What Lara spoke about.

28 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Presentation of the Better Regulation and Enforcement Communication (debate)

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Madam President, what should 'better regulation' mean? I think what it should mean is quality proposals from the European Commission that have been widely consulted on with trade unions, NGOs, businesses and experts – all those that deserve to be heard. What it should be is things delivered in time frames that make sense – not with an artificial sense of urgency to suit any political mood. What 'b…

9 Mar

2026

EN Speech

European Union regulatory fitness and subsidiarity and proportionality – report on Better Law-Making covering 2023 and 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, for the avoidance of doubt, I'll be voting in favour of this report. I may not agree with every paragraph, but that is the nature of democratic compromise. In particular, I welcome the acknowledgement that better regulation does not mean no regulation, which was not a given, but that legislating smarter, better and simpler is a good thing. But there is an elephant in the room: thi…

19 Jan

2026

EN Speech

The 28th Regime: a new legal framework for innovative companies (debate)

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Madam President, in today's world, Europe is strongest when it acts together, and we must ensure companies can harness the power of European integration. Removing internal barriers, creating a reliable regulatory environment and enabling skill is what the EU should be doing at this time, but let us be clear: a 28th Regime is not inherently good or bad. Its value depends entirely on how it is desig…

6 Oct

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, ExxonMobil is bullying Europe into submission. A new investigation shows the enormous lengths that ExxonMobil has gone to, to kill our new rules on corporate responsibility. Now, this is not surprising. We know that for ExxonMobil, profit counts and not the environment or human rights, but what is surprising is that almost all of its wishes were granted by the European Commission.…

7 May

2025

EN Speech

Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, as we conclude this debate, it's clear that in the face of global economic turbulence, we can't be passive. We need to commit to robust enforcement of our competition laws and stand firm against attempts to undermine them. Over the past months, the Trump administration has fundamentally disrupted the global order, and Europe must now respond with conviction. Tariffs …

7 May

2025

EN Speech

Competition policy – annual report 2024 (debate)

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Mr President, Executive Vice-President Ribera, dear colleagues, in a world that's changing at breakneck speed, this is a time of protecting Europe – through European defence, for one, but in the day to day, also through rules that protect the things that Europe holds dear. Competition rules are key in doing that: to shield citizens from price hikes and exploitative abuses; to defend the interests …

3 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2026 – Section I – European Parliament (A10-0048/2025 - Matjaž Nemec) (vote)

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There's a number of voting machines here that aren't working at the moment, so we need to get this checked.

10 Mar

2025

EN Answer

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

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Mr Tobé, you say that you're ready to work with us and yet you didn't appoint people from the EPP for a long time to talk to us. Then, after we talked together, you made statements in Politico that made it clear that you would only work with us if it suited you. So, that's a difficult basis to start from. But when it comes to what we could actually do to simplify, there's many things that we could…

10 Mar

2025

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, the European Commission promised us a simplification of EU rules for companies without compromising on the landmark green ambitions of the last mandate. What's not to like, you would think? After all, with the current economic backdrop, efforts to simplify, digitise, streamline, those are to be welcomed and we as a Group could certainly see room for doing that. But I will tell you wh…

12 Feb

2025

EN Speech

Competitiveness Compass (debate)

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Madam President, Europe has a duty of care, and that is to provide its citizens now and in the future with the things that we value: freedom, prosperity, inclusion and a healthy environment. To achieve that, we need huge investments, more decisive industrial policies and new ways of pooling European money. But these things require political vision, and it would seem there is no appetite for that i…

23 Oct

2024

EN Speech

U-turn on EU bureaucracy: the need to axe unnecessary burdens and reporting to unleash competitiveness and innovation (topical debate)

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Mr President, some colleagues here talk about competitiveness when what they want is deregulation. They say they want Europe to catch up with other blocs, and to do that, we must axe unnecessary burdens. Now, axing anything is not the answer. I think if we're lagging behind, it's because of decades of low investment and a failure to go all in on sustainability, like others have done, primarily by …

9 Oct

2024

NL Speech

Taxing the super-rich to end poverty and reduce inequalities: EU support to the G20 Presidency’s proposal (topical debate)

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Mr President, it is much easier to make money with money than with just honest work. And right-wing and populist governments are fine with that. Everywhere in the world we see politicians who claim to stand behind ordinary working people, and then cut back on healthcare, education and public transport, or hand out tax cuts to the rich and shareholders as a kind of reverse Robin Hood. It has to sto…

