other opinions are kept underwater. Elon Musk has transformed X into such an iceberg. He orders his own algorithms to spread his destructive vision and influence elections in Europe. These icebergs also allow hostile secret services to damage our democracy. Armies of trolls push extremist pro‑Russian political parties like the AfD, and this is happening as we speak. We ask, therefore, the European Commission to rescue our democracy from the armies of trolls and trigger the crisis response mechanisms immediately.

You're talking about censorship. And I'm really wondering if you've read this law at all? Can you name one article that actually imposes censorship? Because this law only stipulates that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. Have you read it at all?

Mr President, we welcomed a Trojan horse into Europe, into our homes, into our pockets. Social media platforms started as a fantastic tool to connect, but have now become secret weapons. In a toxic cocktail of company monopolies, foreign actors, greed of shareholders and lack of regulation, algorithms push extreme content and bot accounts spread fake news, especially during elections. Dear colleagues, like Troy, we focus on the enemy we can see. We focus on finally building European defence. And we should! But if we ignore the Trojan horse sent by hostile foreign powers, it will be useless. Sending Trojan horses is cheaper and can be effective. We cannot allow China, Russia or any unchecked force to influence our elections. We have to enforce the Digital Service Act, create independent audits and transparency on algorithms, and force social media companies to take responsibility if they want to operate in Europe. Only then, the Trojan Horse is dismantled and becomes a tool for entertainment, information and connection again.

Mr President, the party Georgian Dream has turned it into a Russian nightmare. The leaders of this nightmare stole the people's voice in an election that was not free nor fair. And by blocking the roads to the EU, they stole the people's hope. They are illegitimate, unconstitutional, but the masks are off and they reveal their true face – a face the Georgian people know too well, a face of Russian oppression. Peaceful protesters arrested; hundreds assaulted by the police; civil society intimidated; journalists hunted and beaten; political opponents imprisoned, like Nika Gvaramia, who we met here in the European Parliament just three weeks ago. Yet the Georgian people don't flinch: 7% of the population protests daily in the freezing cold. Students, civil servants, winemakers, lawyers, ravers, mothers, grandparents gathering from Tbilisi Square to the mountains of Svaneti and farmlands of Kakheti. I walked with these protesters last Thursday. They demand new elections. A year ago, Georgia received EU candidate status not because of its government, but because of its people. And those people look at us for action. So how can we help? The sanctioned leaders of Georgian dreams – all they care about is their wealth. Fund independent media and other defenders for democracy, and support Salome Zurabishvili, the people's president, the only legitimate leader, also after 29 December. As one of the protesters told me, the real dream of Georgia is European.

Madam President – nuclear threats, assassinations, fire‑bombed aeroplanes, sabotaged factories, destroyed internet cables – every day we read about Russia's terrorist attacks on Europe. But like ostriches, European governments and some people in this Parliament stick their heads in the sand in the hope that maybe the danger will pass. But while these attacks scare us, Putin is terrified, his war economy collapses and he begs Kim Jong Un for soldiers. But he trembles even more at the thought of a well‑functioning democracy right at his doorstep. And meanwhile, Trump might force Ukraine to surrender. Between now and 20 January, when he comes to power, we have 55 days to step up our game. European governments, ostriches, pull your heads out of the sand, move fast, create a coalition of the willing, and put Ukraine in the best possible position for a just and lasting peace. Seize all Russian assets, directly invest into Ukraine's mass weapon production and protect Ukraine on the way to NATO and EU membership.

Mr President, one nation, but two currencies: the euro and the Turkish lira. The euro was chosen, but the lira was imposed. It's the reality for Cypriots. Ever since the Turkish invasion of Northern Cyprus, a wall has arisen, dividing not just the country, but families, friendships and futures. I stand here as a member of Volt, the pan-European movement, but today, more specifically, as the voice of Volt Cyprus. We are bringing the Greek and Turkish communities together at the political level, because we believe we can build bridges and mutual understanding. The time for mere condemnation is over. It is time to focus on what unites the people of Cyprus: their home, their values and aspirations for the future. We've seen in Berlin how walls can fall. In Ireland, how peace can prevail. And together as Europeans we can realise a bi-zonal, bi-communal Federation, a united Cyprus in a united Europe.

Madam President, we have been asleep. For decades, our countries have been in a geopolitical sleep. Under the military blanket of the United States, we dreamt of an everlasting peace. In 2008, the first alarm clock went off. Russia invaded Georgia. So what did EU countries do? We hit snooze. When Russia invaded Crimea, we hit snooze. When Trump was elected and shouted 'America first!', we hit snooze. And in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine again, the loudest alarm went off. But European countries slowly, only very slowly, started waking up. And now the sirens are ringing again with the re-election of the orange man across the sea. Therefore, I have one message to EU governments: wake up! Get out of your pyjamas and finally take charge of our own destiny. Abolish the veto, invest jointly in our defence and help Ukraine win. Stop the short‑sighted nationalism. Let's unite.

