Debate contributions by Anders VISTISEN

Mr President! Almost three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the whole world has seen how cheap drone technology has fundamentally changed the strategy on the battlefield. Nevertheless, it seems that we from the European and NATO side have completely slept by the hour. When we have seen drone strikes against European countries, we have at best been able to react by launching expensive fighters and shooting down cheap drones with missiles costing hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of kroner for a single action. Or as we saw in Denmark, in Copenhagen and other places where, months after the airspace was shut down, we cannot even say whether there have been drones, let alone how you would have fought the drones if you could have found them. That's why we're on the bed. It simply does not work that year after year we look at our own continent, in our own backyard, how new and cheap military technology changes the strategic picture completely, without being able to react quickly and effectively. One of the main weaknesses shown by the war in Ukraine around Europe is that our large market has not been able to be adaptable, has been able to provide military capacity building that could send weapons, material and supplies to Ukraine, while at the same time being able to defend ourselves. It must and must stop now, and therefore the time is no longer for more talk, but for action.

Mr President! Illegal migrants have flooded Europe in the past two decades. We now see the consequences only too clearly. A major drain on our welfare, a huge crime and overrepresentation associated with serious crimes such as gang-related crimes, murders, kidnappings, violence and rape, and a general problem of cohesion in Europe. We have been sitting on our hands in Europe because we have not dared to take the necessary decisions. But the truth is that the solution lies ahead. Implementing the so-called Australian model will reduce the proportion of people trying to get here illegally to almost zero. It has been tried, and it has been put into practice. The only thing missing is political will. But we can't stop there. We also need to look at the far too large proportion of people who have already come here. A proper return policy will therefore be necessary. A return policy we in the Danish People's Party believe should stand on three legs: If you have come as a refugee and there is peace in your home country, you must return home. That has always been the premise. Now it must also become reality. If you commit a crime and are convicted of it, you must return home after the first conviction. There is no court to prevent us from doing so. And finally: If you come to the EU as a migrant worker, you must be able to support yourself and your family. The day you can no longer support yourself and become a drain on welfare, you must return to the country you come from. It's not right-wing. That's common sense.

It is a rather pathetic accusation, when a year ago I was the strongest - among the Danish members - spoke against Trump in this house. I believe that the video for which I apparently have to be sanctioned has been watched by over five hundred million people worldwide. I've spent the last three weeks, like the previous year, telling this to Americans directly on American TV on everything from CNN, ABC News, MSNBC. I don't even think I remember them all. It's almost every night. So to claim that my morality should be inclined in this matter, I think it is to speak a little full and to want to make Danish domestic policy on a matter after Jordan Bardella has made the strongest speech - incidentally, the only group chairman who has bothered to speak in this debate - is probably a bit of a bankruptcy statement for the Green Group.

It is interesting that it will be a semantic exercise, but the message was clear already then: The only language Trump understands is direct, and the only rejection Trump respects is one without a but. Yet we have seen that since then Europe has given in. The High Representative is talking today about the legitimacy of talking about security challenges around the Arctic, despite the fact that it is the US administration itself that has scaled down the number of soldiers from 15 000 to only 150. We are talking about the fact that it is legitimate to talk about the raw materials in Greenland and the rare earths, despite the fact that it is the Greenlanders who have a right to decide how and how to extract them. And we've made a trade deal that this house would have happily signed up to until recently, even if it made towering tariffs on Europe, but none on the United States. We have even promised to invest more in Trump's economy. If Europe does not understand that we have to make a clear rejection, a clear no to Trump, until the military threat is off the table, until the idea of splitting up the Kingdom is abandoned, then we will lose again and again and again. That is why I hope that Europe is now ready to wake up and move away from the toast speeches and into action.

Mr President, let me put this in words Mr Trump might understand. Mr President, bug off! That was almost how the words sounded when I stood on the very same lectern a year ago and said very clearly that if Trump.

Mr. President! Stine Bosse's history forgery has reached new heights. The Danish People's Party has been part of all aid packages Denmark has given to Ukraine. Over DKK 75 billion has been sent by Denmark. But you have not managed to convince the others, and that is why you stand undressed and naked back. Because Europe does not agree with you that this is a priority. You haven't managed to convince your friends. Your group chairman, Macron's proselyt here in the European Union, has said with open eyes at the start of the war that it must not be a humiliation of Putin. So I don't quite understand where Stine Bosse comes from, but she certainly likes to fake history. Maybe this "Democracy Shield" should be against Stine Bosse and the Moderates' fake news.

