What Birgit spoke about.

15 Sep

2026

DE Question

The recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect EU’s external borders (debate)

Watch

Mr President! Ceuta: More than 140 people lost their lives in this tragedy. At the same time, Europe will be put to the test: False information, manipulation and violence are inhuman attempts to destroy our foundation, our social cohesion and weaken us. Reflective accusations, pointless border controls add oil to the fire and undermine the trust of our citizens. And none of this offers real answer…

17 Jun

2026

DE Speech

Protecting children’s safety and mental health from the risks posed by social media – our duty to act now (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Imagine that a child opens an app only briefly. The algorithm has only one goal: maximum length of stay, maximum profit. Like a pull, it draws children and sometimes adults deeper and deeper into echo chambers, where they only hear what they want to hear and believe what the algorithm shows them. Emotional, extreme content is rewarded, facts, nuances, doubts are buried. The algori…

16 Jun

2026

DE Speech

Achieving digital sovereignty and resilience for Europe, in light of recent developments affecting access to advanced AI technologies (debate)

Watch

20 May

2026

DE Speech

Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Severely traumatized, they cope with their arduous everyday life and yet find no peace. We are talking about survivors of serious crimes. All too often they are left alone with the physical, psychological and financial consequences. And again and again they are even contacted directly by perpetrators. Unannounced. Unexpected. Legal? Unfortunately, yes. And that will remain the cas…

28 Apr

2026

DE Speech

Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

Watch

Mr President! A report on fundamental rights in the EU should be positive. Unfortunately, the negotiations were difficult due to opposition from the right, the text could have been stronger. The compromise is acceptable and thus received at least a broad majority. But our fundamental rights are under attack, eroded – in the Member States, but also here. So there are unbearable amendments for tomor…

26 Mar

2026

DE Speech

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 as regards the extension of its period of application (A10-0040/2026 - Birgit Sippel) (vote)

Watch

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Just two weeks ago, this Parliament adopted a position by an overwhelming majority, with the participation of, among others, EPP, S&D and Renew – a position based on facts and the concrete experience of five years with the transitional regulation. We have taken responsibility for the protection of children while respecting fundamental rights. An…

11 Mar

2026

DE Speech

Child sexual abuse online: protect children, not perpetrators (topical debate)

Watch

11 Mar

2026

DE Speech

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 as regards the extension of its period of application (A10-0040/2026 - Birgit Sippel) (vote)

Watch

10 Feb

2026

DE Speech

Spain’s large-scale regularisation policy and its impact on the Schengen Area and EU migration policy (debate)

Watch

10 Feb

2026

DE Speech

Spain’s large-scale regularisation policy and its impact on the Schengen Area and EU migration policy (debate)

Watch

21 Jan

2026

DE Speech

Restoring control of migration: returns, visa policy and third-country cooperation (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President! 2026 – a crisis year. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is not coming to an end, it seems to be increasing in aggression. Donald Trump uses violence in his own country as a means of pressure, ignores international law, ruthlessly puts the axe to transatlantic cooperation. The Iranian regime is attacking its own people, but the Conservatives think of nothing better than start…

20 Jan

2026

DE Speech

Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

Watch

Madam President, AI – Freedom through innovation? In fact, we see innovation without responsibility, power without accountability. AI chatbots like Grok's are a systematic violation of dignity and fundamental rights. They are trained to undress, sexualize, and force images of real people into poses they never agreed to. Women are degraded to objects, children to digital victims. A thousand times. …

17 Dec

2025

DE Question

Implementation of the rule of law conditionality regime (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Respect for our values is a prerequisite for EU membership, and they must apply in practice. Conditionality is designed to protect our budget when breaches of the rule of law put it at risk. And that this mechanism is lawful has been confirmed by the European Court of Justice, and it is also in the interest of our citizens. Funds must not go to governments where courts no longer d…

17 Dec

2025

DE Speech

The urgent need to combat discrimination in the EU through the horizontal anti-discrimination directive (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President! Discrimination is prohibited. Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights is clear. But hate crime and hate speech are on the rise across the EU, both online and offline. Laws are being pushed that specifically discriminate against and criminalize minorities, such as so-called Gay-propaganda-Laws and PrideBanned in Hungary. This is how fears are stirred up and how people are to b…

