Speeches

Madam President! I would like to start by congratulating Trump on his convincing choice. Even states that you would expect to go to the Democrats went with a convincing majority to Trump. Thanks also to Trump for giving us in Europe a wake-up call. It is quite clear that we have not taken our own security seriously here in Europe. We have to stand in our own right, and we can only do that if we start to take our armaments seriously. The European NATO countries must invest in better equipment for our soldiers and more weapons. The European Union may be able to play a coordinating role here. Because it's embarrassing, so bad it's been up until now. Finally, I would also like to call on all politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to seek good cooperation over the next four years. Free trade is good, and free trade is the way to go. It makes us all richer, so let's maintain good relations with each other.

Mr President! We have just heard from the Commissioner and several from the left that they want to tighten up the Buildings Directive, forcing citizens to renovate their homes with energy. Danish Niels Fuglsang from the Social Democrats said back in June that people just have to pay what it costs. It's like it's an insignificant grip in your pocket. But such an investment is not just a grip in the pocket of ordinary citizens. In fact, the renovations in question will cost an average of EUR 40 000 per dwelling. In Denmark alone, it will affect 400 000 families. It is a cost that will force many to go from house to home because they cannot afford the renovation and cannot borrow money from the bank, as these homes are most often located in areas where the banks will not lend money. This is a completely unfair and very wrong way to treat our citizens. It is not because I do not think that we should focus on the green transition, and of course we should make ourselves independent of oil and gas from rogue states in the Middle East and from Russia, but in a way that we do not ruin and destroy the lives of many millions of citizens of the European Union.