Madam President, dear colleagues, a room with thousands of smartphones, from the floor to the ceiling, rows upon rows. This is what a bot farm looks like. Where fake content is created to influence the way we think. Scary, right? But in reality, the effect is often overestimated. People are smart and not that easily influenced. The bigger threat comes from leaders in our own society. Bait to spread lies, as we saw in the voice of Europe and Qatargate scandals. Uncovering such scandals is more difficult because the work of our intelligence agencies is fragmented. Countries need to share intelligence, but this is risky when they cannot trust everyone on our own team. That's why Volt aims to make sure we can trust each democracy in our Union and empower the European Intelligence and Situation Centre, because we are stronger when we are united.

Thank you for this speech. You ended by saying that you want to strengthen our democracy. Can you give a few examples of what you think we should concretely do?

Madam President, Mr Letta, a good idea is 1 % of starting a business. Last week, I met entrepreneurs overflowing with ideas to create a climate‑neutral economy – from reusing the heat produced by a warm shower to heating your home with small modular data centres, there is an abundance of good ideas. But the idea is only 1 %; the other 99 % is the execution. Mr Letta, your report shows how competitiveness and sustainability must go hand in hand. The single market should not be a private garden for massive corporations, but a paradise for sustainable innovators. Let's really create this fifth freedom of knowledge, research and innovation that this report proposes. This is why Volt aims to triple the Horizon budget and ease the formalities for start-ups to operate within all Member States. Let's enable anyone with a good idea to make it happen.

Mr President, Kartlis Deda – mother of Georgians; her statue on top of Sololaki Hill in Tbilisi shows the spirit of Georgia. In one hand a bowl of wine, because guests are welcomed like family; a sword in the other, because if you come in bad faith, they will resist. Sakartvelo: a country whose proud people speak an ancient language, and can tell you beautiful stories about their diverse people and more than 4 000 years of history. Throughout those years, Georgians have chosen to fight for their freedom. And we see that same fight reflected today in Georgia's civil society, who are resisting the attacks on democracy by Georgian Dream, the political party that is creating a Russian nightmare. They attack civil society, journalists and minorities. They want to ban opposition parties and embrace Russia, which still occupies parts of Georgia. They spread disinformation and lies, pretending that Russia equals peace and the EU equals war. They lie because they are afraid of the Georgian people and afraid of democracy, because a good democracy jails corrupt leaders, confiscates their money and takes away their power. The upcoming election will define Georgia for generations, and there is a new generation of young leaders who can build an open culture and parliamentary democracy. They will be the ones that can lead Georgia into the EU. As this resolution shows, they can count on our support, just like the support that we've seen for them in Georgian society: hundreds of thousands of Georgians in the streets in one massive celebration, the image of a country that just received EU candidate status. Those same people protested autocracy last year. And just like the support of Nana Malashkhia. She was – in defiance of fierce police water cannons – waving a European flag.

Mr President, as a member of Volt, the European Movement, I've been part of many elections across our continent. Volunteers are usually the backbone of election campaigns, but in Moldova, for some political parties, that backbone is Russian money. In September alone, EUR 15 million from Russia was spent on bribing people and distorting the elections – in one month! That's 30 times more than the yearly budget of Moldova's largest political party. Russia aims to destabilise, but Moldovans are resilient. When Russia tried to blackmail by cutting off the energy supply, they quickly adapted. When Russia tried to overthrow the democratic government, the plot was foiled, and now, despite the money and disinformation, Moldova remains resilient. Not even an earthquake during a live TV interview could unnerve President Maia Sandu. Moldova's democratic resistance against Russian interference is closely intertwined with those of its neighbours. Moldovans even created a tasteful wine called 'the freedom blend' with grapes from Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. Moldovans are working incredibly hard to get into the EU, but their civil servants are often underpaid and overworked. As we propose with this resolution, we should help them transform their public administration with financial support, professional training and building capacity. Let's enable them to show us how fast they can go.

Mr President, today, exactly 80 years ago, my grandfather ran outside and looked up at the sky. He saw hundreds of men descending with parachutes: the start of Operation Market Garden. In this huge effort by the Allied forces to free the Netherlands, thousands of soldiers lost their lives to bring democracy, freedom and peace. A fight for the same causes is now being fought on our continent. But no one is asking us today to send soldiers. The Ukrainians are simply asking us to untie their hands and allow them to strike the military targets that Russia uses to terrorise Ukrainian civilians. This war is one nation trying to conquer another. So you don't create lasting peace by forcing the defender to surrender. You create it by stopping the aggressor. In April, I travelled to Kyiv to meet Volt Ukraine. A young Ukrainian man told me, 'Please give us the means to defend ourselves. Trust me: there's nobody who wants to end this war faster than us.'