Speeches

Mr President, over six months — we have come a long way — and I still do not see any significant positive developments. I still do not see that the violence has stopped and I still do not see that children and innocent people are not victims of this terrible war. On the contrary, I see the opposite. Several reports have come out, different analyses have been made and yet there are no positive results. I'm going to say it publicly for the first time: What I see, what I see, is that there is a genocide going on. It's incredible how people are dying out, how people are suffering. The international community has failed to stop this. It really can't go on like this. As for UNRWA: There is still no evidence. Unacceptable. Then come up with evidence, is the call to the Israeli government, because you can't keep coming up with these kinds of allegations while there is no evidence. So here too we must demand: Either there's evidence, or it's just not right.

Madam President, I think it became very clear from this debate that we all share that we need to stand for human rights and that we need to protect human lives here, because this is really what the Forced Labour Ban Regulation is about. It’s about protecting human rights, but it’s also about promoting our own values and standards. And this cannot be only empty talks. So yes, this is an instrument with teeth. We need to make sure that we follow up when it comes to the human rights that we sell in the world, and we are following several examples now in the world as being the EU. There are several other likeminded partners that have comparable legislation in place. Also to protect our multilateral system, and given the geopolitical situation in the world, it is very important that we harmonise as much as possible, that we try to do the same as much as possible as being likeminded partners. Because if we leverage that power, if we leverage these resources, if we leverage that knowledge, then we can be truly effective, from a multilateral perspective, when it comes to fighting for human rights and when it comes to protecting human rights. And I am very proud to hear that we will probably count tomorrow on a big majority for this Forced Labour Ban Regulation, because that is, I believe, the only message we can send also in light of the elections. This is the message that we need to centre our citizens, that this is the Parliament that we have been fighting for – a Parliament that stands for the human rights and that protects human lives. And if we want to explain to our citizens why they should keep voting for the European elections, why the European Parliament delivers for citizens, then this is one of the very good examples, how we are preventing people in the world to become a victim of forced labour.

Madam President, the forced labour ban regulation resembles a grand marathon with many challenges along the way that made the journey both demanding and fulfilling. This regulation will be groundbreaking and unique. It is broad, inclusive and tackles many issues. The forced labour ban will put a halt to the entry of products and services produced under dire, inhumane and undignified circumstances. For too long, we have accepted products and services that are cheap, at the expense of societal consequences on the people involved in the production or supply chains. Almost 30 million people are working in inhumane conditions and slaved, sometimes for life, to produce goods and services exported around the world, notably to our markets. And 13 million victims are women and girls. Forced labour touches the very essence of gender inequality. We see women and girls placed in environments that set them back significantly in life, time and again. We see women and children imposed upon with reality that is ugly and unjust. Several companies earn altogether around USD 236 billion thanks to these practices over the back of the people. And I’m happy that many of you stood firm with us when we negotiated and demanded a comprehensive definition of remediation in the regulation. Even though some parties were immovable until the very end. I firmly believe and am convinced that mainstreaming, remediation and regulation will lead to transitional justice for victims. We have worked for decades in sweatshops, factories and other dire and dark circumstances to support unethical supply chains. The faces, names and stories shall be and must be recognised. The regulation will also ensure that we address not only forced labour, but also state imposed forced labour through a risk-based approach. This approach will enable European national authorities, along with the European Commission, to lead investigations into suspected cases of forced labour. The regulation will further enhance inter-European cooperation. Member States and their respective customs authorities will work together in the Union network with unified and facilitated access to comprehensive information on risk areas, products and gender aggregated data through the database and this will ease the work of authorities tasked with preventing products from entering the European market. This regulation is also a significant opportunity for our companies and SMEs. Together with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, companies will be prepared to address the significant issues ahead of us, making them more resilient, competitive and real drivers of change. And the regulation will also democratise the way we trade with our partners, while placing human rights and responsible business conduct at the forefront. People, consumers and other organisations will now also be able to take initiative when they realise that products do not comply with the newly set norms and together with the authorities, they will help us tackle the serious issue of forced labour. It has been a true pleasure, a great honour and a privilege to serve in this House, and this sprint marks the end of my marathon. So I thank you very much for the cooperation and specifically towards my dear co-rapporteur Maria-Manuel Marquez. I am proud of what we do together in the EU and for each other, for intersectional policies and justice and for the people outside, around the world. And my final ask would be to vote in favour of this regulation tomorrow, and to the countries and partners watching, this is your moment to ratify ILO Protocol 29 to the Forced Labour Convention.

