What Guy spoke about.

12 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Order of business

Watch

Madam President, I think that it’s obvious why an additional point on Wednesday afternoon would be added on defending European Union against the abuse of national vetoes. Because everybody can see today what is happening with national vetoes, on every file. More and more of these files are blocked today. The last days, the last weeks: migration strategy, Schengen, electoral law, energy, price cap …

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

Watch

Mr President, Mr Commissioner, it has been eight months now since this energy crisis started. Eight months, and I have still not seen a coherent plan by the European Commission. I find it hugely disappointing because your job is not to come up with a fragment approach but with a global structural approach. And there isn’t one. You are talking about price caps, okay. You’re talking about windfall t…

5 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Countering the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of Putin’s European cronies (topical debate)

Watch

Mr President, I think that we can be very honest about this: the Russians are losing the war on the battlefield, but the Russians are not losing the propaganda war. They are winning the propaganda war. If you look to our social media for the moment, what you see is more and more posts echoing the narrative of the Kremlin. And the narrative of the Kremlin is that this is a war that was started by u…

14 Sep

2022

FR Speech

State of the Union (debate)

Watch

Madam President, it is a shame that Mr Bardella is no longer here because you have to have the nerve to say what he said here. Attacking the President of the Commission, who would be responsible for inflation, who would be responsible for rising prices, when everyone knows that it is the war in Ukraine with Putin, and that it is they who have been defending Putin and sympathizing with him for year…

6 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Czech Presidency (continuation of debate)

Watch

Madam President, the Prime Minister said here in his intervention that the reform of the European Union and the change of the Treaties is a long-term exercise. That’s true. But if it is a long-term exercise, Prime Minister, you have to start early. Certainly to be ready for 2024. And as you know, the President of the Parliament has triggered Article 48, has sent you a letter, and my request to you…

9 Jun

2022

EN Speech

The call for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties (debate)

Watch

Mr President, he’s coming to the debate. The problem is that his train was delayed by 50 minutes.

9 Jun

2022

EN Speech

The call for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties (debate)

Watch

Mr President, for those who are still doubting if they are going to vote for this resolution, let me maybe recall what happened last week in Europe concerning the sanctions. The Americans, when the war started on 24 February, were capable immediately, three weeks after that, to launch – by an Executive Order of President Biden – an embargo on oil, on coal and on gas. And they did that on 8 March, …

3 May

2022

EN Speech

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

Watch

Madam Chair, I’m very grateful for this debate on the follow-up of the conference, because I think, in fact, that we cannot allow this conference, after one year of work, after this innovation, of the involvement of the citizens, and with the publication of a beautiful document – that is then classified vertically, I should say. That is also what the co-chair, Dubravka Šuica, and myself said at th…

2 May

2022

EN Speech

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

Watch

On the first point it is a different file from the file in 2018, because for good reasons you have voted against it because there was no balance between big Member States, medium Member States and small Member States. Well, we, especially in Domènec’s report, have taken that as the basis for the proposal, so making a balance between the Member States so that that argument that you have used, with …

2 May

2022

EN Speech

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

Watch

Mr President, I want first of all to thank the rapporteur, Domènec Ruiz Devesa, who did an excellent job because this is not only about Spitzenkandidaten, not only about transnational list, it is a complete electoral law. It’s a huge legislative file that we have prepared that is an overhaul of the electoral system on the 8th, on transnational votes, on a democratisation for the Spitzenkandidaten …

6 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022: including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I try to speak not only in my name, but in the name of the 212 MEPs who have signed the letter. And you know that letter Mr Borrell? Because let’s be honest, I can only join those who felt completely devastated about what is happening in Bucha and Mariupol. But let’s be honest, that cannot be the centre of our debate. The centre of our debate needs to be whether the strategy that …

9 Mar

2022

EN Speech

Debate with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas - The EU's role in a changing world and the security situation of Europe following the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for her leadership. Let’s say it here in the House: Estonia was one of the first countries, if not even the first country, to send weaponry to Ukraine. You are showing that in these dramatic circumstances, smaller countries in our Union count and can lead by example. So thank you very much for that. But for the rest, let’s not pat ourselves…

16 Feb

2022

EN Speech

EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

Watch

Madam President, I’m asking myself what Mr Borrell is going to take from here as a conclusion of this debate. In my personal view, I think there’s an enormous unity in this Parliament. Besides some people on the extreme left who still think that the Soviet Union exists, and besides a part of the extreme right which is financed by Putin, I think all the rest have a huge unity. I think that the conc…

19 Jan

2022

FR Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the French Presidency (continuation of debate)

Watch

Madam President, you have seen, Mr President, our French colleagues, at least most of our French colleagues are obsessed with the elections in France, with the presidential election. Hence apparently all these attacks: Mr. Bellamy, Mr. Bardella, Mrs. Aubry, Mr. Bompard... Mr. Jadot, I understand that: he is the only candidate at the moment, here, so he is still enthusiastic. This is the beginning …

19 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The Rule of law crisis in Poland and the primacy of EU law (debate)

Watch

Mr President, I would like to say to the Prime Minister that I have listened to him carefully for 30 minutes. Prime Minister, even if you had spoken for an hour, I would have silently listened to you. You didn’t talk about the ruling of the constitutional court because the ruling of the constitutional court is very clear. Article 1 and Article 19 of the Treaty are null and void in Poland and are i…

7 Jul

2021

EN Speech

Breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary as a result of the adopted legal changes in the Hungarian Parliament - The outcome of 22 June hearings under Article 7(1) of the TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)

Watch

Mr President, I see that you are very active with your hammer today. So I have, first of all, a question to the Commission, can that be done independently from my speaking time? Because I hear, in the German press, that there is a suspension of the recovery plan of Hungary. But the German press is not the official gazette of the European Union. My question: is this the truth? Has that been done? (…