16 Dec

2025

DE Speech

European Citizens’ Initiative ‘My voice, my choice: for safe and accessible abortion’ (debate)

Watch

12 Nov

2025

DE Speech

The first European Annual Asylum and Migration report and the setting up of the Annual Solidarity Pool (debate)

Watch

Madam President, With a large majority, Parliament and Member States have adopted a new asylum system and clearly: Shared responsibility and solidarity are essential for successful implementation. It is not a positive start for the Commission to ignore legally binding timelines, but it is good that it has now come out of the coup and presented its report on the migration situation and solidarity. …

22 Oct

2025

DE Speech

Allegations of espionage by the Hungarian government within the EU institutions (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Two people meet, whisper, exchange documents. What sounds like a scene from a spy movie was a bitter reality, according to research by investigative journalists. From 2013 to 2018, Hungarian intelligence services are said to have set up an espionage network in EU institutions and attempted, under diplomatic cover, to recruit EU staff to share confidential information. According to…

21 Oct

2025

DE Speech

Changing security landscape and the role of police at the heart of the EU’s internal security strategy (debate)

Watch

Mr President! Freedom and security are under pressure. There are hybrid threats, cyberattacks, extremism and fears of social insecurity, exclusion, hatred and hate speech, both offline and online. More than ever, we need police and authorities who work on a case-by-case basis, who are technically, personally and in their training at the level of the times. This also includes a wide range of skills…

9 Jul

2025

DE Speech

Lessons from Budapest Pride: the urgent need for an EU wide anti-discrimination law and defending fundamental rights against right-wing attacks (topical debate)

Watch

Madam President, With ever new measures, Orbán discriminates against or oppresses people in Hungary. At the same time, discrimination, hate speech and violence based on sex, sexual orientation, colour, religion, disability, age and poverty are on the rise across the EU. The fact that Ms von der Leyen wants to withdraw the Equal Treatment Directive right now is an attack on the fundamental rights o…

17 Jun

2025

DE Speech

The Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report (debate)

Watch

Madam President, An analysis of the rule of law situation in all Member States once a year is an important tool. But at the same time, the results of the 2024 report clearly show that: We need more than one report. The EU institutions – above all the Commission as guardian of the Treaties – must finally use all the means at their disposal to defend democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights…

16 Jun

2025

DE Speech

Statement by the President - 40th anniversary of the Schengen area agreement

Watch

Madam President, 40 years of the Schengen Agreement – how did it come about and why is it still important today? After centuries of war, after the Second World War, another idea finally prevailed in Europe: talk to each other and yes, also argue with each other in order to find common interests and solutions; This is invaluable, especially in the face of current crises and wars. At the same time, …

7 May

2025

DE Speech

Malta's Golden Passport scheme circumventing EU sanctions against Russia (debate)

Watch

Mr President! The European Court of Justice has clearly ruled: Golden passports are a mere marketing of EU citizenship status and are therefore incompatible with the basic concept of EU citizenship laid down in our Treaties. And I add: Golden passports and golden visas are simply special rights for the rich. All too often they are linked to corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, and they endan…

1 Apr

2025

DE Speech

Presentation of the New European Internal Security Strategy (debate)

Watch

Mr President! In 2020, the Commission presented its last Internal Security Strategy. At that time, we were still at the very beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian war of aggression on the entire Ukraine seemed unthinkable, the extent of hybrid threats, targeted misinformation and manipulation was hardly conceivable, the destruction of democracy as a result of Donald Trump's second ter…

11 Mar

2025

DE Speech

Presentation of the proposal on a new common approach on returns (debate)

Watch

Madam President, The return of people to their countries of origin is part of a functioning asylum system and here we need to become more effective – I agree with Commissioner Brunner. However, in view of the proposal presented today, this may seem to me to be the only point on which we agree: Restrictions on legal remedies, in part possibly contrary to our fundamental rights, the massive extensio…

22 Jan

2025

DE Question

Links between organised crime and smuggling of migrants in light of the recent UN reports (debate)

Watch

Madam President, Anyone who is persecuted in their home country has a legal right to asylum in Europe and is therefore not illegal upon arrival in Europe. And I'm tired of listening again and again, people use smugglers to come to Europe. As if this was a free decision in the morning: "Oh yes, I don't buy a ticket, I use the smuggler to come to Europe. I love being beaten up, persecuted, blackmail…