What Rasmus spoke about.

7 Oct

2026

EN Speech

An ambitious multiannual financial framework 2028-2034 for a strong and resilient Europe (debate)

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Madam President, a budget, as we talked about so many times, is simply a tool that plans our way ahead into the future. Our interim report from this spring called for a budget with the future in clear view, prioritising climate, nature, social justice and competitiveness with a clear global dimension, together with, of course, the continuing of the traditional areas. The Council's reaction until n…

14 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Government crackdown on the LGBTIQ+ Community in Türkiye: Türkiye’s compliance with its international commitments on non-discrimination (debate)

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Madam President, we know far too well the playbook of autocrats when they attack the LGBTQI community. Unfortunately, Türkiye is not the first place we see it. By targeting the LGBTQI community, they attack democracy, they attack freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and fundamental rights. We see it over and over again. This weekend we saw horrible attacks on activists, on organisations and busi…

9 Jul

2026

EN Answer

An updated regulatory framework for wool (debate)

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Well, thank you very much for this question. I think what is important to understand is that we have the knowledge, we have the technology, we have the skills. This is about regulation we've done which is not suitable for what we're facing. So let's just change the regulation around it and use the raw materials that we have done for thousands and thousands of years. We also have the technology ski…

9 Jul

2026

EN Speech

An updated regulatory framework for wool (debate)

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Mr President, today it's easier to import virgin polyester than to move European wool around. The textile strategy made a promise: textiles on the European market should be sustainable, recyclable and, to a large extent, of recycled fibres. But wool, today, shows us how far we are from delivering on that promise. We adapted health rules to stop animal disease spreading, rightly so. But wool from p…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 18-19 June 2026 (debate)

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Madame President, dear colleagues, I'm going to speak about our budget and the climate – no big surprise. On the MFF, the European Council had one job in June: show ambitions and directions for Europe's future budget. Instead, what we saw was a negotiation box of 27 mini priorities squeezed together. That is not ambitions for Europe and not what this House asked for. At the same time, we can look …

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Preparation of the European Council (joint debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, Commissioner, Council, the multiannual financial framework is a political statement about what kind of Europe we want. It is up to the pro-European groups in this Parliament to ensure that we live up to this responsibility. When it comes to the green transition, we cannot afford to go backwards. What's proposed by the Council – with a 35 % climate spending target acr…

18 May

2026

DA Speech

The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner. When we look at the ocean, it looks so beautiful. The beautiful blue surface. But if you dare to look below the sea level, then it is a frightening sight and one of the places we see it most clearly, it is in the Baltic Sea. We are seeing something close to a collapse of an ecosystem because we have chosen to smash our ocean with nitrogen, with chemicals, with plastic a…

28 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the report we are voting on today sets a clear frame for the coming negotiations on the long‑term budget. We are setting the ground plan, the architecture – which is partly new, partly adjustments – as we are preparing for the future. And we are doing so knowing that we already are facing several challenges, if not crises: the war in Ukraine, ongoing war in the Middle E…

25 Mar

2026

EN Speech

European Citizens’ Initiative 'Ban on conversion practices in the European Union' (debate)

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Madam President, to all the young LGBTQI people who are being told to change yourself: don't listen, because you're good just as you are. There's nothing wrong about being gay or lesbian, being trans or being intersex. But unfortunately, far too many people in Europe have been going through the extremely damaging practice of so-called 'conversion therapy'. And it's still happening. It's happening …

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Single Market: how to move from an incomplete single market to one market for one Europe (debate)

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Madam President, it was mentioned once only by the Commissioner and that one time: circularity. If we mean a single market, we need to create a single market for secondary raw materials – to live up to the promises in the Clean Industrial Deal and the proposal for the Industrial Accelerator Act. We can fix it by actually looking at the patchwork of slow, unpredictable and costly procedures for shi…

11 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Rule of law, fundamental rights and misuse of EU funds in Slovakia: the need for an EU response (debate)

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Madam President, it's both a shame and really worrying that we need to have a discussion about the deteriorating situation of the rule of law and democracy and fundamental rights in Slovakia, but it's needed when we see the government's interference with the judicial independence, when we see journalists and NGOs under increasing suspicion, financial pressures and attacks, and when we see Roma and…

10 Feb

2026

DA Speech

Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

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17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Implementation of the rule of law conditionality regime (debate)

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Madam President, credibility, fairness and accountability – that should be at the core of how EU spends its money. Citizens rightly expect that EU funds are spent in line with our values everywhere in the EU at all times. But right now, this is not the case. Take a look at Hungary. We are looking into, right now, sending even more money to Hungary through SAFE, at a time when we freeze other parts…