Mr. President! I find it deeply regrettable that Stine Bosse does not know that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine. But if, for the sake of storytelling, you'd like to hear about it, I already said it when they entered Crimea. When colleagues from the Socialists, the EPP and others attended the meetings of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and said that Russia was not a threat at all. And I am glad that we have now come to the same conclusion that we in the Danish People's Party have had all along; that it is stupid to abolish the Danish military service, that it is stupid to abolish the Danish Home Guard, that one should have retained the territorial defence, which we fought for in all the years when Stine Bosse's party leaders cut down on the Danish defence.

Mr. President! I understand that the government hastily removed the negative character of minus three on the score scale before their presidency had to be judged. Because it's dumped on all parameters. The government said it will continue the green transition. What did they get? A shabby climate target, which suffered cloudbursts in Brazil because the rest of the world has moved on and is thinking about growth and competitiveness, while here in Europe we are still bureaucratizing ourselves to death with the blessing of the Danish government. The government said they would increase competitiveness despite the fact that we on the right pushed through a more ambitious line on the omnibus. Then the compromise brought home by the government was a less ambitious starting point than the one on which the European Parliament could gather. But especially when it comes to Ukraine, the government must be said to be bankrupt. To that degree. While Denmark alone has contributed more than the 17 EU countries that have given the least. And while Denmark alone is trying to defend this moral highness, Mette Frederiksen's social democratic colleagues in Europe have failed. In Spain, they have only given less than 25 times less than the Danes. In Malta 250 times less. And when it comes to who is blocking Russian loans – or is blocking the use of Russian frozen funds for Ukraine – it is the Social Democratic participating government in Belgium. So Mette, if you can't even convince your own, why do you think you can keep cheating the Danes?

Madam President! 75 billion Danish kroner is what we in Denmark have so far contributed to Ukraine's freedom struggle. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen tells us that we must take the lead, so we have given the most of everyone in the world. We are leading by example for Europe. So let's see what kind of example we have shown. There are only two other Social Democratic heads of government left in the EU; Spain and Malta. Denmark has given 25 times more than Spain. 250 times more than Malta. And when we look at the NATO contribution, Spain is the only NATO country that is not willing to spend five percent of its GDP defending our defence alliance. When it comes to the frozen Russian assets, it is the Belgian government that is putting its foot down in the Council. A Belgian government that also has Social Democratic participation. So dear Mette Frederiksen, before pointing fingers at the Danes, point fingers at your friends in the EU, because that is where the real problem is when it comes to helping Ukraine's freedom struggle.

What I call it is that when parties in a ceasefire don't live up to the expectations, ceasefires cease and luckily the ceasefire has already now been re-established. What I call you is a Hamas apologist, a person who doesn't take a terrorist attack seriously, and who always is ready to apologise to the most vicious and evil ideology we have on this planet: the radical Islamism of Hamas.

Madam President, a ceasefire and the release of hostages should be a cause of celebration. Yet when I hear the debate in this Chamber from the liberals, from the socialists, from the Greens, you seem even more infuriated, even more angry than when the war was prosecuted. Why is that? Is it your hatred towards the Trump administration that takes over? Or is it that you have lost what you saw as a golden opportunity to align with Islamists and Hamas apologists in the West that has now come to an end? Please, be happy. We have peace. And when we have peace, the first and foremost task for any European government should be how to plan the return of Palestinian refugees residing here in Europe. Every man and woman has a duty, when there is peace, to go back and build up their home country and be grateful for the many services they have gotten here in Europe, but willingly return to the country of Palestine that you have helped proclaiming. So please, I am looking forward to seeing these plans, to see deportation starting, because, of course, we cannot keep refugees here that are no longer in fear of war and persecution.

Mr President, the so-called 'chat control' proposal is nothing less than an EU attempt to read every private message, monitor every conversation and decide what speech is acceptable. They claim it's about protecting citizens, but in reality, it's about controlling citizens. Once governments gain the power to scan your emails and your private chats, freedom of expression is gone – our democratic debate is finished. These essential freedom rights are now under attack from the EU – a Union who apparently have an ambition to build its own digital surveillance state, censoring dissent, and all doing it under the banner of safety. I say no bureaucrat in Brussels should ever have the right to spy on private communication for free Danish or European citizens. We must defend privacy, not destroy it. We must defend liberty, not sacrifice it to the technocrats. Threat control must be stopped before Ursula von der Leyen and Mette Frederiksen turn every smartphone in our pockets into government spyware.

