Debate contributions by Helmut BRANDSTÄTTER

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, Elon Musk is doing a lot of research on self-driving cars. Just imagine a system in which the strongest, most aggressive car will always have priority. It is impossible. It would be a lot of dead people. But what is happening right now on X is exactly that: the most hateful, the worst postings have the most viewers because of the algorithm. So the algorithm he is organising is against us. And the next thing: he's buying politicians in the United States, even judges. And that's what he wants to do in Europe as well. He wants to buy European politicians and he already tries to influence European politics. And we are standing here and saying, 'no, that's fine'? No, it's not fine. We will not accept it. If the right-wing people say there is censorship, yes, there is censorship right now, because the algorithms of Mr Musk, they are they are censorship. People cannot see what they want. They have to see what Musk gives them. And that is hateful. I tell you, as a former journalist, that as an editor‑in‑chief you have a lot of responsibility. And Musk has everything, but no responsibility. He doesn't care. On the contrary, he wants hate speech, and if you had that on a normal medium, you would go to jail. So that's the point. Mr Musk must accept he has to have responsibility, and that's the only way we can do that. Mr Commissioner, we need very strong legislation and we need a strong Commission, and he has to pay for that.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, 30 years ago the world watched as the guns fell silent in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton-Paris Agreement was not just a document; it was a lifeline, a promise of peace after years of unspeakable suffering. And for that, we always must be grateful for Dayton. But let us be clear: Dayton was never meant for 30 years. It was an emergency solution, a framework to stop the bloodshed and create space for healing. The people of Bosnia are resilient, determined and European. They deserve more than the political system they have now, and now I have a strong plea to those politicians in Bosnia. We have been on a delegation in Sarajevo and we talked to many politicians, and they all talked only about the past, they talked about their groups. They did not talk about a common Bosnia. But then we talked to so-called normal people. We talked to NGOs, we talked to young people, and they asked, 'What is our future? How can we have a common European future?' And that must be our message: yes, there is a common European future, but only if the political class in Bosnia finally understands that they have to work together, that they have one country, that they have different problems – I know, they have a lot of problems, but they can do it. And of course, it needs trust, it needs working together. I know it; you know, in Austria also, we had difficult situations, but then people finally understood that you cannot conquer the future with the past. So please, politicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina, come together and understand that you have to work for your people, and they are strong, they are resilient, they are European. And then we can work together.

Madam President, Mrs. Minister! Commissioner! Espionage sounds like adventure, but only in the movie or maybe in a book. In reality, it is one of the greatest crimes imaginable, especially if in a democracy there are people who exploit the free society to possibly spy for the regime of a war criminal, a dictator. And we know there are examples. There are these Voice of EuropeThat is to say, an institution in Prague, where, apparently, MEPs from European countries, including the European Parliament, worked for this Viktor Medvedchuk, a friend of Putin, who spent money on spying in Europe. In Austria, we have the case that was uncovered by the magazine Profil. A former Wirecard board member, a big fraudster, has gone to Moscow, works there for the secret service, for the FSB, and now works with people he uses in Austria against our country. Let posters against Austria etc. etc. Try to carry out acts of sabotage. We must say that theoretically we are the weakest, because we are in an open society. We want all people to enjoy freedom, of course, but in reality, I believe that this rules-based order is also our strength if we only use it properly and if we build trust in the population. And Commissioner, I really want us to do this together. Democracy Shield, build this shield for our democracy, the Commission with our Parliament, that we as Parliament also organize this exactly, that we also check this closely, that we work together here. And then, I think, we can also defend ourselves against any form of espionage.

Mr President, Minister, it started as a Georgian dream, but it turned out to be a Georgian nightmare. But there is hope – we see it's now 385 days since people started to take to the streets. They are so courageous; I really admire them. I sometimes ask myself, what would I do? Would I be afraid? Would I do what they do? They are courageous. They fight for democracy. The so-called Russian world crept into Tbilisi in this time, not with tanks, but through the hands of a Russian oligarch with his nightmare. But the Georgians, they have a European future and we know that. On the other hand, there is no one from the right wing parties here. Just one was here and he explained what the Russians want; he explained the 'russkiy mir'. And that should remind us that our democracy is also not a given. We have to work for it, we have to fight for it, and we have to understand what they want. They also want us in a 'russkiy mir', but Europe will be free and united if we work together.

Mr President, I still think about the Americans who helped to free Europe, who helped to rebuild our continent. They were our friends, the US standing for democracy and for freedom. And then came Trump. He said Europe was founded to screw the United States. We know he knows nothing about history, but we also know that there are a lot of Americans who still are in favour of good relations with Europe, and that is what I say: we need better relations with cultural institutions, with students, with young people, with civil organisations, the Americans in the majority. They are still our friends. And it must be clear: the Europeans work for peace. Trump works with Putin to make deals in Ukraine. We the Europeans, we want peace in Ukraine and that is important. And it has to be the Russian money to rebuild Ukraine, and here I think we are in a huge majority. Vive l'Europe.

Mr President, dear Mr Commissioner, in 2019, Lukashenka was in Vienna and he said he wanted to position Belarus between Russia and Europe independently. As we know, after the 2020 fraudulent elections, he subordinated himself to Putin. Ever since, he is one of the weapons of Putin against us here in Europe. Those attacks against Lithuania are terrible and we hear about them, but they are not only against Lithuania. We know he is very much against Poland. We know he tries to get migration refugees to the border to send people to Poland, so it is part of the master plan of Putin to destabilise Europe. And that's the reason why there is only one answer, and the answer is a common united Europe. We have to tell him, 'No, you have no chance because we are together. We will fight you together because we are European Union. We work together and solidarity – that's our European common solidarity.'

