What Helmut spoke about.

8

Jun

2022

DE Speech

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The human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the Xinjiang police files

Madam President, Mr Vice-President. Let's remember why we're here today: to engage us. We want to improve the situation of those people who are currently being interned in camps. We want to stop prisoners being abused or tortured. We want action to be taken against the perpetrators, everywhere and also in China. To achieve this, we need dialogue with the Chinese leadership, the Chinese government,…

8

Jun

2022

DE Speech

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Parliament’s right of initiative (debate)

Mr President, Mr Vice-President! Thank you, Mr Rapporteur, for your unwavering commitment to this dossier. Finally, after years of discussions, we are coordinating our positions on enforcing the core of representative democracies, just in time to derive real political action from the recommendations of the Future Conference, which explicitly identified citizens as a weakness in the functioning of …

3

May

2022

DE Speech

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The follow up of the Conference on the Future of Europe (debate)

Madam President, dear Dubravka, ladies and gentlemen! 79 years after Spinelli, the Conference delivered something here, namely, for the first time, 20 years after the last major EU-wide debate, then on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in a Convention, it provided an answer: How do we want to live together in this European Union in the future? And I recall our debate here a y…

2

May

2022

DE Speech

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Election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (debate)

Mr President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen, dear rapporteurs! Thanks for the work. Yes, the changes towards genuine European electoral legislation are overdue, and today's debate, I believe, shows this very impressively and, above all, out in public. Many citizens want Europe to function democratically and in a way that is understandable to everyone and open to co-creation. This was …

5

Apr

2022

DE Speech

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Outcome of the EU-China Summit (1 April 2022) (debate)

Madam President, High Representative! At the EU-China summit, President Xi Jinping reminded us, probably in the knowledge of systemic rivalry and economic competitors, that we should not fall into our old block thinking. We have before us the economic consequences of our absolutely necessary response to the Putin government's aggression against Ukraine. In order to be able to shoulder them better,…

23

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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Macro-financial assistance to the Republic of Moldova (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! Moldova urgently needs support. Even before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Moldova was in a severe economic situation. A severe recession presented the new government with very difficult tasks: socially sustainable structural reforms, greening the economy, including energy production, the rule of law, the fight against coronavirus. In addition, as a result of the Russian …

10

Mar

2022

DE Speech

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The need for an ambitious EU Strategy for sustainable textiles (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, I listened carefully to you: We want, we need, we need. For three years now, we have been waiting for the Commission to deliver on its President’s promise and present a strategy – truly a strategy – for sustainable textiles. This industry employs millions of people worldwide under mostly exploitative conditions. The production methods consume and pollute vast amounts…

16

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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The Rule of Law and the consequences of the ECJ ruling (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Secretary of State! How can it be that in the 21st century in the EU, Poland and Hungary are so fundamentally limiting the fundamental rights of citizens with the transformation of their judicial systems? In fact, Article 7 does not allow this. I actually say! Instead of applying Article 7 as a binding remedy, this procedure has remained inconclusive since 2017 and 2…

16

Feb

2022

DE Speech

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One youth, one Europe (topical debate)

Mr President, Mr Vice-President, Mr Secretary of State! In the Conference on the Future of Europe, young people are particularly involved in the discussion forums, and not without reason. For it is the youth who must live in the world of tomorrow. That is why it is so important that we give the boys the chance to have a say and, above all, to participate in decision-making. Educational and vocatio…

16

Dec

2021

DE Speech

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Continuous crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders in Russia: the case of human rights organisation Memorial

– Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! This week we discussed the relationship between the European Union and the Russian Federation several times. Certainly the most far-reaching debate for social development in Russia is today's debate on Memorial International. The threat from one of the oldest and best-known civil society organisations is worrying. It illustrates the arbitrariness of the Rus…

14

Dec

2021

DE Speech

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Implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification scheme (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! We are talking about rough diamonds, better and more precisely about blood diamonds. The trade in smuggled, unlicensed rough diamonds is still a central driver for murder gangs in the Central African Republic, Cameroon and northern Nigeria, including Boko Haram. How much blood sticks to these diamonds, which will also be given away this year in Europe and all over the w…

23

Nov

2021

DE Speech

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Multilateral negotiations in view of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva, 30 November to 3 December 2021 (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Vice-President Dombrovskis, please be clear about the historical background against which you are leaving for Geneva, and also part of our House, and in what context, in the consensus of the 160 Members there, decisions will have to be taken that will certainly be decisive for the future of a fair, rules-based, multilateral world trading system! Our world is …

11

Nov

2021

DE Speech

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The outcome of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) (debate)

Mr President, Vice-Presidents! The discussions held last week in Washington by the delegation of our House's Trade Committee made it clear that the TTC is currently arguably the most important perceptible mutual attempt to redefine US-EU cooperation. At the same time, it has become clear: The most important issue for the US is the US: Buy American. The second most important issue for the US is Chi…

5

Oct

2021

DE Speech

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The future of EU-US relations (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The relationship with the European Union is measured in Washington by whether the EU actively participates in the containment strategy vis-à-vis the main rival China, especially in the economic sector. Katherine Tai presented the tactics in detail yesterday. They do not want to cancel the Phase 1 trade agreement, but ask China to pay for it. It is claimed that C…

14

Sep

2021

DE Speech

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A new EU-China strategy (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! In the 21st century, power politics will no longer be able to impose our will on one-fifth of the world's population. Rather, our generation faces the historic task of preserving peace in order to tackle global challenges such as climate change, poverty eradication and technological upheaval. Renouncing dialogue, contacts and fundamental debates…

8

Jul

2021

DE Speech

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Labour rights in Bangladesh (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner! More than four million people work in Bangladesh in the textile sector. In daily hard work, they make a large part of the clothes we wear in Europe. Hardly any textile company that has not relocated production to conditions that I can only call exploitation. Wages are so low that every seamstress has to work overtime. Often 100 overtime hours per month are needed to pay…

5

Jul

2021

DE Speech

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Citizens’ dialogues and citizens’ participation in EU decision-making (short presentation)

Madam President, Madam Vice-President, ladies and gentlemen! Just in time for the launch of the Citizens’ Panels, this important second central pillar of the Conference on the Future of Europe that has started, our report on the democratic participation of people from all 27 Member States will be put to the vote here in plenary. I would like to express my thanks to all the shadow rapporteurs for t…