Madam President! Yesterday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had to admit on Danish television that she had not done enough to prepare Denmark for the hybrid threat. This may otherwise be strange, because the Danish Prime Minister has been among the most aggressive advocates of conflict with Russia in the EU. So how three and a half years into the war you are unable to secure critical Danish infrastructure is a mystery to me. We have all in Denmark been behind the government when it came to donating seventy billion kroner to Ukraine. We have been behind a broad majority in parliament, where you have received the money for armament. But the truth is that when the threat came, Mette Frederiksen stood a week before and talked about buying long- and medium-range rockets that would explicitly hit targets in Russia, while a drone at Copenhagen Airport could shut down our critical infrastructure. I understand that the Danes have become frightened when you look at the Danish government's crisis management. And the Danish government now owes it to the Danes to get the situation under control. Stop holding bombastic press conferences and ensure our security, especially on the hybrid front, where a single summit in Copenhagen now requires the help of 10 European NATO allies in order to be carried out in safety. And to you, Ursula von der Leyen, you are very happy to say that everyone who disagrees with you is a Putinist. Sometimes action speaks louder than words. So let's look at your historical actions: You were part of Angela Merkel's government. Not only part; You were the Minister of Defence. You left Germany, NATO, defenceless in that period. More than that, you were an active part of moving away from nuclear power and into buying Russian gas and oil in the biggest energy consumer in Europe, Germany. So to stand here and lecture those of us who speak in a strong defence, who tried to avoid us taking the peace dividend when you didn't see Russia as a threat is simply historically false narrative. In the Danish People's Party, we assumed against leaving submarines in Denmark. We protected against being defenceless when it came to our territorial defence. We chose in favour of the National Guard, in favour of conscription, when your allies in Denmark wanted to give it all up, and therefore Denmark is marginally better now to defend themselves, even though we are falling hopelessly behind. But please face up to your action, instead of blaming everyone else.

Mr President, in 2020, a 15-year-old German girl was gang-raped by nine different migrants in a Hamburg city park. In October last year, a 12-year-old girl was murdered in Paris by a Nigerian migrant who had already been ordered to leave the country. And just eight weeks ago, a 16-year-old Ukrainian refugee was pushed in front of a train in Germany and killed by an Iraqi migrant under deportation orders. These are not individual examples. In Denmark alone, over the last 10 years, 1 in 3 women killed were killed by a migrant. Without mass migration, countless European women and children would still be alive today, spared from violence, abuse and exploitation. When will the Commission and the majority in this Parliament begin to take the side of the victims instead of the side of the perpetrators? When will you put the safety of our mothers, sisters and daughters above your failed ideology? I fear never, but already now it's too late.

No, I generally don't tend to believe Hamas, not when they claim how many victims there are, or when they decide how many of them are combatant and non-combatants, because I do not in general put my trust in terrorist organisations. But I recognise, just like you can in an autocracy like Russia, you can have polling done in a population even though it lives in an unfree society, just as well as we can today see how Germans felt about the Nazi regime in the 1930s, if you look at the historical sources for that. So, no, I don't believe that you can just pick and choose the facts, so believe Hamas when it comes to the number of their children, and not when it comes to the support in the general population. You have to pick a side.

The polls define it as extremist when you support horrific acts of terrorism, but I can't bear any more of your hypocrisy on the left. There are genocides committed in many places in the world, but it is only when it is the Jewish state, the only Jewish state in the world, the State of Israel, that you care. You even walk in demonstration, in capitals like my own in Copenhagen, with Palestinians using the Nazi salute. How can people from the S&D Group, from Renew and other places accept that kind of fanaticism in a cause you claim is carried out in the name of humanity? I am appalled.

Madam President, a March 2024 poll relieved a shocking fact: 71 % of Palestinians support Hamas's horrific terrorist attack on 7 October, and 59 % believe that armed struggle is the best way forward. These are not fringe views. They are a majority in a society based on fanatical Islamism and support for terrorism. Every Arab country knows this and recognises it. That is why neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, or even the rich Arab oil states of the Gulf, have not taken any of these Palestinian extremists. But in Europe the naivety is without limits. Denmark has already seen the consequences. In 1992, 321 stateless Palestinians were granted residence by special law. Today, the results are clear: 74 % live on welfare; 57 % have criminal convictions; and for the children, the stats are even worse. This is not humanity. This is a generational betrayal. Europe must finally learn: importing radicalised people means exporting security and prosperity for the next generations.

Madam President! Ministers! If Ursula von der Leyen were to want to appoint her dream prime minister, the choice could very well fall on you, Mette Frederiksen. A prime minister who says one thing to his constituents and does the exact opposite when Brussels calls. You called common EU debt a red line. Nevertheless, the Danish government voted in favour of EU loans of 750 billion euros, and now the support is there for even more debt. You said: "We need a smaller EU budget", but now the Danish president is working on the largest EU budget in history and a gigantic extra bill for the Danish taxpayers. And on top of all that, we are now supporting a huge eastward enlargement with express speed, without the necessary thought or reform. This will have consequences: wage dumping, welfare tourism and organised Eastern crime. It is neither responsible nor national, it is federal, and it is dangerous. But you have not only failed politically, you have also failed democratically. While we are dealing with Ursula von der Leyen's Pfizer-gate scandal these days, you found the recipe for avoiding responsibility. When your government illegally ordered mink killing during the coronavirus crisis, the Constitution was broken. But instead of a trial and an investigation, we got deleted text messages and a central government that shut down the whole case. That's impressive! You delete and release. Ursula, she refuses and is hanged. So yes, Mette Frederiksen, you are truly "European by heart". At least if it masks an uncritical support for a federal monster that the EU has evolved into with your help. And the Danish leadership is not leadership, but submission, which is why Ursula von der Leyen is a happy woman today, when Denmark takes over the EU Presidency.

