Debate contributions by Özlem DEMIREL

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. The EU's only active industrial policy is: Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. EDIP is the transition to a war economy. War economy means that all areas of public life and production are subordinated to the needs and needs of war. This program is a dangerous turning point, a turning point at the expense of social standards, environmental standards and occupational health and safety. Economically, this is also a mistake. Investments in armaments are dead capital. Armor can only be produced endlessly as long as there is a corresponding need in the event of war – or artificially produced. In wars themselves, the children of the elites rarely die. Instead of satisfying social needs, funds are diverted. Not only that: The crisis mechanism can explicitly suspend the Working Time Directive. Fundamental and hard-won achievements of the workers and the trade unions are currently at the disposition. This is not just about the 1.5 billion euros, but about the political choices. They systematically channel public and private investment into the defence industry. The militarization is financed, the finances are militarized. While more than 72 million people in the EU are at risk of poverty, social and civil budgets are to be cut. A non-transparent body can then force companies to produce. For employees, this means: Overtime, pressure and dismantling of trade union rights. We will reject this, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for allowing the interlocutory question. I have two questions for you because you keep telling this story that Russia will invade Europe tomorrow. How do you explain the fact that Russia has been at war with the much weaker Ukraine for three years and is not winning this war? They tell me Ukraine can win this war. At the same time, you say Russia can attack the EU, attack NATO countries that are much more equipped, militarily, by equipment, by spending. How does your story fit together? Or are you trying to sell us all for stupid?

Mr President! “I always thought everyone was against the war until I found out that there are those who are for it, especially those who don’t have to go”. I had to think of this quote from Remarque very often in the last few days. Ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer the United States, as it was at the beginning, that is blocking a peace agreement. Russia shouts: We won the war, and the EU replies: We want peace, but first we have to win. What we are witnessing is already a hybrid war, and every day more and more there is a real threat of a great hot war, a great hot war between different world powers – economic and military. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask myself more every day: Have you forgotten the history of this continent with two world wars? I know that appeals to your reason no longer work. That is why I appeal to the people of Europe. Deny yourselves war, deny yourselves in Russia, in Ukraine, but also deny yourselves the war preparations of the European Union!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. You want to talk about more security in our cities? The growing crime? I'd love to. Let's talk about growing social inequality. Let's talk about how public authorities have actually been thinned out by the EU's stipulations in recent years, and also the public service. Let's talk about how many unpaid overtime hours the police push for unnecessary border controls. Instead of talking about the use of dangerous tasers or rubber bullets in Europe, let's look for real solutions. Dear colleagues! The current pictures of police operations speak volumes. You're burning the police for your wrong policy. We saw this in France when the police were supposed to beat up the workers for an anti-social pension reform. We see this in Germany when the police are to beat up pro-Palestine solidarity demonstrations on behalf of the German raison d'être. Colleagues, stop the authoritarian transformation of the state!

Thank you, Mr Colleague, for allowing the interlocutory question. You just stressed once again that Hamas would somehow break the ceasefire and bring terror to Israel and Palestine. I would like to ask you: Have you ever noticed that the Middle East conflict is much older and has been going on longer than Islamist Hamas exists? If you have taken note of it, would you please also take note of the fact that the Palestinians' right to self-determination is crucial in order to permanently pacify the Middle East conflict? This is the path to peace. And that's not what the Trump plan does. What do you say to that?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, It is not uncommon for employees and Euro works councils to experience closures or collective redundancies in the press. There must be an end to this! Companies that undermine the statutory right to consultation and co-determination of trade unions must finally be consistently sanctioned. Co-determination is not a nice-to-have. Trade unions are strengthened. Mass layoffs, attacks on workers' rights and social cuts are currently on the rise across Europe. The sleepy restructuring of the industry and your call for competition and war ability are causing casualties. It is clear: Hard struggles are imminent that seek to attack the social achievements of the workers' movement. But workers and trade unions are already showing how there is resistance, for example in Greece with the general strike against the extension of working hours or in Italy against complicity in the Gaza genocide. These examples need to be multiplied, and social clear-cutting needs to be repelled, ladies and gentlemen.