Mr President, dear colleagues, thank you for your opinions and comments. Look, this agreement, you have provisions in it, and these provisions are binding and enforceable with an enforcement mechanism. The political and cooperation pillar includes an entire chapter on cooperation on sustainable development, which contains comprehensive articles on sustainable development, particularly on the environment of climate change, sustainable energy and ocean governance. And the EU and Chile have taken clear commitments on effective implementation of ILO conventions and multilateral environmental agreements, coupled with a dedicated dispute settlement mechanism. So I’ve had this conversation many times with some of you in Parliament. First of all, stop spreading misinformation about the impact on our farmers or agriculture. Stop it! Do not act as if the Commission and Parliament do not have their facts straight. They have! After every single step that’s made in the negotiations, impact assessments and very strong analyses are being made constantly, after every single step that is being negotiated. Trade agreements are agreements where you negotiate for both and not only for yourself or for the EU. These negotiations, especially with Chile, have happened on an equal basis. So I also ask you then: what do you want? Do you really think we can produce our food only here in this continent? Or do you really think we can get our own critical materials? You want the energy transition, you want food on the table every evening, but you don’t want to trade. Do you prefer China then to take over every single continent in this world, and then act as if you don’t care? Because if you really care, you would be in favour of trade agreements that do offer values, that do offer human rights, instead of leaving it to countries that don’t care about human rights. So I suggest that we celebrate this very good step forward in reforming trade. You can’t have it perfect immediately, but you can have it very good the very first time. So it will be a very good example for future agreements. And I count on your support today.

Mr President, it’s a great honour to finally have a trade agreement hopefully being passed through Parliament again today. This agreement is ground—breaking, with the first EU gender and trade chapter and a trade and sustainability chapter. This is the most ambitious Trade and Sustainable Development chapter negotiated so far by the EU, with ambitious and binding commitments on environmental and labour standards, and references to the rights of indigenous peoples. It includes a commitment to consider the possibility of including the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as an essential element of the agreement in the form of a review. In this agreement, we have special support for SMEs through a dedicated chapter for SMEs and a new stand—alone chapter on sustainable food systems. 95% of trade will be duty—free and 216 European geographical indications will be protected. With this agreement, we have shown that trade can indeed be responsible and fair, and we have been waiting for this modern and progressive agreement for a long time. In today’s world, it is important that we collaborate with like—minded partners to facilitate the energy transition, to create more jobs, to protect human rights and to ensure security. The amendment of the original agreement from 2002 was crucial to reflect the developments and modernisation and our increasingly sustainable and digital economies, as well as our rules—based trading system, and given the geopolitical situation. Chile is a key partner for the EU and in Latin America, and the EU is Chile’s third—largest trading partner and foreign investor. Our bilateral trade comprises many sectors, including – but not limited to – minerals, such as copper and lithium, machinery and chemicals, and especially agricultural products. The modernised agreement will allow the EU and Chile to strongly increase their bilateral political, trade and investment cooperation, as it will create mutually beneficial new opportunities on both sides. The modernisation is continuing to strengthen these important bilateral trade flows and provides improved market access for goods, services, investment and government procurement, amended investment protection, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and the reduction of non—essential non-tariff barriers. The agreement keeps the right to maintain public services. From the beginning, there were multiple key priorities for me, which I’m happy to see covered. I said it before, for the first time in an EU agreement, is there a dedicated chapter on gender and trade so that trade leads to gender equality and women’s empowerment and ultimately benefits all. There are specific provisions and references on the rights of indigenous people. It is key that their rights are respected and upheld in such an important agreement, and the chapters on sustainable development and trade and gender establish and foster the approach towards a green and fair trade relationship. The specific chapter on trade and SMEs is important, since they account for a large proportion of EU—Chile trade, so to assist them in taking full advantage of this agreement will be important. Of course, we must also recognise the role that Chile plays in our green and just transition. Chile has a leading role as a major supplier of critical raw materials, and a lot of these are supplied to the EU, especially when it comes to lithium and copper. Chile also has huge potential when it comes to the creation of clean energy, such as green hydrogen. The energy chapter plays into this. All the while, the agreement leaves sufficient policy space to Chile for local added value, and this has to be done in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner, while it should benefit local communities, including indigenous communities. All in all, I am happy that we have been able to reach such a good agreement with our like—minded partner. I look forward to a final conclusion very soon, and I also hope for a swift ratification procedure by Chile and at EU Member State level. The Advanced Framework Agreement brings our relationship in line with the most advanced standards and unlocks untapped potentials. It will modernise the existing association agreement, opening and improving new areas, including investment liberalisation and investment protection provisions. Political and economic cooperation on the basis of old rules is not an option for the EU anymore, and I am proud that today we are hopefully agreeing with such a modern and progressive agreement. Lastly, I would like to commend the work of the Commission negotiators on the trade side, led by Paolo Garzotti, for their engagement and transparent cooperation with the Parliament and with me as rapporteur. Special thanks to the Ambassador of Chile to the EU, Gloria Navarrete, and her embassy team for the wonderful cooperation we showed that trade can deliver for people. Let’s go. Vamos.