24 Apr

2024

NL Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (A9-0184/2023 - Lara Wolters) (vote)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today marks 11 years since Rana Plaza collapsed. And if we immediately press the red or green button, we make a fundamental choice. Do we accept that people on the other side of the world make our T-shirts under unsafe conditions and for a few euros a day? Do we accept that big oil companies are taking people off their land and destroying nature reserves? Make n…

12 Mar

2024

NL Question

State of play of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (debate)

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I'm still laughing a little bit at Mr. Hoogeveen from just now, who said I had to google my own law. I don't think he understood that I wrote that law five years ago. You, too, have been harassing me on Twitter for years with misinformation about this law. I also think that you have not fully understood what this is all about. I actually wanted to ask: Do you want a difficult or an easy question? …

12 Mar

2024

NL Question

State of play of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (debate)

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Yes, I find this interesting, because you and a number of colleagues with you have never understood what due diligence is. You never understood the difference between this December agreement and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. So I had the question for you: What are the suffocating rules? I don't think you've ever read this, but let me help you: Would you like to tell me where th…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

State of play of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (debate)

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Madam President, today should have been a happy day, a historic day even, on which we celebrated the adoption of groundbreaking legislation that would oblige European businesses to treat people and planet with respect. But here we are. We had an agreement, but we have no vote and no law, all because Member States said ‘yes’ and then ‘no’ and then ‘maybe’. It’s a little bit like a wedding after an …

28 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Regaining our competitive edge - a prosperous EU in a fragmented global economy (topical debate)

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Mr President, so, European companies have the right to exploit children, they have the right to destroy forests and, most of all, European companies have the right not to ask any questions or right any wrongs. To be very clear, this is not what I think. This is what Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni and Christian Lindner have fought for together over the past weeks. And if I sound angry now, it’s be…

10 Jul

2023

NL Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, I would like to talk about Beyoncé. True story: For the same Beyoncé concert with the same pitch, one fan pays 200 euros and the other 700. Absurd. Companies like Ticketmaster and Live Nation call this with an expensive word dynamic pricing. I call it an ordinary way to make a lot of money. Because what's happening? Ticket companies deliberately withhold tickets in order to be able t…

12 Jun

2023

NL Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, two years ago I stood here and I said: “I do not think it has occurred to our European forefathers that a Member of Parliament could be a young woman, or a young man who wants to be with a newborn child.” It's now two years later. I am expecting my second child and the European Parliament still does not have parental leave. We have at least ten letters, resolutions and speeches left.…

1 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (A9-0184/2023 - Lara Wolters) (vote)

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Madam President, I assume you gave me the floor. I couldn’t hear in all the commotion of all those very happy colleagues here in the room, and I just want to take one moment to really warmly thank all of those who have worked so hard with me and with us on this, including those colleagues in EPP and in Renew who voted in favour today. So thank you so much to them. And now, under Rule 59(4), I woul…

1 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (A9-0184/2023 - Lara Wolters) (vote)

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Madam President, I think that we had asked for a short technical break at this point, so if you will allow us that, we’ll just take one minute to convene and then vote.

31 May

2023

NL Speech

Breaches of the Rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary and frozen EU funds (debate)

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Mr President, it is and remains a worrying child and a headache dossier. Two weeks ago I was with a committee of inquiry of the European Parliament in Hungary and again our concerns about democracy and systematic corruption were confirmed there. Journalists, NGOs and the opposition told us how they are knowingly opposed by Viktor Orbán's government. Companies are being pressured to buy out, and Mr…

31 May

2023

EN Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (debate)

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Mr President, I should like to thank colleagues for this debate. Thank you to all those who participated. It’s great to see the support expressed by so many colleagues here today. I hope that this backing will transform into a substantial majority tomorrow. At the same time, let me address some of the criticism expressed here today. I hear that due diligence will affect Europe’s competitiveness, b…

31 May

2023

EN Speech

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (debate)

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Mr President, we have just commemorated the horrors of Rana Plaza, the hundreds of victims, many of whom had not wanted to go into the building but were threatened and made to pay with their lives, in a disaster that tragically could have been avoided. Rana Plaza is not the only disaster linked to corporate greed or the only disaster linked to companies misbehaving and turning a blind eye. Saeeda …

10 May

2023

NL Speech

Update of the anti-corruption legislative framework (debate)

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Corruption is a disease. As Mrs Jourová said, it falls under the skin of democracy, weakens trust, spreads and infects society, including here in Europe. So thank you for this good proposal to step up the fight against corruption. And yet. And yet, integrity cannot be confined to laws alone. Member States should address each other on the importance of trustworthy public authorities, of transparenc…