Madam President, “We need a drone wall” echoes from the defence industry. This follows the logic of escalation. Ladies and gentlemen, mutual hybrid warfare has been going on for a long time, and it is becoming ever more acute. It would be wrong to claim that hybrid warfare and attacks are an invention of only one actor, i.e. only Russia. The EU has also repeatedly resorted to such means: Regime change-discourses, sabotage, covert military operations, direct or indirect influence on developments in other countries - this is part of the standard repertoire of all major powers, especially the NATO states. Please don't misunderstand me. Any intentional, potentially dangerous violation of airspace is a clear violation of international law and must, of course, also be condemned. But the response to this should be proportionate, evidence-based, and de-escalating. What we urgently need are confidence-building measures: Negotiations and arms control agreements, such as the return of the US and Russia to the Open Skies Agreement. But instead, we are witnessing a hysterical debate with disproportionate demands that continues to fuel tensions and make a hot war more likely. A debate that avoids words such as peace and relaxation is extremely dangerous, dear colleagues. We don't have to be warlike, we have to be peaceable again. This is security policy. Please come back to real security policy in the interest of the people.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. The catastrophic situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is intensifying. The earthquake has exacerbated the situation. Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan are effectively excluded from public life, education, aid, medicine. Gender apartheid prevails and the situation is marked by crimes against humanity. Colleagues! 20 years of NATO war have proven that war intensifies – not improves – violence against women. With the chaotic withdrawal, the Taliban has even been left with high-tech torture equipment and spyware. The current negotiations between the EU Member States and the Taliban for faster deportations have proven that they do not stand for noble values. Crocodile tears actually don't help the local people. What Afghans need are humanitarian aid, negotiations to strengthen women's rights, family reunification in Europe and an end to deportations to Afghanistan. What they don't need are considerations for new war games in the Middle East.

Mr President! Here, the right-wing populists spread hatred and incitement unabashedly. They spray their poison and want to play people off against each other. The problem, however, is that the policies of the Commission, the leaders, and the kneeling of the conservatives are increasingly opening the door for the right to move forward. You say you want to talk about women's rights and children's rights? Let's talk about femicide. Let's talk about domestic violence. Let's talk about how we can expand women's shelters! You don't want that, you don't want a solution. Want to talk about children's rights? Let's talk about family poverty. Let's talk about the fact that we don't have equal opportunities in education! Let's talk about people's real problems, about pensions, about social policy! You don't want that, because the super-rich donate a lot of money for your cutlet parties. Dear colleagues, you want to incite hatred and hate speech, you don't want solutions, you don't want answers. We finally want the real debates that really interest the citizens here in this country or in Europe. Do that! Stop your hate-and-hate-politics!

Madam President, The CDU deputy Hildegard Bentele has just stood here and asserted in all seriousness that Israel is just solving the Middle East conflict militarily. I want to say very clearly: Israel is not solving anything. Israel is committing a genocide, a genocide in the livestream, and still gets applause from the conservative corner here in the house. That's unbearable! But Hildegard Bentele is unimportant. Mrs Kallas, you and Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Merz and all the others are still giving the green light to this inhumane policy. Today it was Freedom Flotilla attacked; This is illegal. The blockade of Gaza is illegal. Why are you silent about this? Why don't you condemn that? It needs justice for the Palestinians, it needs peace for the Palestinians – you just talk. Your double standard is no longer accepted by anyone in this world, you finally understand. You have to get up! History will judge you, Mrs. Kallas! It will judge all those who have supported it.

Madam President, Mrs. Kallas, you are proud to have the 19th. Sanctions package announced. But I would like to ask you: What action have you taken now during the genocide of the Palestinians against Israel? When do you want to suspend the EU Association Agreement? I think at that point your double standard becomes pretty, pretty clear. Ladies and gentlemen, for three years now I have been listening to speeches that Ukraine is about a war of ‘autocracy versus democracy’. And of course, the Putin regime stands for an autocratic policy. But is it true that Mr Zelenskyy and Ukraine are so democratic? I mean, Mr. Zelenskyy is not only known for his corrupt offshore deals. It is also the case that in Ukraine at the moment trade union rights are being eroded, any opposition party has been banned, and no matter what one's attitude towards these parties – this does not necessarily stand for democracy! What about workers' rights? What about the unionists who are under house arrest? All this, ladies and gentlemen, makes it clear that this is not a question of democracy, but of harsh geopolitics on your part. I want to make it clear: If you already say – before you sit at the negotiating table – that you now want to install troops in Ukraine, Ms Kallas, as you and Ms von der Leyen announced, that is simply untenable. This is illustrated by: They don't want peace. But the people of Europe stand for peace in Ukraine, in Europe and worldwide!