Mr President, at the upcoming 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, in New York, we continue our tireless pursuit of women’s rights and empowerment. Our report sends a clear message: women and young girls are integral to the rapid advancements shaping our future world. And even as these changes sometimes carry biases against us – examples are found in tech, health and the labour market – we need to keep fighting for these equal rights. Also, in times of crisis and conflict, women find themselves disadvantaged disproportionately, and this is even a soft statement. We are speaking of weaponisation of gender-based violence and other atrocities that are becoming more common, atrocities that are beyond imagination. It is therefore essential to keep raising awareness on these matters and not forget about silent conflicts or situations that remain underrepresented. Remember and understand that we make up half the global population and are indispensable in critical areas such as the energy transition, the combat against climate change, or the settlements of violent conflicts. So in New York, we will reiterate our commitment to gender equality and for equal opportunities for access to sexual health and reproductive rights, equal pay, making sure that we don’t have a pay gap any more in this world, all of which are non-negotiable in our opinion. So inclusion of women and young girls is essential for true equality, and our Parliament stands ready to fulfil its role. We need to make sure as the European Parliament that we stand ready and that we keep fighting for it.

Madam President, we live in a world where we cannot escape digital communication and information, a world where social media is part of our daily lives. And this is why things get complicated: the spread of hate on the internet is a threat that is ever so real and is directly connected to hate speech and hate crime in the physical world. The deliberate dissemination of misinformation and hateful content reaches us all and feeds into very dangerous narratives and so-called ideologies. Fellow politicians – especially women, but also women of colour – are afraid to run for a public office because the public scrutiny is becoming unbearable. They are subject to hate speech in a form that is unprecedented in its cruelty, its explicitness and its damaging nature. We have to be more vigilant and more prepared than ever to fight the spreading of this hate-inciting content, to fight and report and acknowledge hate crimes for what they are, and punish them accordingly to show the victims that they are not alone. We have the tools, we have the values, and we have the technology in our Union to win the fight against but also with the big tech – because they play an important role – and show them that we, the European Union, are the champions of democratic values and human rights.

