What Lena spoke about.

5 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Escalating student riots in France: arson attacks on schools, assaults against firefighters, police officers and teachers, including in La Ciotat, and the role of far-left parties in inciting violence (debate)

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Mr President, I'm really glad that we solved the question of the hair so that we can return to the seriousness of the debate. Allow me to start with a few remarks on what you said, Madame Commissioner. Rightly so, you said it's national competence. So the competence for national security is with the Member State. Nevertheless, this House, in the last term and also in this term, never shied away fr…

15 Sep

2026

DE Answer

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

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Do you allow me to reply in German? Firstly: Hungary has been rightly criticised for many things in recent years. All the European Union's Rule of Law reports have spoken a clear, unambiguous language. Secondly: We could possibly discuss at another level, not come to an agreement, but possibly discuss if you and your former group had not been the very ones who would have undermined any solution to…

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, Commissioner, honestly, I've been through a lot of asylum and migration debates in this House since the very beginning of my first term in 2019. We invested a lot politically in terms of nerves, in terms of resources, time spent on drafting, negotiating and concluding on the Pact. And it was mentioned before that all instruments are there. The Pact is there, including a crisis respon…

20 May

2026

EN Speech

Recruitment of children by organised crime (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, their role is drug dealing, ripping off action in harbours, sabotaging, attacking houses, religious sites, objects, sometimes even committing attacks or violent insults against persons, even requests for being a murderer. Their age is on average between 13 and 17, sometimes even younger. Their benefit: money, social benefits, fitting in or being accepted into a certa…

29 Apr

2026

DE Answer

The need to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish life in Europe, following the recent attacks against the Jewish community in the Netherlands and Belgium (debate)

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Thank you, dear colleague, for the question. You have rightly pointed out that in many places there is a very clear commitment to no cooperation with the AfD. But you have also rightly heard the colleague: It's not just right-wing extremist anti-Semitism. There is indeed – and with a very increasing degree of increasing violence – also the left-wing extremist. When it comes to the fight against an…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

The need to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish life in Europe, following the recent attacks against the Jewish community in the Netherlands and Belgium (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, the latest Europol assessment and reports, including the mentioned Joint Action Day and the results of that backed by the findings of our Fundamental Rights Agency, state again a worrying and an unacceptable reality. Since the horrific attacks of 7 October, antisemitic offences, hate speech and online and offline harassment have significantly surged. Physical attacks…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

The need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, cyberbullying is a silent monster. It cuts social bonds, it undermines human interaction, it erodes trust in society, and it can ultimately – and we just heard the reminder of Coco's example here – put the lives of children at risk. Contrary to their public humiliation in group chats, in social media forums and gaming channels, effectively in real life, victims far t…

25 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, I think we really need to urgently have a division here between two things. Tomorrow's vote would have been a very easy one – just on a simple date, on the prolongation of the application of the interim regulation. Because it is about protecting children when they're online. And reports on children's sexual abuse online have multiplied by twenty in the last ten years – so from 1 m…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, today this House has in principle taken an important and necessary decision, because when it comes to the protection of children online, uncertainty is not neutrality; it is a risk. The temporary derogation was always meant to ensure that companies can continue detecting and reporting online sexual abuse while we negotiate the permanent child sexual abuse re…

10 Feb

2026

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, many colleagues had said it before: the recent decision by the Spanish Government raises concerns, as clearly can be seen here in plenary. Why is that so? Because the move is somewhat surprising to Member States in the European Union. While, legally speaking, Member States have the right to do so, unilateral measures at such scale should deserve careful scrutiny and consideration and…

10 Feb

2026

EN Speech

One round of political group speakers for the Ciriani and Düpont reports

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Mr President, the EPP has always stood for asylum and migration policies that are both fair and firm, because they are two parts of the same coin: in order to be fair, you sometimes need to be firm as well. A lot of that comes down to procedures –⁠ procedures that are effective, that are efficient, that are pragmatic and flexible in order to be used. Today's two files are exactly about that, and l…

21 Jan

2026

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, Madam Commissioner, the pact had always two layers of work. Firstly, the internal dimension, our own procedures and rules. For that dimension, last year has been crucial, and the next months will be decisive. We are further increasing efficiency and consistency of procedures to reduce caseload and alleviate pressure from Member States. The second layer is the external dimension of as…

17 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Application of the ‘safe third country’ concept (vote)

