What Andreas spoke about.

7

May

2025

DE Speech

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Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to thank the rapporteur for the good cooperation on the annual report on competition policy. This annual report is special this year because its geopolitical context makes it special. Globally, jointly developed rules are being challenged, artificial intelligence systems are questioning established certainties, an…

12

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! If we take the facts as a basis, the first 100 days of the new Commission have shown that Ursula von der Leyen and her 26 colleagues are taking responsibility in a world that has become more difficult. We have with the project ReArm Europe showed that we can put European interests at the centre and at the same time be responsible for our ow…

10

Mar

2025

DE Speech

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Cutting red tape and simplifying business in the EU: the first Omnibus proposals (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like to congratulate the European Commission, because I believe that by proposing this summary of a whole series of amendments it is heading in the right direction. Because one thing is clear: European companies face global competition, and this global competition is about bringing talent to companies and focusing on innovation and produ…

12

Feb

2025

FR Speech

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Competitiveness Compass (debate)

Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar, Ratspräsidentschaftsvertreter, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, first of all, I think the most important point for the compass for competitiveness is that France and Germany, their governments, have more or less aligned themselves to work together, to lighten the burden of bureaucracy. Without this cooperation between France and Germany, nothing can be lightened.…

21

Jan

2025

DE Speech

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Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Mr Representative of the Council! First of all, thank you for making it clear here this morning – both the Council and the Commission – that the Digital Services Act applies, that it applies today, that it applies tomorrow and that it will apply the day after tomorrow and that we will apply it. Secondly, Commissioner, I would like to thank you – also on behalf of the…

18

Dec

2024

DE Speech

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Restoring the EU’s competitive edge – the need for an impact assessment on the Green Deal policies (topical debate)

Mr President! Madam Vice-President! Dear colleagues! The Member States of the European Union have jointly signed the Paris Climate Agreement with the objective of a two percent agreement for 2050 - that is our goal. Along the way, the Draghi report has identified clear weaknesses in our positioning so far. We will have two million fewer workers each year to help achieve these goals. Secondly, we d…

17

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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Misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and related risks to the integrity of elections in Europe (debate)

Madam President, Commissioners, colleagues, we are observing since a while some sort of interference of foreign social media platforms in the European Union. In the case of Romania, colleagues, the Constitutional Court of Romania has taken a decision that is surely based on facts, and I can only congratulate the court of having taken the decision. This morning, the European Commission has taken th…

26

Nov

2024

DE Speech

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The Autumn 2024 Economic Forecast: a gradual rebound in an adverse environment (debate)

24

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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Closing the EU skills gap: supporting people in the digital and green transitions to ensure inclusive growth and competitiveness in line with the Draghi report (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Mario Draghi has written us on almost 400 pages here with his report the weaknesses of the EU legislation in the logbook. But, contrary to what the honourable Member claims, it does not come to the conclusion that what we have done is all wrong, but we have put wrong incentives in the internal market as far as the skills gap is concerned. And for t…

21

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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A stronger Europe for safer products to better protect consumers and tackle unfair competition: boosting EU oversight in e-commerce and imports (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Online platforms have fundamentally changed the way consumers shop. Consumers are no longer limited to local suppliers, but can buy goods from international retailers, broadening their choice and often finding better prices. You have just mentioned, Commissioner: This year alone, 4 billion packages show that European consumers are interested in int…

21

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

Madam President, dear Enrico Letta, Commissioner! First of all, on behalf of the EPP Group, a big congratulations for this intensive work and also for the presentation of the results here. It has become clear that the report, and you too, Mr Letta, remind us once again that the internal market is the engine of our European prosperity. I find this remarkable because, of course, it has been forgotte…

9

Oct

2024

DE Speech

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Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, thank you very much, Mr President, for giving me one minute of speaking time. I would therefore like to make it very brief and first of all thank the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, who, five years ago, visited the European Parliament. European Way of Life has pointed out – and one's own four walls, a decent living sp…

17

Sep

2024

DE Speech

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Global measures towards social media platforms - Strengthening the role of DSA and protecting democracy and freedom in the online sphere (debate)

Madam President, Dear Vice-President of the European Commission, it is good that you mentioned at the end that we in the European Parliament, together with Mrs Schaldemose, have set the right course with the Digital Markets and Digital Services Act. It is good that you are saying that it is now about implementation. But the implementation, ladies and gentlemen, of the laws requires more pressure; …