Mr President, before we open the door to yet another massive EU enlargement, let's take a sober look at the facts. We are talking about eight candidate countries with a combined population of more than 90 million people, and at extra cost for the European taxpayers of above EUR 75 billion. And all the countries are below EU standards in all key areas. Take corruption: according to Transparency International, these countries rank among the worst in Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina is at 108th place, lower than countries like Algeria or Zambia. Ukraine and Serbia share 104th place, and Albania ranks 98th. By comparison, Denmark is number one! In terms of median income, these countries are light years behind: Ukraine has an average monthly salary of only EUR 380, Moldova EUR 330, and even the most developed, Montenegro, has an average below EUR 800. Opening the single market to these countries will only lead to massive social dumping and welfare tourism in Europe.

Mr President, we meet here today to discuss NATO and European security, but what is the value of those words if this Chamber refuses to name the real and rising threat to Europe? The greatest danger we face is mass migration and the following Islamisation of our societies. And behind these external threats stands one radical force: the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is not just a middle eastern problem, it is a European problem. It has carried out assassinations and terrorist plots on European soil. It openly calls for war against the West, and it funds jihadist movements and sows division and violence on our streets. And now it's only a few weeks away from getting a nuclear bomb. With its long-range missile programme, it will have the means to hit the heartlands of Europe – Paris, Berlin, even Copenhagen. And yet, what is our response? Moral confusion, strategic blindness and European leaders that line up not to confront Iran, but to condemn Israel: the one nation that defends our values and does not lack the courage that we should have had long ago. Let's be honest, Israel is doing our dirty work. They are striking at Iran's terrorist proxies. They are confronting a regime that we know all too well is a root cause of instability. And for this we repay them not with applause, but with lectures and accusations. It is shameful and it is hypocritical. No European is safe as long as the ayatollahs rule Tehran. There will be no peace, no stability and no safety until the Iranian regime is overthrown and its nuclear missile programme is disbanded completely and for good. That must be our political objective: not appeasement, not dialogue with tyrants, but actions guided by principles and the hard lessons of history.

All centralisation, harmonisation of powers to the European Union creates infringement against the national Member States, and Denmark has an opt-out on this area, and I'm very happy to have that, exactly because the Danish police are at the forefront of fighting against child abuse and sexual exploitation of children. It is quite funny that Denmark, being the only EU Member State except Ireland who has this opt-out, has been asked by Europol to head several cases against child abuse. So, if Member States were so bad at this, why are you asking for our help instead of solving it in your centralised powerhouses? That is my question. I can see that Member States work, national control works and national police work, and I believe in them.

Madam President, let me be clear: this legislation is not only about fighting abuse, it's about harmonising criminal law and creating a brand-new EU agency. And we know exactly how this ends: where the EU has been given more power, it turns into a disaster. Look at anything from the Common Agricultural Policy to fisheries, or the economic disaster called the eurozone. More centralisation doesn't solve problems, it creates them. This is not only about helping children, this is a federalist power grab, an excuse to expand Brussels bureaucracy at the expense of national democratic control. But let me be clear: if it was up to me, sexual offences against children would lead to medical castration. That's a real deterrent, that's real justice. But oftentimes in Brussels, this is considered barbaric and the criminal must be understood and the victim is expected to quietly move on. We don't need another EU centre. We need local action, national laws and strong borders because child protection against child abuse begins at home, not in Brussels.

Madam President! Today marks the 80th anniversary of the capitulation of the Nazis. A historic moment when Europe's free nations and courageous peoples defeated one of the most brutal ideologies the world has known. It should be a day dedicated to those who fought, suffered and died for a free Europe. But instead, this house has turned it into an urge to promote your own federal project. Nothing symbolises it better than the grant you have given to the House of European History. A so-called museum, which you have spent more than 400 million kroner of taxpayers' money on. Here you are trying to write the story. It appears that the history of Europe begins in 1945 and that it is not the nation states that are the starting point for the civilisation, peace and prosperity that Europe has known. It is historical manipulation and ideological propaganda, and it is an insult to the generations that have built those nations for over a thousand years, fought for the freedom and created the cultural heritage that Europe represents. The EU is washing it all out in search of a federal superstate.