Speeches

Mr President, Mr Borrell, dear colleagues, I have to tell you very honestly that I am disappointed by President Biden. He claims America is back; fair enough, but does that mean – in his perception, in his mind and in his strategic approach – that Europe is also back? No. On the contrary, he did not consult us when he withdrew from Afghanistan. He completely side—lined us in the AUKUS pact between Australia, the UK and the US. He did not even take the step to abolish American tariffs on our European steel. Moreover, Biden arrived in Europe a few months ago at the NATO Summit – North Atlantic Treaty Organization – and he talked about what, colleagues, about what? About China. Seems to me more South Pacific than the North Atlantic. So it’s time to get our act together. The US will not keep on paying the lion’s share in NATO. We must do our part and launch our own European defence community, our own European army, not to weaken NATO, as Stoltenberg wrongly suggested, but on the contrary, to strengthen it. With a hopefully – and I talk to the French now – re—elected French President and a new German Government, it’s time to think about our own interests, our own shared European sovereignty, and start acting, Mr Borrell, as a geopolitical Commission. We have had enough wake—up calls, Mr Borrell.

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, colleagues, may I have your attention, because what we are discussing here today is really awful. Today, at this very moment, around 300 LGBTIQ refugees are staying in Kakuma camp in Kenya. They fled their African countries and homes. They fled because, according to the ruling laws, they love somebody they cannot love. They fled to a country where they hoped to find safety. But nothing could be further from the truth. Aside from the fact that as many as 195 000 refugees are stacked together in the most inhumane and horrible circumstances, LGBTIQ people are also confronted with homophobia, stigmatisation, discrimination and violence, including bombs and fires. It is incredible that in 2021, this still exists! For me and Maria Arena, love is love. These people find themselves back in exactly the same situation as they did before, when they wanted to escape: one of fear and humiliation, one without freedom, one where love is banished once more. For a long time, they have been hoping for resettlement to Europe, the United States or Canada. Unfortunately, without any result. Here today we must give them a new future. So I ask you, and encourage the government, to bring the offenders to justice, bring LGBTIQ refugees to safety in cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and to the dialogue with African countries, so that this stops. Let love win, colleagues.

Mr President, Madam President of the Commission, Mrs von der Leyen, you have given us a fine speech today. A speech with hope that does not shy away from the challenge. I heard a passionate woman with a heart for Europe. But there's one thing I really missed in your speech that I expected from you. You are a former Minister of Defense. You stand and go for the security of Europe. You are talking about a defence union. But for me, you're cold-water scared, and you're just not going far enough to that European army. Now is the time for me. I said it yesterday in the debate on Afghanistan. If we do not take the step towards that European army now, when will we? We spend a lot on European defence, but each Member State individually. We spend as much as China, we spend four times more than Russia. You know, this hasn't turned against NATO either. I don't agree with what Jens Stoltenberg said. On the contrary, a strong European pillar within NATO will help us. I spoke to Guy Verhofstadt. One of the themes that emerges in the Conference on the Future of Europe is precisely that European army. So can I tell you one thing? Let go of that cold-water fear, take that step, show women the power you have and go for that European army. We support you.

Madam President, let me first thank my colleagues for their good cooperation on the report. We stand here as a united parliament. United in our belief that we must put our naivety aside when dealing with China. A united parliament that is very clear in its rejection of the investment agreement, as long as our colleagues are sanctioned and human rights violations are ongoing in China. In our report, we recognise that the rise of China will have an enormous impact on our way of life and Europe’s role in the world. We also warn that Europe is not prepared for this change because, until now, we have defined our relationship with China in terms of trade. Don’t get me wrong, China is indeed a very interesting trading partner, and it’s great for European business that many Chinese are now able to afford German cars, French wines and Italian fashion. But economic gains should not make us blind to the challenges that the Chinese Communist Party is posing to the liberal world order. The EU must be determined to defend our key values, and this requires a new and more assertive strategy. First, we must realise that China is too big to ignore. We cannot deal with climate change, terrorism and global security without working together with China. If you want to save our planet, China must be our partner in this field. That is why I fully disagree with those who plead for a complete decoupling between the West and China. But let’s not be naive. China’s cherry-picking of the rules of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization must end. And China has to show that it means business on climate change; otherwise, the EU must introduce a border tax to offset the higher carbon emissions of Chinese products. Second, the EU must step up its defence of human rights and the rule of law. The Communist regime tries to wipe out Uyghur heritage from Chinese soil. Hong Kong has been subject to one of the most brutal crackdowns we have seen in recent history. This repression is not limited to China. Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ money is pouring into Africa, the Western Balkans and Latin America. It is financing regimes and companies that trample on human rights. Reports of labour exploitation, land-grabbing, pollution and health issues are frequent. I call on our leaders to finally come up with a credible European alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative. We must support sustainable investments which do not exploit workers, which respect the environment and enhance good governance. And let us increase the pressure on China to stop its crackdown on Hong Kong. And, as I have already said a lot of times, and I will repeat it again, we need to stop importing cotton from the Xinjiang area because products from slave labour have no place in the European Union. Third, the EU will clearly never be a match for China or the other world powers unless we get our act together. The disaster in Afghanistan has shown that we need a European army, a real foreign policy without national vetoes. It is also very clear to me that we need a European FBI and CIA to counter foreign threats. China’s rise has only just begun. Some say Europe’s decline started a long time ago. Let’s prove them wrong and step up our ambitions. Let’s show that the time for naivety is over. Let’s make Europe fit for the future with a new strategy to deal with the rising dragon, combined with a strategy to make a fist on the world stage.