23

Apr

2024

DE Speech

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Conclusions of the recent European Council meetings, in particular on a new European Competitiveness deal and the EU strategic agenda 2024-2029 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! This debate shows: Less is more. It is interesting that the Council has finally come to this conclusion and that its conclusions finally shed light on the end of industrial naivety. We need to focus on more competitiveness in Europe. I therefore expressly welcome what Mr Belka has just said about the Social Democrats: We also need new ideas. I a…

11

Mar

2024

DE Speech

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Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive) (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Consumers should have an easier time making informed decisions in their everyday purchases. All-inclusive claims that products or services are sustainable, climate-neutral or climate-positive must therefore be correct in the future. This is a new procedure for environmental claims, but given the inflationary and often non-transparent use of such cl…

29

Feb

2024

DE Question

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Next steps towards greater patient safety by swiftly ensuring the availability of medical devices through a targeted transitional period (debate)

Mrs Grapini, you have just confirmed that, in the case of medical devices, we have simply delayed the variety of offers to a certain extent by the legislation, by the rapid entry into force of the control by the self-entering third parties or by the certifiers. So, as Mr Sokol has suggested to some extent, would you, together with your group, support the postponement of the entry into force of the…

26

Feb

2024

DE Speech

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Transparency and targeting of political advertising (debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! Social media is full of advertising for furniture, household appliances and fashion. But there are also political campaigns on the internet, which usually do something other than advertising directly, but which reach the selected readers just as well – political actors as foreign states, who want to influence via influencers or NGOs and are…

7

Feb

2024

DE Speech

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The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Certain forms of social media are a danger to our children, as we heard again last week at a hearing with author Silke Müller. The basic problem is well known, but still the participants of the event were a bit shaken because we heard and saw how easily really brutal and dangerous content is accessible to our children. At the same time, Commissione…

16

Jan

2024

DE Speech

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Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. We want a competitive single market. We want a single market where the consumer has the choice between the best products, with the aim that the supplier who makes the best products available is also the winner. We vigorously confirmed this in the Digital Single Market a few months ago. And with the directive adopted here, we also want to make this possible for c…

12

Dec

2023

DE Speech

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European Health Data Space (debate)

I will gladly look at the text again after your listing on this point. I believe that, of course, national health systems must also weigh this up. On the one hand, there is the right to secrecy of medical consultations or visits, which you have very strongly applied. But on the other hand, of course, there is also the interest of the overall system in not allowing waste by not allowing appointment…

12

Dec

2023

DE Answer

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European Health Data Space (debate)

Thank you very much, Mr. Colleague! You have asked the question to Mr Mandl before, and I have already listened. I believe that at this point we need to see the cross-border significance of such opt-out rights realistically. The whole thing would be desirable if it could be achieved everywhere in Europe. However, some national health systems already have a different system. And I believe – and we …

12

Dec

2023

DE Speech

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European Health Data Space (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner Kyriakides, ladies and gentlemen! The European Health Data Space is a project that needs to strike the right balance between, on the one hand, data protection and, on the other hand, the legitimate interests of patients who want to receive good treatment across borders quickly and easily and efficiently. The example of Mr Arimont shows quite impressively – I could als…

19

Oct

2023

DE Question

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Generational renewal in the EU farms of the future (debate)

Mrs. Colleague! I have listened carefully to you now, and the problems of young farmers are also of considerable importance in my constituency in the Black Forest, because we are seeing a generational change that is no longer as it has been in the past, and we therefore face the danger that we will not find young people or far too few young people who want to take over the work as a farmer with al…

18

Oct

2023

DE Speech

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Fighting disinformation and dissemination of illegal content in the context of the Digital Services Act and in times of conflict (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen! Social media, social networks have changed the public debate, and not for the good. Most systems of the major online platforms, i.e. the algorithms that suggest content to users to generate advertising revenue, prioritize controversial and polarizing content that is not what you think. Content is distributed unchecked, eve…

17

Oct

2023

DE Speech

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General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - all sections (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and inflation, and now the escalation in the Middle East conflict, are putting a heavy burden on the EU budget for the coming year. And that is why, Commissioner Hahn, it is right that the Commission proposes to increase this budget. I am very glad that the Spanish Presidency is also listening here, becaus…