Mr President, South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice teaches us humanity amidst times where we need it the most, and more African countries these days followed, teaching us what humanity is. Together with the majority of the world, they concluded that we are witnessing one of the greatest atrocities of this century, and they are right. This war has tormented generations, children’s futures, families and a whole people. This war brings out the worst forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including the Hamas attack on 7 October. These war crimes cannot go uninvestigated and unpunished. This war forces women in Gaza to give birth under the most inhumane conditions, and has caused the most civilian casualties in such a brief period. The world is looking at us. How many more debates are still needed until we realise that we must demand a ceasefire now? Bring an end to this nightmare. Think of the children in Gaza, as nothing justifies the 10 000 killed children. I ask the Commission to maintain the credibility of the European Union as human rights champion. If we fail to advocate for a ceasefire, we cannot lecture anyone on human rights. Human rights apply to everyone – also for the people of Gaza.

Mr President, it is clear: We must not abandon our young people. They have to deal with the consequences of the climate crisis, the housing crisis, but also a crisis of political leadership. Let's face it, old politics prefer to point to scapegoats instead of putting their hand in their own bosom. It is therefore also very important that political leadership in Europe is now shown to ensure that European solutions are found. Giving perspective to young people, that's what it's all about. It is about the emancipation of young people, fair opportunities to contribute to society in a fair way. Young people are now being driven away from big cities by rising living costs and that is also detrimental to the creativity and resilience we need in these types of big cities, but also in our society. We must therefore help municipalities and local authorities and organisations with access to European funds to enable those creative solutions when it comes to this crisis. We need to ensure that the minimum wage is actually raised in line with our European legislation – queued – and we need to devote all our social resources to a dignified future for the new generation in Europe. And that has to happen now.

Mr President, the reality of Gaza is that it’s only a strip roughly twice the size of Brussels, one that has been hermetically closed and isolated for almost two decades by sea, land and air. A strip that has seen 67 days of the heaviest forms of violence, trapping and displacing most of its 2.3 million civilians. A strip that is now referred to as the graveyard for children, a strip in which journalists saw their deadliest month ever. One where children have been robbed of their childhood innocence and their parents. Packed, panicked and pressed, people have been forced to flee from north to south and from the south only further south. These are all mass atrocities. It has been 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 75 years since Palestinians have been robbed from basic freedoms. And let me be clear, I fully condemn the atrocious acts by terrorist organisation Hamas. But how will this military campaign free the hostages? How will violence on the West Bank, the expansion of illegal settlements and the imprisonment of children ensure durable peace for the people of Palestine and Israel? The only solution: ceasefire now.

Mr President, the European project has not yet been completed. We are faced with the challenge of bringing European politics closer to the electorate. The electorate is the boss. This means that we need to change, reform European decision-making and European politics. Bringing politics close to the people, bringing European politics to the streets, so that people feel represented. That is why we need more transparency, more democracy and more mechanisms to protect the values of our rule of law. Think of combating discrimination, but also of enshrining the right to abortion in our Treaties. Let me give you a few examples. We have a momentum in Europe to change our Treaties, to break them open and adapt them to the times, to turn conservatism into progressive rights and ideals. A smaller Commission team, more power for the European Parliament and we must get rid of the ineffective and closed decision-making in the Council. The rule of law and human rights are at the heart of the European Union and the aim is to ensure these foundations for all. So whoever you are in Europe, these rights must be guaranteed forever in our Treaties.

Mr President, online platforms have to take their responsibility and they have to do it now, because this information is a serious threat to our rule of law and democracy. It is manipulating the public opinion on this extremely volatile conflict. We are seeing the spread of misinformation and hateful messages on the devastating situation in Israel and Gaza across the internet, and we cannot let online platforms trick us into other people’s political agendas. Remember, spreading hate leads to hate. Just look at the horrific murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American child. Observe the increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe. People are in danger because big tech is not doing its job. It’s crucial for them to take responsibility right now, and act on fear- and hate-inciting content. So, we need to look closely at the real worries people have about shadow banning. Were people’s opinions silenced when they did not reflect the opinion of the platforms? We need answers, and the Digital Services Act is in effect for a reason. So, I really urge the Commission to take all steps that are necessary to ensure that platforms such as X and Meta abide by the rules set out in the act immediately.

