Debate contributions by Petra STEGER

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! First the Draghi report, now the Niinistö report – the European Union is once again obviously particularly creative when it comes to disempowering the nation states. Yes, this is the programme of the European Union that we know. Even more competences, even more centralization, even more synchronization, until the obviously great goal of a European state is finally achieved. These reports are all – yes, under the guise of important and correct issues – but nothing more than attacks on the democracy and sovereignty of the Member States. And they always want to force them to finance immense expenditures, preferably with more and more debt – be it for the production of self-destructed competitiveness or for the expansion of the arms industry, which is the focus this time. Of course, always hand in hand with NATO, which is an absolute no-go for a neutral state like Austria. In addition, there are dangerous plans such as the creation of an EU secret service or the development of censorship or indoctrination in order to give citizens the right opinion. What that means in a European Union that labels virtually every critic as the enemy of liberal democracy can really be imagined by anyone. We say yes to increased cooperation and coordination on security issues, no to more competences for the EU or an EU army.

Mr President, Commissioner, This Rule of Law Report is nothing more than a tool to regulate unwelcome governments – an instrument of power and pressure of the European Union against patriotic governments that do not want to uphold this centralism, this policy of open borders or your policy against the interests of citizens. They want to put financial pressure on you to make them docile. This is the purpose of this report and nothing else. This is obvious to everyone. This can be seen from the fact that media policy in Hungary is the big problem for you. At the same time, however, you are not even worth a word if a medium is banned in Germany and raids take place in editorial offices – keyword Compact magazine. At the same time, no one will open their mouths if media are monitored by the secret service in Austria and journalists are denied access to parliament. That alone shows the hypocrisy. This is demonstrated by your hypocrisy in this report, which is filled with hypocrisy. This Rule of Law Report is in fact one of two major censorship tools of the European Union. The first is the Digital Services Act – it silences citizens – and the second is this Rule of Law Report – it blackmails governments. In doing so, you are once again revealing that you are all sorts of things, just not Democrats. This demonstrates once again the importance of further strengthening the sovereignty of the Member States.

Mr President, Commissioner! Thanks to you and your inability to finally give the clear political mandate to protect the external borders, Frontex has become nothing more than a synonym for fake border protection, a synonym for the inability of the European Union to take care of the security of its citizens. Thanks to you, Frontex is nothing more than a reception committee for illegals from all over the world. This blurring of the eyes is also of no use if Ms von der Leyen is now talking about increasing Frontex to 30,000 people. Because that doesn't change anything until the mandate is finally changed. Even this is the untruth, because in fact only 15 000 more are planned, and only in ten years. Mrs. von der Leyen's promises were broken before her fake news even left her mouth. If you want to know how border protection works, take a look at Hungary. But they are punished by you with 200 million euros because they show how border protection works, and without Frontex. On the other hand, the Commission, in particular Mrs von der Leyen, is responsible for all the suffering caused to European citizens by this uncontrolled immigration, for the murders, for the rapes and for the Islamist terror. And, unfortunately, God's new Commissioner-designate will not change anything.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! Without an affordable and secure energy supply, there is no functioning and competitive market in Europe. Our industry and companies have been tormented to death for years with more and more bureaucracy, regulations and environmental regulations. Europe is no longer competitive. The only thing that has saved us in the past has been favorable energy. And I find it very apt that, in the previous agenda item of all things, the Draghi report was on the agenda, which calls for countless measures to save our competitiveness, on hundreds of pages, and the majority of them are more harmful than useful. Draghi would not have had to write so much and research so long, because it is quite simple: Finally, stop with this left-wing ideology-driven energy policy in the name of climate protection, which is making energy increasingly scarce and more expensive – keyword energy transition. And finally stop with this sanctions policy, which affects us much more than Russia. Dear Commissioner, if you actually claim that we, I quote: “no longer relying on Putin’s pipelines” is a correct goal, but it is simply the untruth: Russian oil and gas continue to come to Europe in rough quantities – not directly, but now indirectly via detours, via third countries, and at much higher prices. This is pure eyewash you're doing here. And I also find it hard to deny that the European Union is watching and doing absolutely nothing when Ukraine, an official candidate country, threatens our energy security and puts Member States in serious energy and financial difficulties. Keyword: Hungary, Slovakia, but also Austria – our transit contract expires in 2025 and Ukraine refuses to renew it. Commissioner, where is the European Union's response? Where is the commitment to energy security and the economy? Where is the pressure on Ukraine, to which we also transfer billions? To this day, I miss all criticism, but you probably don't hear anything, because it is precisely those countries that have dared to stand up for diplomacy and peace instead of a constant escalation of the war. Well, Mrs Simson, it may be so, and I would also like to congratulate you on the fact that your home country Estonia is no longer dependent on Putin's pipelines, but that is not the case for other countries. And as a member of the European Commission, you are also responsible for these states and their energy security. Energy debates are to be conducted solely on the basis of physics, existing infrastructure and, above all, real-political conditions. Stop leading the energy debates ideologically! This has no place there, otherwise our economy and our prosperity will finally hit the wall soon.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! The heinous attack in Solingen is the latest proof of a complete failure of the European Union in terms of security. Terrorism and crime go through the roof. People feel like strangers in their own country. The policy of open borders is deadly, and all of you here are responsible for it. But instead of protecting Europe's citizens and finally ensuring security, you are adopting an asylum and migration pact that once again only manages and distributes migrants, rather than finally protecting borders. But what else could we expect when Mrs von der Leyen, the closest ally of the “We can do it”-Merkel, is at the head of the European Commission? There is no need for solidarity in distribution, there is finally a need for solidarity in border management and returns. Remigration is the order of the day! And if the European Union is not able to finally fully protect the external borders, it goes without saying that the Member States must take action and protect their own borders. Ladies and gentlemen, come to your senses at last, or you will be responsible for all those citizens who have to pay for this insane policy with their own lives.