Speeches

Madam President, what always strikes me here is that when we talk about taxing billionaires, it is as if they have an army of Members at their service, ready to defend them. We obviously have the macronists crying out: No, no, no, let's not tax the rich! You don't know? Let's work on tax evasion. You who are in government in France, you could perhaps start there. Maar ook het Vlaams Belang. Als wij yesterday zeggen: “Belast de miljardairs”, die 1 %, die 37 miljardairs die we in België hebben, staat het Vlaams Belang op z’n achterste poteen. Waarom? We kunnen daarmee eleven financial scholen. We kunnen daarmee investeringen doen. We kunnen daarmee eleven ziekenhuizen herfinancieren. And then there is a myth maintained by people who say that billionaires are useful, it’s important. Seriously? It is not the billionaires, it is not the rich who create wealth. It is the workers. It is the workers who produce, it is the workers who create the added value. You need to review your economics courses! Let us also ensure a democratic dimension. Because these people who concentrate all this wealth have an obvious influence on the political world. And it is an unhealthy influence that needs to be broken.

Mr President, cluster bombs are terrible weapons. They are weapons that do not differentiate between civilian and military populations. They are bombs that disintegrate and remain in the environment, that hide, that do not all explode, until a child sets foot on it and is killed. This is why the majority of European countries have banned these weapons and more than 100 countries worldwide have banned them. So what I do not understand is the silence, the lack of reaction from the European Union and almost all colleagues here when the Americans, the United States, decide to supply these weapons to Ukraine. Because this is a war crime perpetrated by the United States. It has been said, and you always repeat it, Mr Verhofstadt, that when the Russians do, it is a war crime. But when the US does, it’s a war crime too! You don’t like your allies being attacked. But the Russians are committing war crimes, and that is not acceptable. And when the US does, it is not acceptable either!

Madam President, listening to some of you, I wonder what planet you live on. You saw the images in Jenin of Palestinian families, Palestinian refugees, with their hands in the air, leaving their homes, leaving the refugee camp for fear of being brutally shot by Israeli occupying forces. Have you seen these images where you don’t care? Imagine for a moment that it was Ukrainians in these images, leaving their homes for fear of Russian troops wanting to kill them. You would have called for sanctions. You would have called for more support and more weapons for Ukraine. Why is the life of a Palestinian worth less to you than the life of a Ukrainian? I do not understand that and I find that unacceptable. This also applies to the European Commission. You have not lifted a finger in the face of these violations of international law and in the face of these war crimes. All war crimes must be punished. Let’s not make an exception for Israel.

Commissioner, historically, the African debt does not originate in China. It has its origins in colonization and in the role of European countries after decolonization. We must therefore acknowledge our responsibility in this. So are you at least prepared to say that we are going to abolish the debt these African countries have to European countries? That is a first question. Second question, very quickly. You did not really say what you would change compared to the past. Before, Europe, the Member States, you had policies of looting. What is fundamentally changing? Have you drawn up a picture of the situation: We used to do that, now we're going to do the opposite? Because if not, I have the impression that we remain in good intentions, without realising them.

Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to return to the issue of critical raw materials, because I think it is essential and I think that in Africa this issue is very sensitive. You know that the colonial and neo-colonial plunder of Africa was essentially the stealing of raw materials. You are also aware that, even after independence, these practices continued, often under the guise of recommendations, for example from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, supported by Europe, calling for a reduction in state intervention, particularly in Mali. As a result, at some point, the Malian government was no longer able to know the quantities of gold leaving its territory, for example. I am afraid that the alternatives, the new policies that you have presented, will not break with the old practices. You use the same language when you talk about "facilitating the business climate", "strengthening European investments"... I would like you to give me a list of what has changed between the old practices and what you are proposing. What is the big difference between European policy as it was before you and what you are proposing today?

Mr President, the European Parliament is discussing the lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. I note that Mrs von der Leyen is absent. She was also, or refused to come, when we invited her to the Special Committee. She makes it a habit. Commissioner, do you have his phone number? Because when the CEO, the boss of Pfizer, sends WhatsApp, she responds. So maybe now is the time to text her. Perhaps it would come to respond democratically to this assembly. You remember at the time that every SMS, every WhatsApp that she sent, the price of the vaccine seemed to go up. So collusion, conflict of interest? The question arises. But what is clear is that we can no longer leave our health, our medicines in the hands of Big Pharma and the big multinationals. Our health is too important. We have to break the patents. We must indeed create a public infrastructure for research, development and production of medicines and vaccines in Europe that serves only the public interest. This is how we will build not only autonomy, production, production capacity, but also citizens’ trust in pharmaceutical policy.

