Speeches

The President has not received any request to put to the vote the request from the INTA Committee to consult the European Economic and Social Committee for it to issue an opinion on the trade-related aspects of the Draghi report, announced yesterday. The request is therefore deemed to have been approved, pursuant to Rule 151(2).

Mr President, as the rapporteur on the Digital Services Act, my message to the EU Commission is clear: it is time to step up. We cannot wait for TikTok and the rest of the Big Tech to finally decide to follow our rules. Don't get me wrong, TikTok and Big Tech, they have to remove illegal content from their platforms, and they have to actively contribute to counteract disinformation and harmful content. But it is the responsibility of the Commission to enforce our rules, and when Big Tech refuses to comply with our laws, then the Commission needs to act as an enforcer. We cannot ignore that Big Tech knowingly dodges the framework of the Digital Services Act. As we have seen in Romania, evidence points towards TikTok being responsible for damaging the electoral credibility of a democratic election. TikTok has failed to effectively implement content moderation and showed unwillingness to combat the spread of disinformation and even refuse to conduct proper fact checking, which has proven to be a perfect opportunity for foreign interference. The election in Romania must be a reminder for all of us to be vigilant and proactive in our efforts to regulate Big Tech, and that is why we in the European Parliament need to take our responsibility. We need to make sure that the Commission is doing what they have to do, and enforce our rules and use the opportunities we have in the Digital Services Act to a full extent. I don't think that that is what happens today. Illegal content needs to be removed and harmful content needs to be risk mitigated and we need to have full transparency. We haven't really seen so much of this. So I really, really urge the EU Commission please step up now. Use the opportunities we have in the Digital Services Act. We need to use it in order to protect our society and democracy. It is time to act now.

The next vote is on reinforcing the EU’s unwavering support to Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression and the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia (See minutes, item [6.5.]).

The next vote is on Georgia's worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud (See minutes, item [6.4.]).

The next vote is on the shrinking space for civil society in Cambodia, in particular the case of the labour rights organisation CENTRAL (See minutes, item [6.3.]).

The first vote is on Hong Kong, notably the cases of Jimmy Lai and the 45 activists recently convicted under the national security law (See minutes, item [6.1.]).

Dear colleagues, please respect the rules we have here in this House and speak in an orderly manner. I will not give the floor for any more points of order.

Mr Sieper, you don't have the floor any longer. Here in this House we have our debates according to the Rules of Procedure and not according to a dictionary.

Mr Kartheiser, as you know, the Rules of Procedure are very clear. Rule 174(2) explicitly foresees that all Members have the right to speak in Parliament in the official language of their choice. Rule 243 foresees a procedure to propose an amendment of the Rules, which you have already initiated.

The first item is the debate on a Commission statement on 'Strengthening children’s rights in the EU – 35th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child' (2024/2912(RSP).

Good morning, colleagues. The President has received from the Council its position at first reading regarding the discontinuation of the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform, as well as the reasons which led to its adoption and the position and opinion of the Commission. The full title will be published in the minutes of today's sitting. The three‑month period available to Parliament to adopt its position begins tomorrow, 29 November 2024.

Madam President! Madam President of the Commission! I am voting for the new European Commission today. Is the Commission and its policy perfect? No! Several questions about our climate and our planet, for example, still need answers. But we have succeeded in pushing the Commission to make important political concessions. I went to elections to ensure safety for children and young people online, for the problems there are serious. The new Commission has promised to do something about this. We would also like to see improved public procurement requirements. This fight will not be easy, but the Commission has promised to look into it so that we can have better rules for employees and for the environment. Now we have to get to work. A united Europe is our strongest defence against external threats and our best weapon against climate change. A new European Commission is just the beginning of the next five years of hard work and hard work to ensure a safer, greener and fairer Europe. Let's get started!

That was the round of speakers on behalf of the political groups. From now on, I will be a little bit more strict on the time. And I have also opened up for the blue card, in case you want to take one.

The next item is the debate on the report by Victor Negrescu and Niclas Herbst, on behalf of the European Parliament delegation to the Conciliation Committee, on the joint text on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025 approved by the Conciliation Committee under the budgetary procedure (12084/2024 – C10-0099/2024 – 2024/0176(BUD) (A10-0014/2024).

Madam President! Biodiversity is under threat all over the world, and we are talking about the sixth mass death. It is the case that the problems we have for biodiversity are man-made, and therefore it is also a possibility that we can do something about it. We humans have to solve the problems, and fortunately we also have these multilateral forums where we can work together on the planet. And the biodiversity COPs are part of it, and in some areas it was fine, what happened in Columbia. But unfortunately, there is far too little action if we are to achieve the goal, if we are to save nature. That is why I think it is incredibly important that we in the European Union take the lead and show the way. Then we can also better insist that others do something. And in Europe, for example, we can look at Denmark, where we have managed to make an agreement between agriculture and environmental organisations and parliaments to ensure that we have significantly more nature. And we must cut back on what destroys nature. Europe can make a difference. We have to go ahead.

The minutes of today's and yesterday's sittings will be submitted to Parliament for its approval at the beginning of the part-session taking place on 25-28 November in Strasbourg. If there are no objections, I shall forward the resolutions adopted at today's sitting to the persons and bodies named in the resolutions.

We now move to the explanations of vote on EU actions against the Russian shadow fleets and ensuring a full enforcement of sanctions against Russia.