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Madam President, colleagues, today's challenge follows the logic of a position that some had taken already earlier on, by tabling a rejection before negotiations had even started. This is certainly not my position, but I respect that. The only thing I don't accept is don't blame others, me or the EPP for decisions you had taken on yours. Let us look into the files: in the border procedure, both co…

12 Nov

2025

EN Speech

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

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Madam President, Commissioner, Minister, it was always clear that the path to the implementation will not be an easy one: too large, the challenges comprehensive, our answer. Conclusion of the agreement was always only the first step. The ongoing implementation in the Member States is the next one, and the solidarity pool we now have at our hands. The more concrete it gets, of course, the more we …

22 Oct

2025

EN Speech

The ongoing assault on the democratic institutions and the rule of law in Bulgaria (topical debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, the EU is based on the principles of the rule of law. We promote it for good reasons, as a basic political toolbox that allows societies to thrive and businesses to grow. As such, it requires constant work and good care. It binds all political actors, whether in opposition or in government. At the heart of today's debate is the question of proper checks and balances,…

21 Oct

2025

EN Answer

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

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Thanks, colleague, for that very important question. I assure you that this is indeed part of our policies. If you just heard what the colleague from the left side told about her understanding of police work in a democracy, I can easily sum it up by saying this is for sure not my understanding.…

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, Commissioner! Sometimes it helps to look at what we have already achieved. The area of security, freedom and justice – the idea of Tampere in 1999 – is now being brought to life with Europol’s daily fight against crime, as recently in Latvia, together with Austria and Estonia, in the field of cybercrime. Frontex officials who are at the external border every day, working together wit…

8 Oct

2025

DE Speech

United response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States’ airspace and critical infrastructure (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner! This time drones, last time cable, before that there were overnight shifted border buoys – the Russian playbook It's always the same. There is something for every country in the EU, a message for every part of society. The objective: Unrest, worry, undermining our resilience, creating division. We must therefore be clear: Fear is always an indicator of what's importa…

6 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Revision of the Visa Suspension Mechanism (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, in a world of free movement, of close trade ties, of prosperous exchanges between countries, visa regimes – or, even more so, visa-free travel regimes – are an important tool for a better, closer, connected world. They are important for international policies; they complement our toolbox in third country cooperation. They are based – and they should be – on good…

10 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Need for a strong European Democracy Shield to enhance democracy, protect the EU from foreign interference and hybrid threats, and protect electoral processes in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear Minister, we also created that committee to protect ourselves and to better prepare ourselves for hybrid threats. But what actually makes hybrid threats so successful? They usually go into the grey zones of society. They go into discussions and values that we actually need to balance, where we need to find not an easy balance between them. They tackle and addres…

10 Sep

2025

EN Speech

After 10 years, time to end mass migration now - protect our women and children (topical debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, what have we found last term? We found Member States that were not able to conclude on a common asylum and migration policy. We found a Parliament that had led heavy discussions, intense debate, in order to find a way forward. What have we done? We are taking stock of the common asylum and migration policy, what was left of it from the previous term before tha…

9 Sep

2025

EN Speech

Devastating wildfires in Southern Europe: the need to strengthen EU aid to restore the massive loss of forests and enhancing EU preparedness (debate)

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Mr President, before the summer recess, we already had a debate and the outlook was gloomy even then. The reality now is that we have faced a devastating wildfire season, and the scale and intensity were as bad as expected. So let me, first of all, thank all the firemen and women that have done the almost impossible, that have been fighting day and night against the odds. We – the European Union, …

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

EU Preparedness Union in light of the upcoming wildfire and droughts season (debate)

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Madam President, Madam Commissioner, Madam Minister, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism is a European success story. Since its creation, numerous emergency responses have been carried out. Equipment for firefighters and first responders have been financed and delivered. Firefighters are pre-positioned throughout Europe to help faster than before. This is – like you just said, Madam Commissioner …

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Safeguarding the rule of law in Spain, ensuring an independent and autonomous prosecutor's office to fight crime and corruption (debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, the rule of law is based, among other things, on the integrity of democratic processes, on the fight against corruption, on proper checks and balances and accountability in decision-making processes. So where are we? We have 154 so-called 'royal decrees' being pushed through the parliament. We have reports about warning signs of a growing irrelevance of the parliamen…

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Freedom of assembly in Hungary and the need for the Commission to act (debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, the rule of law in itself is neutral. It is a collection of procedural rules to guarantee that a political system is fair, is free, is democratic, that encourages engagement and debates, that fosters cooperation instead of sowing divisions, so that societies can thrive, that businesses can grow, that a country can prosper. Today, as usual, we hear colleagues saying t…