Madam President, Mr Breton, the United States today, with which you want a stronger partnership, is also hindering the future of European industry. They forced a leading Dutch company to limit its exports to China. German companies are hit and pressure is put on universities and companies to prevent them from inviting foreign researchers or students, who bring know-how to us. At a Belgian university, buildings supposed to host partnerships with Chinese counterparts remain completely empty. And behind that, there are threats, pressures, intimidation from the United States of America, which also enters into alliances without including the European Union. So, who are you going to ride for? You offer billions, among other things, to American companies. But where is your defense of our sovereign right to choose, to develop our commercial and scientific relations with all the countries of the world? Let us not submit, Commissioner, to the Americans.

Madam President, Commissioner, hiding your money on a paradise island, let us be clear: It’s theft, it’s theft from the community, what these billionaires and millionaires do. They avoid that this money is used to finally invest in nurseries. They are responsible if there are not enough crèches; it is they who are responsible, if in the morning you wait for the bus, but you do not see it arrive, when you see "5 minutes", then "4 minutes", "3 minutes" and the bus disappears; they are responsible when trains are late; They are always responsible when there are not enough doctors and nurses in our hospitals. How come they don’t end up in jail? Because, obviously, there are politicians who are at their service, because we have laws that have been written tailor-made for the rich, for the millionaires. Today, everyone comes to cry: “Ah, they avoid tax! They don’t pay taxes, the rich, the multibillionaires!" Well, let’s do the right thing! Let us lift bank secrecy, impose a tax on millionaires – there is always a majority here to vote against – and stop economic transactions with tax havens, because otherwise it is hypocrisy with crocodile tears.

Commissioner, Mr President, I hear the Greens talking about Madagascar, the Liberals talking about Congo, but it is obviously easy to talk about other countries. We should start with Europe first. You know that in Italy today 340 000 children between the ages of 7 and 15 already have experience in the labour market? In Belgium, children were found working in the sheds of PostNL and its subcontractors for sending parcels. In the Netherlands, retailer Albert Heijn actively recruits children from the age of 13 to work in its supermarkets. That is Europe today. And why do you talk so little about it? Because, of course, the promotion and use of child labour by these companies is a consequence of liberal labour market policies (precarious contracts, lack of fixed contracts and decent wages, etc.). Of course, this leads to this kind of practice, to outsourcing. So if we really want – and we must – to end child labour in the European Union, it is a question of stopping this liberalisation of the labour market and imposing decent contracts and decent wages.

Colleague De Man of the ID/Flemish Interest faction, you will cycle past the issue. So for years you have been saying that Europe is too expensive, spending too much money and that you are going to ensure that savings are made. And then a list of people who have benefited from grazing pensions at taxpayers' expense leaks out, and your former president is on that list. How do you explain that? Is that pure demagoguery, just for the theatre, while when you come here you fill your pockets yourself? Is that the intention? Could you please answer that?

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, a pension of EUR 13 700 per month, EUR 13 700 per month in the pocket. After only 20 years of career. That is what a special pension fund here guarantees to around 900 European parliamentarians. About ten times more than what an ordinary European worker gets after about forty years of career, pure grazing pensions and, of course, paid by the taxpayer. And with those grabbers, those pension grabbers, just about all the political groups, including the far-right, hey, Mr De Man of the ID Group, Vlaams Belang. Your former President Frank Vanhecke: Apparently one of the pensioners. I can't believe it. Always against Europe, except if it is to fill your own pockets apparently. And what's the matter now? The issue now is that that pension fund is bankrupt, a gap of EUR 313 million. And then there is serious debate here about whether the ordinary taxpayer should supplement that. No, taxpayers don't have to. That fund should be abolished. Stop grabbing.

Mr President, Commissioner, you are therefore coming back with austerity, with the Stability Pact. It is austerity 2.0, more power for the European Commission, easier sanctions and permanent bargaining between neoliberal reforms and budget cuts. I am also surprised that there are Socialist colleagues who applaud you, because you come back with your ridiculous criteria of 3% and 60% – that the budget deficit cannot exceed 3% of GDP and that the public debt cannot exceed 60%. You yourself don't know why. You don't know that. Why 60%, and not 40 or not 80? Japan is 250%, I think. You invent anything because it serves only one purpose, to privatize and break our public services, to force countries to privatize, to sell our schools, our pensions, our railways to the highest bidder. Our healthcare, by the way, let's talk about it: austerity has been a disaster. We will resist this austerity 2.0.