Madam President, the scenes of the Taliban carrying around coffins covered in American and NATO flags were devastating. And the fact that after 20 years, women are not allowed to work alongside men and do not dare to go into the streets without a burka, is heart breaking. The most horrible consequence of the withdrawal is the imminent danger Afghans are in. But this crisis also concerns us. Let us now finally draw lessons. To Mr Borrell I would say: we need a real European defence union with a real European army. If this is not the moment, when will it be? Citizens are in favour. French President Macron, who I saw last week, is in favour. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as a former German defence minister, must be in favour. And with the German elections coming up, I really hope there will be support for this EU army. We can no longer wait, not another year, not another crisis. It should happen now.

Mr President, Joseph and Annie drowned in their own home when their bungalow was completely flooded. Paulette and Arlette fought together against the water currents in the house and died when the house broke through the pounding water. Yannick tried to save his daughter, but was dragged along by the swirling water. These are just a few of the many horror stories that have taken place in my own country over the past summer. These natural disasters in our own backyard are unprecedented. It's no longer about melting icebergs a few thousand kilometers from here. Climate change is a reality and is rapidly catching up with us. Europe must not doubt its climate ambitions. We have big plans with the Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package. We now urgently need to ensure that the Solidarity Fund budget is adequate and can be disbursed quickly.

Mr President, let us be very clear: China has killed democracy in Hong Kong. And Xi Jinping has made it very clear that Taiwan is the next station. With our resolution, we give a very clear message: a China that tramples on human rights cannot be a close partner to the EU; a China that is exporting its authoritarian model is a threat to our way of life. It is our duty, colleagues, to defend the rule of law, human rights, and a world order based on values. Let us work closer together with democracies such as India, Japan, Canada, Australia and the US. Let us stand with Hong Kong. Let us stand up for human rights and let us stand up for freedom.

Mr President, we are voting in urgency today. I have to tell you, it's a real urgency. It is about our Swedish-Iranian doctor and guest lecturer at the VUB, Ahmadreza Djalali. He has been unjustly imprisoned in an Iranian prison for five years and was sentenced to death in 2017. And since then – when you see the photos, emaciated, skinny – his medical condition has deteriorated enormously. That's why I'm saying here today: It's an urgency. Actually, I only have one question: free Djalali! And I'm addressing that call to the president, to the newly elected president. Don't execute that death penalty! Let this doctor, this doctor, this father, this academic, this husband return to his family. And I repeat. Free Djalali! Free Djalali! In fact, we should only say two words here for an entire hour. Free Djalali! Free Djalali! Iran, if you want better relations with Europe, we ask you one thing now. Free Djalali! Free Djalali! Free Djalali! Free Djalali!

Mr President, Mr High Representative, putting members of the opposition behind bars on the basis of vague and unfounded accusations, banning opposition members from politics, replacing elected mayors with faithful members of the regime, attacking independent media: That is what is currently happening in Turkey, with the HDP as the biggest victim. And this is confirmed by Reporters Without Borders. They placed Erdoğan on the new list of ‘predators of freedom’. Colleagues, Turkey is still an EU candidate country, a country, Mr High Representative, with which we are officially still negotiating EU accession. And that's been 16 years. And after the European Parliament's critical report of a few weeks ago, the situation has only worsened. The constant attacks on the opposition confirm once again that Turkey cannot join. Because in a true democracy you fight your political opponents with the word, and not by banning them from politics. And this resolution sends a strong signal – both to the Turkish regime and to the Council and the Commission – that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights cannot be negotiated. Not for accession, nor for a positive agenda. I wonder, colleagues, how this happens to the opposition in Turkey, that we offer the leader who silences them a positive agenda ... Is it not high time, colleagues, that we had the courage to say to Erdoğan: "Enough is enough!"

Mr President, Commissioner, it took eight months for the Council and Parliament to reach an agreement to better protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse on the internet. This was by no means Parliament's fault. Online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have not been allowed to use tools to detect child sexual abuse for almost seven months with the entry into force of the ePrivacy Directive. As many as 58 percent fewer images of child sexual abuse and illegal behaviour such as grooming have been reported since the directive entered into force at the end of December, while the number of reports of abuse and exploitation has increased exponentially in recent years from 23 000 in 2010 to more than 725 000 in 2019. Actively detecting and identifying victims and perpetrators is essential in our fight. I therefore call on everyone to vote with a convincing majority in favour of the derogation from the ePrivacy Directive and to take a stand against the sexual exploitation of children.