Mr President, so everywhere in Europe, we see a rise in verbal and physical attacks against the LGBTQI+ community. I think the latest example we have is the removal of same-sex mothers from their children’s birth certificates in Italy. Colleagues, we have a big problem here. We have an existential problem here. The fundamental rights of Europeans are being seriously undermined by populist parties and governments in Europe. And we should not be naive because this is the result of targeted foreign interference into our fundamental rights. It is the work of the extremist anti-gender and anti-rights organisations and I believe that we should not have these kind of organisations within our democratic institutions. And the site of hate is organised. They’ve already found their way into politics, into legislation and it’s time that we organise too. We have the duty to protect the LGBTQI+ community even if it is against their own governments, especially when it’s against their own governments, and the Commission, von der Leyen, they need to take a stand. Article 21 of our Charter forbids the hateful legislation and Article 19 of our Treaty allows you to take action, so take action.

Madam President, the current challenges that we are facing now in the world make clear that we need new, modern, green and inclusive trade agreements with third countries. And we can definitely not wait anymore, it’s so important for our strategic autonomy in the world and the strategic position in general that we need to have in the world. When it comes to our green and just transition, we need access to critical raw materials or renewable energy that we cannot produce here in Europe. So we need our partners in this, and this needs to be done in an inclusive and sustainable way. And trade needs to benefit all and contribute to sustainable development. But therefore, we need strong trade agreements, and this is exactly what we’re trying to achieve now here, in Europe. We need to have strong trade and sustainable development chapters, effective provisions on human rights, including the rights of indigenous people, as well as firm environmental standards. As the Parliament’s standing rapporteur for the modernised agreement with Chile, I am proud that we have managed to accomplish a specific chapter on gender and trade for the first time ever in an EU trade agreement. We also have a strong chapter on trade and sustainability, and this shows that we can really use these trade agreements to make sure that we have strong environmental and human rights standards. To overcome our current issues, new and modernised trade agreements are key: they must be green, human rights centred and even gender responsive. I truly believe that we need to continue this year with closing more trade agreements because it is very important for the position that we have in this world, especially given the new geopolitical situation.

Mr President, a year since the brutal murder of Jina Mahsa Amini by the Iranian rogue regime – that is what you can call it. Since her murder, tens of thousands of activists – mostly women, often young – have been imprisoned by this terrible regime. No respect for human rights at all. In the past month, at least 12 activists have been detained. And for what? Because they stand up for themselves, for their own rights, as they should in a normal democratic rule of law. And that is what we can expect from a government that has silenced its own inhabitants, that considers girls and women as second-class citizens, that imposes the death penalty on children and teenagers. The new coming law obliging the hijab is a dangerous means of further repression. You can choose what you wear. But you know, not only when it comes to women or human rights in general, things are going wrong in Iran. Take now also our own European citizens who are being held hostage, who are being treated as negotiators by the Iranian regime. And that is why it is so important that we develop a strategy against hostage diplomacy. We can't do that alone. Member States should cooperate in this regard. So I really call on the European Commission to develop a strategy against hostage diplomacy.

Madam President, in this House we are very fierce when it comes to upholding democratic values. In our urgency resolutions, our reports and our debates, we condemn those who undermine democratic principles and the rule of law. We demand the strengthening of democratic values and institutions from our partners in the world and our allies, and we enshrine these values in our treaties and even in our trade agreements. Therefore, we must also demand the same care for the integrity of democracy in our own House. Currently, undemocratic extremist organisations can just walk in and lobby for the undermining of women’s rights and LGBTIQ rights. These anti—gender movements are using democratic rights to take away the democratic rights of others. And they are doing this while funded by foreign oligarchs and transnational extremist groups. So in order to protect our democratic institution and the human rights of our citizens, we must reform the rules concerning transparency in this Parliament. We need an independent ethics body with teeth, with ambition and the right to initiate and proactively investigate cases, because the people of Europe trust us to protect them and their fundamental rights, so we should do exactly that.