Mr President, Commissioner, carbon tax for households, heating, petrol, taxing people, that seems to be the new speciality of the European Union. But there is one category that, strangely, always escapes your taxes, and these are the big multinationals, billionaires like Bernard Arnault and LVMH – what does it weigh now, €239 billion? They have a wealth greater than the GDP of a whole series of European countries, Greece, Slovakia, Estonia, it is unimaginable. But strangely, in the proposals, to these rich ones, to their superprofits you never touch. Are you scared? Maybe you're too close to them. Je sais que, Monsieur le Commissaire, on vous a reproché d'être trop proche du milliardaire Bernard Arnault. Well, you don't want to, but we'll put it on the program. Indeed, we have amendments to make the rich pay to finally tax the rich and make these big multinationals pay in Europe.

Madam President, Prime Minister, good morning, welcome. We belong to different political camps. We defend the camp of the working class. You are more on the side of bankers’ tax evasion, but I think you have given an important lesson to the European Commission and some of my colleagues, and I thank you for that. Because you know that the European Commission talked about banning TikTok, which they said "collects data". Well, it may be true, we have no confidence in this multinational, but Google, Facebook do no better. Last night I tried to buy shoes on Google. This morning, I found myself with a newsfeed full of ads for new shoes. Well, we can't trust these people either. But, oddly enough, the European Commission is not calling for a ban on Facebook, Google and others. In fact, let's be honest, when the Commission calls for a ban on TikTok, it obeys the United States. The US is afraid of TikTok because many people, especially young people, now prefer TikTok over Facebook and others. And the US would like us to limit ourselves to using US products, to limiting ourselves to consuming US information to making ourselves completely dependent on them. However, in a vision of European strategic autonomy, this vision does not have a place. The Commission obeys, but you said, I do not ban TikTok just because it is Chinese. You are right, we must protect our data from all social networks. We are not going to be taught the lesson by American boomers who do not know if TikTok connects or not to a WiFi. Frankly, Europe is better than that.

Mr President, almost 20 million children are growing up in poverty in the European Union. That's more or less one in four who risk an empty toast box every day. This is what the European budget should be for. But many of us come here to tell: “Ah, sorry, there is no money.” Yet there is money. Since 2020, 1% of the rich have pocketed around 45% of all wealth produced in Europe - 45%! In Belgium, my country, meanwhile, the richest 1% has as much as 70% of the population. Then the money is there. But I see hypocrisy from those who say: "We have no money" - crocodile tears! – because yesterday, in a vote in this same Parliament, you rejected a proposal to encourage a tax on millionaires, which would finally have taxed the rich. So what is it? We complain that there is no money, but at the same time we do not want to tax our friends? This is unacceptable! You know very well where there is money. Go get him! Now is the time to pick him up. Because people will no longer accept that millionaires, billionaires in Europe pocket, cash, while it is always up to people to pay and work without being paid as they should be.

Mr President, Commissioner, Madam President-in-Office of the Council: "I worked at Delhaize for 41 years and today we are sold as sold products", is the testimony of a worker from Delhaize, supermarket in my country in Belgium. Delhaize, which makes 2 billion profits, wants to put all its stores in franchise. Why: make workers work longer for up to minus 30% pay. 30% less salary! The objective: save a billion euros on workers to spin a billion euros more to shareholders like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, these vultures. Is that the economy of tomorrow, the quality jobs, the jobs of the future, the Europe you want? Precarious contracts, always more flexibility. Burnouts with no trade union countervailing power. Because obviously, in these franchises, union representation is not guaranteed. We will not allow you to impose this model, this European model, neither in Europe nor in Belgium! We will be on the side of the workers, at Delhaize, but also everywhere in the other sectors of the economy, to effectively guarantee an economy commensurate with the people.

Mr President, Mr Minister for Foreign Affairs of Europe, yes, indeed, the European Union is being criticised all over the world for its double standards. On the one hand, because we never criticise, for example, American war crimes, but actually also Israel and the European Union's association with Israel. So I find it difficult to understand and I find it difficult to understand because indeed we have an Israeli government today that declares, that openly confesses to violating international law, that wants to annex the Palestinian territories. We see a minister who calls for erasing and razing a village like Huwara. And that actually adds up to bulldozers destroying Palestinian homes, child murders, etc. I think to myself that if another state had done half a quarter of what Israel is doing, we would have already called for sanctions. We would certainly not have concluded an association agreement with that State. But here, for Israel, you already seem to be apologizing for a rather loud statement. So today, let us be consistent, let us take sanctions or at least suspend the Association Agreement. We cannot remain associated with such a government anyway!