Madam President, I refer to Article 188(2). You declared our amendment inadmissible. A motion that makes it clear that returns to Syria are irresponsible in the face of systematic violence against Alevis, Druze and Christians. Your decision, Madam President, was not a formal decision, but a political one. Yes, our request put a finger in the wound. The Syrian interim government consists of former al-Qaeda militias and is still courted by Trump and EU presidents. As always, you are concerned about geopolitical influence in the Middle East and about rapid returns and deportations of refugees at any cost. If the Left names this in a resolution, Madam President, will you tell us that it has nothing to do with the subject? Oh, yes, Madam President, that's it. Protection and the basic human right to asylum are not subordinated to political arbitrariness. We defend universal human rights. The EU's policy is cynical and Madam President, I am sorry, but your decision on our amendment was clearly politically motivated by you. We find that unacceptable. We will continue to put our fingers in the wound.

Madam President, I too was in Budapest with 200,000 courageous people who did not let themselves be intimidated by Orbán, but demonstrated for equality and against discrimination. I say it clearly: Anyone who feels disturbed by the colors of the rainbow, feels disturbed by democracy, and this obviously applies to Viktor Orbán. But it is also strange that the German Bundestag president refuses to raise the rainbow flag at the Pride in Berlin. One must also criticize Mrs. von der Leyen, who for a long time turned away, instead of positioning herself against Orbán's announcements. Mr Orbán is not only waging a cultural struggle to distract from his socially unjust policies, but he is also clearly an opponent of the rule of law, and we see this in the case of the German citizen Maja T. Maja T. is in solitary confinement, and Maja T. is on hunger strike because she finds unsustainable, inhumane conditions. She's in the hospital now, and the Commission and the federal government need to do something to get her back. Get Maja home!

Madam President, 21 months of ethnic cleansing – while in Gaza the rubble is still smoking, people are dying not only from bombs but also from hunger, thirst and systematic destruction. Anyone trying to get relief supplies is shot – not accidentally, but deliberately. It is a policy of attrition, expulsion, inhumanity. Now the US is planning camps – supposedly humanitarian, but in reality places of transport. The goal is clear: Palestine will disappear from the map. The ultra-right Zionists want a Greater Israel and escalate the situation in the entire Middle East. In Germany, crocodile tears are shed, but weapons are supplied. One speaks of peace, but writes narratives that legitimize oppression. And the chancellor says: Israel is doing our dirty work. This should be the aim of the entire reorganization of the entire Middle East. But this order, my fellow Members, will be built on sand. Hands off the Middle East!

Madam President, The UN has described the situation in Sudan and its consequences for neighbouring countries, including South Sudan, as the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, but hardly anyone seems to really care. When you look at South Sudan today, you see a sad example of European politics. The situation in this region is also the result of a classic proxy war, and European states were not uninvolved in it. The EU played an active role in the secession of South Sudan, despite multiple warnings that it could lead to power struggles. The EU also trained security forces in South Sudan, which today engage in acts of violence against the population. The conflict is said to be an ethnic religious conflict, but the conflict over South Sudan and Sudan was all about gold and oil. European states were also quick to push for secession in order to have access to it. And now the European institutions are looking away when we have the biggest humanitarian catastrophe there. This is not acceptable, something has to change quickly.

Madam President, If a German fascist, whose party in Germany speaks of the Holocaust as a bird's-eye of history, gives such a speech here, if an Italian fascist, who is in the tradition of European anti-Semitism, says ‘Heil Israel!’ – no, Madam President, then I will not remain calm. These are the anti-Semites in this house. These are the ones who relativize the Holocaust. And these are the ones who, in their racism today, applaud the genocide of the Palestinians. And yes, Madam President, I do not remain calm when I look at the situation in Gaza. Israel not only commits a genocide against the Palestinians, not only questions the complete existence of Palestine, but also starts a war with neighboring states. And the German chancellor responded yesterday: "Thanks to Israel for doing our dirty work". This cynicism, ladies and gentlemen, is unbearable. And yes, I as a human being, I as an anti-fascist, I as a peace-loving human being do not remain calm. I say: The Palestinians need our solidarity. And the hypocrisy of the EU is for me...

