Speeches

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the oceans pact is our chance – maybe our last chance – to save the ocean. The EU has had many policies in place for many, many decades, but still the state of the ocean is only getting worse. We should have had a good environmental status five years ago, so we need to do something differently to create sustainable jobs, provide healthy food, but also because our citizens are demanding it, because they see with their own eyes the consequences of failed policies. They see hundreds of tonnes of dead fish floating in Greece, poisonous algal blooms in the Baltic Sea, plastic litter all along the shores of the North Sea, empty nets for our small‑scale fishermen, huge industrial trawlers that are emptying our sea not for human consumption, but to make fish meal for animals, the collapse of cod, and starving seals. Our citizens are watching us and they are demanding action now. Colleagues, we are policy‑makers, and I'm convinced that we can never achieve our goals for a healthy and thriving ocean without a legally binding governance framework, ensuring policy coherence and real implementation of the goals set out in existing legislation, such as the CFP and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This is what our citizens need from us. The oceans pact is our chance to act. Commissioner, will we have an oceans pact?

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner Jørgensen! EUR 206 billion. More than SEK 2,300 billion. This is how much Russia has benefited from exporting fossil fuels to the EU since the start of the war. The EU countries have thus contributed more to Putin's war fund than we have provided Ukraine with financial support. Calling it a scandal is an understatement. The EU must throttle the cranes immediately. We need to implement the green transition as quickly as possible and invest in renewable energy. It's not just about the climate. It is about security and it is about peace in Europe. Because with one hand, we are currently in the process of a historic refurbishment. With the other hand, we give money directly to the enemy and increase the threat to ourselves. That must be enough for now. Three years into the war, we still cannot guarantee that EU money will not go to bomb schools in Ukraine. The import of Russian energy must stop immediately. Anything else is self-harm.

Madam President, leaving the Paris Agreement, the WHO, and closing down the world's biggest aid organisation from one day to another. What kind of world does Donald Trump really want? Is it a planet in climate disarray with firestorms, floodings and hurricanes where people die, where homes are destroyed. A world where we lose the fight against malaria, HIV, cholera, where children die in diseases we should have eradicated, a world where girls die giving birth to babies they never chose to have, where more pandemics paralyse our societies. What we're now seeing is nothing else but a frontal attack against global cooperation. Our planet and our shared humanity. The Trump presidency has only begun. We already can see that the attack on the rules-based world order is creating global insecurity and costing the poorest their lives. We, the EU, now need to show leadership more than ever. We are now the hope for the world's poorest, for everyone believing in democracy and solidarity. And it's our moral obligation to live up to their expectations.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your The beginning of this year has been extremely difficult for Sweden. Already over 30 gang-related blasts, and last week: The deadliest mass shooting in Swedish history. It's hard to stand here now without thinking about those victims and their families. This violence is nothing more than a symptom of a society that is not doing well. Now Sweden must come together. Schools, health care, public authorities, business, civil society – all of us citizens. We must work together to give every individual in our country a meaningful life, where violence never has a place. We elected politicians have a special responsibility to make this happen, but also to be role models and to lead our societies with dignity and decency. We have to think about how we talk about each other, how we look at each other. Do not widen divisions, but continue to strive to create safe societies where we can live side by side, in peace and with respect for each other's similarities and differences.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your Commissioner, I would like to thank you. In the Pacific, a gigantic accumulation of plastic floats around. Every day, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch gets bigger. In seven years, this contingent of plastic has grown from about three kilograms of plastic per square kilometre to 14 kilograms per square kilometre. It's unbelievable. At the end of last year, the world's countries gathered to negotiate a binding global agreement on plastics. The need for this is urgent, but the negotiations are coming up against obstacles. Oil countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia blocked important parts of the deal. Now with Trump at the White House openly advocating more oil drilling, the future of these negotiations has become even more uncertain. Yes, Commissioner, I think it is a good idea for us to put a stop to countries being able to have a veto when microplastics have invaded not only all parts of this planet, but even our own bloodstream. We need a global plastics agreement in place as soon as possible. The countries of the world must return to the negotiating table, and the EU has a crucial role to play in pushing for this to become a reality.

Mr President, thank you very much. The crisis in Sudan is indeed a complete tragedy and the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world ever. There are reports of overcrowded refugee camps, ethnic cleansing, killing of civilians, sexual abuse and a rapidly approaching famine. The UN warns of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The internal refugee crisis is the largest in the world with over 10 million people displaced. At the same time, the World Food Programme has observed famine in Darfur and more than 25 million people are suffering from acute famine. Yet the crisis in Sudan has not received the same media attention as other crises. It is indeed a forgotten crisis, but it does not make it any less real. We must give our support to the civilian population in Sudan. The EU must do more to protect civilians and impose sanctions on individuals and groups who have committed serious human rights violations. We must force countries that break the arms embargo to stop arms deliveries to warring parties, increase support for victims of sexual violence and support the ICC investigation into war crimes.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. In mid-December, one ship belonging to the Russian shadow fleet was broken off in the middle, and another went aground in the Black Sea. 3,000 tons of oil spilled into the sea. We now know that the Russian shadow fleet has destroyed underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. We must also be aware that at any time an oil disaster similar to the one in the Black Sea can also happen in the Baltic Sea. The situation in our beloved inland sea is catastrophic already as it is now. We have overfishing, eutrophication, acidification, environmental toxins, plastic pollution. The last thing we need is an oil spill. Around 25 vessels from the Russian shadow fleet now operate in the Baltic Sea. Ships are often old, scrap-ready, they lack insurance. In other words, they are ticking environmental bombs. Environmental disasters can strike at any time. If we put a stop to Putin's ships on the Baltic Sea, we will also cut off the financing of the war in Ukraine. The EU must put an end to the shadow fleet immediately for the sake of peace, but also for the sake of our beloved inland sea.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. After the Assad family's stranglehold for 50 years, the regime has finally fallen. A great joy for the world's Syrians, but also a great concern. Since the outbreak of the civil war, Syrians have taken refuge in Europe. Many have been established here for almost 15 years. You have jobs, children who go to school, friends, a safe everyday life. Leaving that life for an uncertain future in a country where Islamists can take over power is too many unthinkable. At the same time, there are those who want to return to rebuild the country and democracy, who have lived in Europe for many years and understood and experienced what it means to live in freedom and who could contribute to the same in Syria. We Greens therefore want the Syrian refugees who are now going back to Syria not to lose their residence permits in Europe, so that they dare to take the step of contributing, even if the situation today is uncertain. The EU has the chance to contribute to a strong democracy movement in Syria now. Money can also strengthen the country, but it is people who build democracy. Give people the security they need.