Madam Commissioner, we have the Economic Partnership Agreement with Kenya, the first-ever Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement with Angola, we have the cooperation under the Global Gateway Initiative, and I could go on. So things are moving in the right direction and that is very positive news for the EU—Africa relations, especially from a trade perspective. However, not everything is as positive: individual Member States that hold the Council hostage on post-Cotonou, or the Council blocking in GSP negotiations by introducing an unethical migration clause. Progress is slowed down by conservative Member States and that is very unfortunate. But in spite of that, we need to achieve our partnership of equals and with that, we need to assist our African partners where that is welcome and vice-versa. So I’m asking the following: how is the Commission concretely contributing to the economic integration of the African continent? Does the Commission also implement a sectoral approach, for example for relations with the ECOWAS region? And what is the Commission doing to help African companies comply with the increasing environmental standards?

Mr President, after 456 days of illegal imprisonment, I am very happy with the news that Olivier Vandecasteele, together with two Austrians in one day and have been freed from their Iranian cells. Unfortunately, their cases are not the only ones. There are dozens of European citizens from many Member States detained by Iran and other regimes, and since 2010, over 66 people with an EU or double nationality have been detained in Iran. A prime example is the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of which I had the pleasure to meet her husband in 2020. In the case of Vandecasteele, the Belgian Government exchanged him for a convicted Iranian terrorist and in the case of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the UK Government paid a sum worth hundreds of millions of euros to achieve her release. This is part of a larger trend that these regimes are implementing, a trend which is called hostage diplomacy. Regimes like Iran use our European citizens as bargaining tools to get these things done. And this is completely unacceptable and unethical. So this House has strongly condemned this phenomenon and called for the immediate release of the detainees, most recently in the European Parliament resolution of January 2023 on the executions and protests in Iran. However, the Member States alone often do not have enough leverage to combat the horrific violations of the rights of EU citizens as they find themselves obliged to pay large sums of money or exchange convicted terrorists for their citizens. So therefore, I call on the Commission to implement a European strategy to counter hostage diplomacy, including a specialised task force that can effectively respond and coordinate when EU citizens are being held hostage by Iran and other regimes because the consulates and the embassies cannot do it alone. The practice has shown that. So there is a special task force needed with special expertise coordinated among the 27 Member States to respond to hostage diplomacy and the blackmailing, of course, of these EU Member States. So Iran and other regimes using hostage diplomacy can only be stopped through cooperation at EU level and we can only protect our citizens if we work together. We must realise that the impact is for the whole EU and not only one single country. So let us work together and protect our citizens from hostile regimes.

Mr President, it is of course very good that we in the European Union can now propose new legislation, to ourselves, to the rest of the world. We are showing a very good example here. But let's also realize that artificial intelligence is about human rights. We will have to guard the human measure at all times. When it comes to people's social and economic rights, we have seen that artificial intelligence can exclude people. It can discriminate, but it can also do a lot of good things for the innovation we need, for the speed and efficiency we need, whether it's the job market or education or our security services working with it. There is a good side and there is a necessary side. But there is also a side that we must guard from the human perspective, the human perspective. I think this is a very good step towards that and I would also like to compliment you on that. So let's make sure we keep those safeguards. Let us ensure that we continue to monitor closely how this legislation is applied. Always the human dimension.

Mr President, I hope that the European Parliament will assume its responsibilities tomorrow. It is a pity to see that in recent days a number of colleagues, especially here on the right, have been building coalitions to, for example, make amendments that go completely against the essence of this new and important legislation. I thank the rapporteur. Very good work. It is no secret that the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment wanted to go even further. And if it were up to me, every company would have to take responsibility for human rights and climate, no matter how big it is. This is a good deal. It doesn't matter how big or small the administrative burden is. Human rights should not be undermined by this. But this is not the time to be dogmatic. We must now move forward and finally give companies the ways to be internationally responsible in accordance with the OECD guidelines. We're gonna get on with it now. After this, we will continue to ban products made from forced labour. They need to be kept away from our market. The economy is made and supported by people, so that's what we do first and foremost: for people.