Madam President, The world is already on fire – Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan. Wars and more and more armed conflicts. On every front: weapons made in the EU. And as if that wasn't enough, they are now screaming for even more weapons of war. At the upcoming NATO summit, a target of 5% of GDP for armaments, and more soldiers, will be decided. 5% sounds little, but it's gigasums. A billion seconds is 30 years, ladies and gentlemen. And you are not demanding 1, not 100, but Mrs von der Leyen wants to spend up to 1000 billion euros on weapons in the coming years. In comparison, the UN says that it would take about 40 billion euros to satisfy hunger worldwide. 40 billion euros, you don't want to decide? Not more money for education, not more money for health, but for weapons – weapons and debts that can potentially wipe out future generations. They claim that NATO is a alliance of values, a defence alliance. This is a fairy tale that no child in this world believes in anymore.

Madam President, Today we are talking about the human cost of the war in Ukraine. These include the thousands of civilian casualties and the hundreds of thousands of men who died on the battlefield on both sides. This war, like many other wars, has brought unimaginable atrocities. This war must end. Instead, the Commission and the Council say again today that we should not rely on peace negotiations, but on sanctions and arms deliveries. Those who decide on war usually don't. There, on the battlefield, neither Mr. Putin, nor Mr. Zelenskyy, nor a Mrs. von der Leyen, nor a Mr. Trump fights, but the poor from Russia and Ukraine: Poor men who cannot escape the war. By the way, the men and also the women in Israel cannot easily escape the war. Russia has violated international law. No one has the right to break international law. But why isn't the Commission talking about the Israeli government's atrocities and inhumane acts in Gaza? Why don't you talk about the violation of international law in Iran with the bombings? Why don't you talk about peace, but about war, war, war? They do it because they pursue geopolitics. I follow humanity.

Mr President, Mrs von der Leyen! The Netanyahu administration is escalating the situation in Gaza, wanting to annex all of Gaza. They're silent about it. You talk a lot about Ukraine, yes, but you don't tell the truth either. They say Ukraine must be helped to achieve a just peace. For peace, however, you have done absolutely nothing for three years, and your aid is also poisoned. They're just loans. Loans tied to structural reforms in Ukraine, in the interest of European corporations. Yes, Donald Trump is now actually securing Ukraine's wealth in return for weapons aid. He is seeking an alliance with the Putin regime. But you, Mrs von der Leyen, are not worried about the people of Ukraine, but also want to get more of Ukraine's wealth as a Europe, and you are mainly striving for hegemony in Europe as a whole. Our solidarity – from the left – is honest. We say: Hands off Ukraine, no matter if the US, no matter if Russia, no matter if the EU. We say: End the war – in Ukraine, Gaza and all over the world.

Mr President! More and more trade unionists in Turkey are talking about Turkey becoming a new Bangladesh of Europe. In fact, Turkey is a low-cost production country at the gates of Europe, a guardian of European interests in the Middle East. Syrian refugees in particular are being used as workers without any rights, they are being brutally exploited, and trade union rights are being eroded. All this is also a contribution of the European refugee deal, and you want to maintain that. This has implications for workers, Syrian refugees in Turkey, workers in Turkey, but also for trade unions in Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, the report rightly mentions human rights violations in Turkey, repression against the opposition, and that is all right. But what do these statements mean if there are no consequences at all? They also want to strengthen military cooperation with Turkey. Turkey should supply new cheap ammunition for Europe so that it can advance its own geopolitical interests in the world for a long time. This is hypocritical, this is cynical, and we oppose it as the left.

Madam President, Despite the ban on demonstrations and repression, more and more people are taking to the streets in Turkey. Pepper spray and rubber bullets also leave them unimpressed. They know it's about their future against oppression, for freedom and justice. Commissioner, again and again you are talking here about a struggle between autocracy and democracy, why we need to upgrade here. But what really distinguishes Mr Erdoğan and his plans from that of an autocrat like in Belarus. How credible are all those who now want to deepen military cooperation with Erdoğan and make dirty refugee deals with the autocrat while he tries to stamp out the entire opposition in Turkey? Colleagues, I never believed that the EU would bring democracy to Turkey – only the people on the ground can do that. But all those who are honest about the values must now demand clearly and unequivocally from the Commission and the governments: Worried words are no longer enough. Stop the dirty deals with the Erdoğan regime!