Mr President, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, here is a question. You know that the credibility of the European Union in the world depends not only on how we treat other countries, but above all on what interactions we have with our allies. You have been a great defender, precisely, of not allowing Russian war crimes in Ukraine to go unpunished. But today we are 20 years after the US war against Iraq, a criminal war, in violation of international law, that has left around half a million dead, and still no US government official has been held accountable. So, in our transatlantic relations and for the credibility of the European Union, not to have a European Union that has double standards, as Latin America, Africa, etc. often accuse us of, are you going to put this question on the table, and how?

Madam President, I think that when we talk about industry, we have to go and see the workers. And the workers, when you go to talk to them, Commissioner, you will see that they will tell you that belly dancing, in front of multinationals, does not work. The belly dance means: try to seduce them with state aid, tax advantages, anything you want. Because everywhere in Europe – you can go to Belgium, France, Italy – there are companies that have received state aid and still have closed or dismissed workers. So it doesn't work: We must break with this logic and move towards a public logic. A public logic where public investments are given to public companies and certain sectors are withdrawn from the market. Because today, what is a massive obstacle for industry? This is the difference in energy prices between the United States and the European Union. While taking control of the energy sector can lower prices for industries and citizens and, indeed, guarantee here, publicly, the green transition, as Denmark has done through a public company, Ørsted.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Kitchanga, Bambo, Rutshuru, Kishishe, Nyiragongo: How many territories in the Democratic Republic of Congo still need to be hit, occupied or suffocated – such as Goma, currently – before the EU reacts? When Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union and the United States mobilised. Ukraine is receiving weapons, tanks, probably soon fighter jets, and Russia is being severely punished, with the aim of completely collapsing its economy. But when the Democratic Republic of Congo has been attacked – for years – by the M23 movement, nothing. Some nice words to deceive, to evade, but no real sanctions against Rwanda, which supports this movement. So is the life of a Congolese, ladies and gentlemen, worth less than the life of a Ukrainian? Worse: Rwanda remains a partner of the European Peace Facility, which is actually used to deliver weapons. Twenty million for Rwanda! But what hypocrisy! What a discrepancy between words and deeds here! Why is Europe doing this? Clearly, there are interests behind: Europe needs the cobalt, coltan, resources, wealth and raw materials found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Therefore, a weakened or even balkanized Congo is very suitable for some European governments. Rwanda is thus playing into the hands of Westerners by facilitating the looting of the Congo, particularly in the East. It has to stop now.

Mr President, we are risking a new de-industrialisation in Europe. That risk is aggravated today by the policy of the United States, which, through all kinds of subsidies, tries to delocalise European industry and also adds phone calls to say: “Please come and invest with us and not in Europe anymore.” So we are in crisis and the United States is trying to push us even further. Les États-Unis n’ont ni amis ni alliés, ils n’ont que des intérêts. Et si nous voulons construire une Europe autonome, nous ferions bien de ne plus être aussi naïfs et aussi suivistes vis-à-vis des États-Unis. Alors, quelle sera la réponse européenne? Pour l’instant, je vois surtout des vieilles recettes qui ont échoué et des avantages fiscaux et des subsides pour les multinationales dans l’espoir que celles-ci seront gentilles avec nous et qu’il restera des miettes aux travailleurs. Ce modèle a échoué. Nous avons besoin d’un changement de cap public pour vraiment reprendre en main les rênes de la politique industrielle en Europe. Osons penser à la renationalisation de certains secteurs et obligeons les entreprises à intervenir, à investir dans l’énergie verte.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, The Economist – your magazine, the liberal and capitalist magazine of the European Union and Europe, which you are all reading – calculated that, this winter, up to 185 000 more people could die of cold, not only because of the cold, but also because of your inaction. Your inaction on blocking energy prices: You've been asked to freeze the price of gas for a year. How do you want people to trust the European Union, if they have to wait a year and potentially die at home because they cannot pay the bill? Your inaction on the overprofits of multinationals: Ah, taxing your friends multinationals is always too complicated, even when they make overprofits and even when people don’t make it anymore. But aren’t you ashamed to let that happen? Do not be surprised when people go out on the street, go on strike and mobilize to put you in front of your responsibilities. Because that is what you have to do today, put pressure on yourself, otherwise you will never listen.