Madam President, Commissioner, I’m glad that we’re having this important discussion today on the day of Europe. It makes me think of the city Eindhoven in my own Member State, where the key technological players need to train thousands of workers so that our European champions can keep innovating. The great transitions of our times, such as the digital and green transition, need us to keep innovating. We are going through these transitions because we want to leave the new generation a world that has something to offer and a European Union that is safe, open and strategically autonomous. Therefore, we need to make sure that they have the skills to thrive in this world. This is why, again, I emphasise the importance of reaching and supporting young people in the development of our actions in the Year of Skills. Let us not forget the young people also from the overseas countries and territories that also need to be targeted when we promote our campaigns for the skills of the future. Young women should be encouraged too to pursue their education and career in the STEM sectors.

Perhaps the world is a little bit unfair, right? So the facts are here: the Istanbul Convention has already done an amazing job. It has made local authorities, national authorities, very much aware of the approach that they need to take and that they need to organise to make sure that women and girls are protected from violence. So the facts are there. And I’m not going to have a discussion with you about whether the Istanbul Convention is effective or not. The thing is that these are facts that we are basing ourselves on. The Istanbul Convention is not something that we made up. The facts are there. And this is the very right approach that we need to undertake through legislation. And what we also need to fight is your way of spreading information, because it’s misinformation. And that kind of information that you are spreading is a true danger to the lives of women and girls because you are denying the fact that something is wrong. And that’s exactly what we need to fight.

Mr President, at last: the European Union accedes to the Istanbul Convention. The strongest legal framework, which can now help girls and women and protect them from violence. And I really mean all women. It is very much needed because a number of movements and organisations in Europe are trying to reverse what we have worked so hard for. These are destructive, fascist anti-gender movements that do not respect the rights of women, do not respect the LGBTI community and do not respect human rights. These movements don't belong here. We must strike back hard with new legislation, make sure that this legislation, that this treaty does what it has to do, namely protect the fundamental rights of girls and women. Because when it comes to those anti-gender movements, we don't, and that's incredibly dangerous. We must take our role as legislators and politicians seriously and understand what is going on here. Because rights are being taken away for which we have worked very hard. That is why I am glad that we have the Istanbul Convention. We must stand firm and we will have to make even more laws to ensure that that defamatory, harmful discourse no longer affects the lives of girls and women in this case. (The speaker agreed to answer a blue card question)

As the Co-President of the Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, I first of all would like to put forward a request, dear Chair, because what I am observing here now in a couple of interventions is that the violence against women is now linked with migration and people with a migrant background and Islam. I do think this falls into the category of hate speech, and I think at least this kind of speech can foster aggressiveness and attacks towards people, for example, with a migrant background. And that really needs to stop here, dear Chair. So please take a look into this matter. Please make sure that you analyse very well where the hate speech happened here in a couple of interventions. We are here a Parliament that needs to protect the fundamental rights of every single citizen. And these interventions are putting people in danger – the language, the narrative that’s being used. And it is not even true how they present it. So get your facts straight.

Mr President, here we are again to discuss the horrible situation of women and girls in Afghanistan – and it’s endless. What the Taliban has done is introduce gender apartheid. That’s what it is. Under this regime, women and girls will never be safe and secure. We can absolutely not allow, the international community cannot allow, to recognise the Taliban and its regime, because we cannot bow down for this kind of regime. Women and girls in Afghanistan are not safe to follow education. What can we do about that? I’ve seen Denmark and Sweden already introducing good examples to introduce special humanitarian visas for women and girls, and this is exactly what the European Union and all the Member States need to do directly to make sure that these women and girls can work and build on their future, that they can educate themselves, that they can educate the next generation, and that we can protect fundamental rights. We should not abandon them, and I’m asking the European Commission urgently to see what you can do about introducing special humanitarian visas for women and girls as quickly as possible.