Mr President, microplastics are now found everywhere on our planet, deep in the ocean, but also in humans' bloodstream, breast milk, placental tissue, lungs and brain. Every year, hundreds of millions of tonnes of new plastics are being produced, while only 9 % is recycled, and the production is estimated to triple by 2060. So we will have new mountains of plastic products where two thirds are just used once or thrown away within 5 years. This is a lifestyle that this planet simply cannot afford. So the EU must push hard to get a globally binding agreement in Busan to end plastic pollution but also stem the flood of new plastics at its sources. We know the 1.5‑degree climate goal cannot be achieved without a sharp reduction in the production of primary plastic polymers, since these are made of petroleum. We know our oceans will suffocate with plastics if we don't achieve management and recycling of plastic waste in all countries, including in the Global South, where producers also have responsibility. And we know our children will suffer if we don't ban hazardous chemicals contained in plastic products. Final point, I hear that the same countries that were obstructing during the climate negotiations last week in Baku are now creating problems in Busan. Oil‑producing countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran – trying to safeguard their future markets, I just have one thing to say: shame on you.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. The world is on its way to three degrees of warming, according to UNEP. Not one and a half, but three. This is a whole new world with droughts, storms and floods in a way that humanity has never experienced before. Now, with Donald Trump at the helm of the United States again, the likelihood is high that the United States will once again leave the Paris Agreement and cut its climate finance. This undermines global climate action. Funding is COP 29's big issue. The UN says that $1,000 billion is needed annually to enable all countries to transform and protect their societies. That sounds like a lot of money, but that's actually pretty much what we spend on fossil subsidies annually. The EU must now take the lead. We must push for as high a funding target as possible. We also need to ensure that the European Green Deal remains firm and that we can reduce emissions quickly. The EU can push for increased global ambitions. The EU must ensure that global climate action does not collapse. The least we can do is all we can do.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your All life on earth began in the oceans. The ocean feeds us. They give us joy. They produce half of the oxygen we breathe. Yet we abuse the oceans, use them as garbage dumps and empty them of fish. Now we've also given them a high fever, and that's very serious. As one scientist told me: The climate crisis, like COVID, is hitting the weakest the hardest. And the sea is already weakened. In the Baltic Sea, where I live, the average temperature has already increased by two degrees since 1990, and at a depth of 30 meters it was 20 degrees Celsius last summer, something that has never been noted before. An area as large as Denmark is dead bottom. We need to do something fast for this dying patient, and we need to do something new. We need a new maritime policy that can collectively help our seas to recover, so that they can once again sequester carbon in the bottoms, which are now being torn up by bottom trawling, and again have stable, viable ecosystems that make the water clear and clean again and that can provide Europe with sustainably fished fish. Not only do we need 30% of protected areas, but we need a holistic approach. That is why I welcome the European Maritime Pact. It must have the highest priority to allow the seas to recover. All policy areas need to work together to achieve this. The oceans are the foundation of all life. If we protect the ocean, we also protect ourselves.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your Right before the eyes of the EU, the Russian shadow fleet, carrying oil, is currently sailing through the Baltic Sea. Up to half of all the crude oil that Putin is currently making money from goes through the EU's most sensitive inland seas and can cause a huge oil disaster at any time. The boats are often scrap-ready without insurance, and they sail under flags of convenience, which allows them to escape sanctions. Several incidents have already been reported. The cost of clean-up in the event of an accident would be in the billions, and the bill would go to the taxpayer. This is nothing more than hybrid warfare, which, moreover, brings the bulk of the money to Putin's war chest. The EU must stop this now. We must also close the tap for all fossil imports and Russian oil and become fossil-free, not only for the sake of the Baltic Sea, but also for the sake of Ukraine, peace and the climate.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your In 2015, I was at the UN General Assembly as Sweden's minister when the global goals were adopted. The room was full of hope and optimism. The whole world had agreed on a common global agenda and vision for humanity and for our planet. Today, that optimism feels very distant. Conflicts are on the rise, more people than ever are fleeing, democracy is backing down, women's rights are under threat and the climate crisis is already here. Many people are beginning to doubt that we can solve our common problems, but I think we can. But only if we work together. Global cooperation was created once for a reason – because on its own it is not strong. That understanding should be as important now as it was then. I therefore look with concern at the new Commission's focus on aid, on the EU's own interests over solidarity. Solidarity is the core value of the European Union and we must continue that line.