17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

The urgent need to combat discrimination in the EU through the horizontal anti-discrimination directive (topical debate)

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Mr President, equality is a core value of the European Union. We say it, we repeat it, but we do not enforce it. We all know that it's both unacceptable and undeniably wrong to discriminate people because of their gender, sexual orientation, religion, gender expression, or any other reason. And yet it continues for far too many people every day. And that is why this debate is not only about anti-d…

26 Nov

2025

EN Speech

Fishing opportunities 2026: ensuring the sustainability of fish populations, marine ecosystems and coastal communities

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Madam President, it's really not complicated. Fishery quotas exist for one simple reason: to ensure there are fish in the sea in 5, 10 or 20 years. Everyone knows this and yet, year after year, it's forgotten by Member States who choose to sidestep expert advice. When ministers set quotas above the recommended levels, they turn their back on their responsibility. Just look at cod: a stock on the b…

12 Nov

2025

EN Speech

Conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (debate)

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Madam President, Europe is so much more than our land borders – it is also the vast life in the ocean. Whales crossing continents, deep sea corals that have stood for centuries and plankton forming the base of our food chains. This is all part of the world we depend on and, yet, until now, much of this has been left without real protection. Today we take an important step to change that. What we h…

12 Nov

2025

EN Speech

The new 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework: architecture and governance (debate)

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Mr President, a budget is only a tool. It's a tool to prioritise, a tool to organise, and the European budget is also a democratic tool. Therefore, it has been very important for us to ensure an active role of the regions in these proposed new plans from the Commission. And this is why it's so important to ensure the Parliament's role in the entire budget, and not just part of it. We are, therefor…

21 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Polarisation and increased repression in Serbia, one year after the Novi Sad tragedy (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, for one year the people of Serbia have been demanding change. People have gone to the streets because they saw that their own government values the financial gain of a selected few allies over the safety of their own people. Corruption is swept under the rug, critical voices are silenced, protesters are met with brutal violence. Vučić is right now dismantling the Ser…

7 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Time to complete a fully integrated Single Market: Europe’s key to growth and future prosperity (debate)

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Madam President, the EU single market is, without question, one of Europe's greatest achievements. The foundation of shared prosperity, and it could be an engine for real change. So the crucial question is: why are we not using this massive asset better to reach our core objectives and specifically our green, industrial and circular economy goals? The single market is not just about moving goods, …

9 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Wave of violence and continuous use of force against protesters in Serbia (debate)

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Madam President, Friday evening I was in Novi Sad. I met students, ordinary families, health workers, veterans, all kinds of people peacefully protesting for democracy. It all began with 10 minutes of silence to commemorate the people that lost their lives in the tragic collapse at the railway station last year, 10 months ago. Never have I been at a place where thousands of people were so silent a…

8 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Announcement by the President

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Madam President, on Friday 5 September, I had a very concerning experience in Serbia, where I was attacked and threatened with prosecution by Aleksandar Vučić, the President. In a late‑night televised address, the President repeatedly referred to the European Green Party delegation – composed of co‑chair Vula Tsetsi and myself – as scum, and explicitly threatened to prosecute us. These attacks fol…

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

The EU’s post-2027 long-term budget: Parliament’s expectations ahead of the Commission’s proposal (debate)

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Madam President, today we are discussing our expectations for the long-term budget. To be honest, my expectations are actually pretty low, but my hope is very high. It's high because it needs to be. We are standing at a crossroad. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it's here and it demands action now. At the same time, we're in the middle of a biodiversity crisis, economic and socia…

18 Jun

2025

EN Answer

Freedom of assembly in Hungary and the need for the Commission to act (debate)

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This is not about what I like or don't like. This is not about what somebody else likes or doesn't like. This is about freedom of speech. It's about the freedom of assembly. It's fundamental rights in a democracy. And I find it extremely interesting that a political party elected to a democratic assembly can question democracy in that way. Extremely interesting.…

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Freedom of assembly in Hungary and the need for the Commission to act (debate)

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Mr President, thank you. I am appalled and alarmed that in 2025, a European government is trying to erase LGBTQI people from the public space. That's not law and order. It's oppression. By banning Budapest Pride, the Hungarian Government are sending a chilling message that diversity is not welcome, equality is expendable, and that censorship is preferable to democracy and freedom of speech. That's…

17 Jun

2025

EN Speech

European Ocean Pact (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, the Ocean Pact is and should be about international ocean governance and protection. And what better way to evaluate what the Pact can deliver than looking at the UN Conference on Oceans last week: a moratorium on deep-sea mining announced by President Costa, with growing numbers of countries supporting, and a helpful push once more to finally secure an ambitious pla…