Mr President, dear colleagues, this weekend, a 16—year—old girl was sitting at home in Jenin, Palestine. When she heard people scream outside, she went to the roof to see what was going on. And on the rooftop of her own house an Israeli soldier shot and killed her; two bullets to the face, one to the neck, one to the shoulder. Jana Zakarneh, an innocent child, another one killed. This year, Israeli forces have assassinated several tens of Palestinian children, continue to destroy Palestinian schools and homes, and steal, occupy ever more land. But what does the European Union do? Nothing! Worse, it intensifies relations with Israel. You speak of human rights, but you let Israel kill with impunity. That hypocrisy disgusts me!

Mr President, Commissioner, a million and a half euros recovered and many offices searched, under seal, in this Parliament – probably the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, the problem is structural. I remember that every time we proposed to reduce Members’ incomes, you would tell us: “No, Members, you have to pay them, because otherwise they will get corrupted.” You have been singing it to me for years, and clearly it hasn’t worked. MEPs illegally corrupted by Qatar would be extremely serious. But it is also serious that MEPs are legally influenced by lobbies, multinationals, revolving doors and board mandates. In dat is een probleem yesterday puts geldcultuur. Te weinig, nauwelijks, geen transparantie, een cultuur van total straffeloosheid: daar spreekt Transparency International over. Met die hoge lonen verliezen parliamentleden hun realiteitszin. De meesten flirten liever met de bourgeoisie dan te leven zoals de gewone mensen. Het is hoog tijd dat politici het volk leren dienen in plaats van hun eigen zak of multinationals.

Madam President, Prime Minister, welcome to a CEO, to a business owner who becomes Prime Minister directly. This is obviously something! As a result, I will discuss with you one element that was absent from your intervention, namely the issue of social dumping. Mijnheer de eerste minister, kent u het concept van social dumping? Dat gaat over werknemers, vakmensen, die – vaak via Ellenlange onderaannemingsketens, via detachering, interimagentschappen, nepbedrijven – naar een ander land gestuurd worden om daar vaak aan slechtere voorwaarden, minder brutoloon, tewerkgesteld te worden. Dat kadert allemaal in wat men in de Europese Unie het “vrij verkeer van diensten” noemt. And social dumping today includes differences in social security contributions and gross wages. Social contributions are then paid in the country where the contract was signed, rather than in the country where the work is performed. Voor bedrijven is dat vaak interesting, want zij krijgen veel hogere winsten en ze betalen lagere socialzekerheidsbijdragen. Voor werknemers is dat een drama. Het Borealis-schandaal in Antwerpen toont dat dit ook steeds vaker gaat over niet-Europese werknemers, werkkrachten die schaamteloos worden uitgebuit, die dan via Hongarije naar Portugal worden gestuurd om in Antwerpen of België terecht te komen. There is social dumping, as you know, in different sectors: transport, construction... Too many sectors. In uw land speelt daar vaak een grote rol in, zodanig zelfs dat een Europese vakbondsfederatie klacht Indiende tegen Slovenië. Misschien gebeurt dat onder druk van grotere landen of andere landen die by Sloveense regering daartoe aanzetten, maar toch. I looked at the numbers. Almost one third of construction workers in Slovenia are sent abroad, the highest percentage in the European Union. Six out of ten posted workers from Slovenia are nationals of non-European countries, or at least not members of the European Union. That is, companies based in Slovenia will look for workers abroad, not because they need them, but to send them right away to other Member States, exploit them to the fullest and make more profit, quite simply – and in the process, destroy labour law. This system exempts €128 million in social security contributions. It is a veritable heist on social security, let’s be honest, and we are still only talking about one country. Ik was in uw land, in Slovenië, ongeveer een jaar geleden, onder de vorige regering. Ik had daar een ontmoeting met Sloveense vakbonden en zij toonden mij iets dat mij serieus geschokt heeft. In een gebouw van een ministerie – hetzelfde gebouw als een ministerie – had je een lijst met postbusbedrijven. Dat wou zeggen dat je due één postbus hebt met een Ellenlange lijst van bedrijven die daar official gevestigd zijn, maar die natuurlijk niet daar werken, maar wel elders hun activiteiten ontwikkelen. Dus in het gebouw van een ministerie! So, Prime Minister, social dumping, whether by posting or subcontracting, is a problem in Europe today. The solutions exist, as we know. This includes making the free movement of services conditional on guarantees on working conditions, the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’, the rejection of discrimination between employees depending on where the contract was signed, and, I am also thinking, the drafting of a European directive on the limitation of subcontracting chains, which only serve social dumping. So a question, Prime Minister: What will your government do to change Slovenia's fundamental role in social dumping?