Madam President, the huge majority in Europe wants peace and the huge majority in this House wants peace. But Putin wants war, and the right-wing extremists support Putin. I did not hear one critical word about Putin. They support the war criminal. The US's Witkoff is not a negotiator. He wants to make deals with his former friends in Russia. That is dangerous for Europe, and we must understand that. Then I heard from Hungarians about corruption in Ukraine. Yes, there is corruption in Ukraine, but there are very strong institutions, NABU and SAPO, fighting corruption. So I ask the people from Hungary here, the Orbán people: go to Ukraine, go to Kyiv, look how it is to fight corruption instead of being corrupt. Then you will have a huge advantage.

Ms Ehlers, have you ever been to Moldova? Did you understand how the Russians interfered there in the elections? Do you know what the Russian Trollfabrik is? Have you ever heard about all these Russian bots from Nigeria and from other countries? Do you know how well organised they are? Do you know what people like Dugin write in the internet? That all Ukrainians should be killed. This is Russia. This is disinformation. Is it good or bad?

Mr President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, yes, we will build a shield for democracy. We will build it together – the Commission and the Parliament. There are Members in this House who suffered under the communist dictatorship, and the really sad thing is that many of them have forgotten it; some of them sit in Hungary. And now they support the Putin dictatorship. Putin wants to destroy our democracy. He has said it often enough. His people have said it often enough. So believe at least your friend Putin, because, as far as that is concerned, it is very open. So, we need this centre for resilience. It will be the right platform. Let's build it as quickly as possible. The Russian system has billions of euros, works very precise lies and disinformation on Western platforms with fake accounts. Now we see it – Africa, Asia, bots – and the right-wing people parrot the Russian lies. And there's more: on these digital platforms, there is also sabotage and even murder. So, we have to work together. Tell it also to the Americans and the American platforms: 'we will not be blackmailed by you, Mr Trump'.

Madam President, I want to speak about Europe and the former land of the free. The land of the free was the United States and we know it: great democracy, rule of law, checks and balances and a very good partnership with Europe. And I speak about it, and I know it – I used to be a tour guide in the United States. I studied at two universities and everything was great. And then comes this Mr Trump. And what did he say? 'The EU was founded to screw the United States.' He knows nothing about history because we know the reasons why the European Union was founded. What did he do? No free trade anymore and tariffs. What did he do? No partnership with Europe anymore. And he wants to throw Ukraine under the bus of Putin; no democracy anymore. And that's the point where we, the Europeans, have to be strong. And I really ask the Commission to be very united and very strong against the bully in the White House. He tells us not to follow our laws. You know, we never had that before. He tells us not to follow our laws. He talks to the Russians and follows what the Russians want. So we need a strong and united Europe, and I really ask the Commission to be strong and united.

Mr President! Mr Vilimsky of the non-patriots first talked about corruption in Ukraine. Yes, there are. But it is enlightened there, while it is not enlightened in countries such as Hungary and others where the non-patriots are. But it's about people. This week we again had representatives from Ukraine who told us in detail about the 20,000 kidnapped children who suffer in Russia, about young boys who are raised as soldiers there. A journalist has been kidnapped, Dmytro Khyliuk, he has entered a gulag. There they said to him: Welcome to Buchenwald! For those who no longer know what that was, it was a very bad concentration camp. This is how Russians treat people, and Ukrainians don't want to live under Putin's terror regime. That is why, Commissioner, we must do everything we can to help these children and finally the Russian people. assets It is also available to Ukraine. Don't hide anymore. Help the children! You'll understand, won't you?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, There are courageous and less courageous – that's the way it is. Mr Orbán – to be with Orbán – is, of course, one of the less courageous. And he is one who neither likes Europe nor likes a community. And that is why it is quite logical that he, of course, also spies against our European Union. And it is also logical that he is looking for enemy images. And, of course, Europe is an enemy if you are so unsuccessful that you have the poorest country in the EU, if you are so unsuccessful that the healthcare system is broken – and then it still has to go into debt with China because it no longer has money. By the way, this is the next idea: What does China get for this? We know what Russia gets for playing the Russian agent here. We know that he also tried to agitate against Ukraine. And we also know Greater Hungary, of course he also wants to have a piece of Ukraine. The man is dangerous, and we must finally understand that. And, of course, I do not understand that the other countries are not finally taking this up. We have to fight back. We must defend ourselves against him also handing us over to Putin. And worst of all, when the right-wing extremists come with Soros – a bit of anti-Semitism also comes in. This is unworthy for this house, this is unworthy. And we are opposed to Orbán handing us over to Putin.

President Metsola, dear colleagues, I know there are some people in this House who support a war criminal and support Russia, but what one of our colleagues, Ms Şoşoacă, did recently in Moscow is even more. I quote the Kyiv Post, she said, 'If President Zelensky was to speak in my Parliament, I would break his legs'. So it's an announcement of physical violence against the person, it's an announcement of physical violence against an elected president, and I think we all should know that. I am sure, President Metsola, you know what is the right thing to do.

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, October 17 marks ten years since the Swedish author and publisher Gui Minhai was kidnapped by Chinese agents while visiting Thailand. What is he accused of? Writing and selling books, which I think is very important, and especially when you write and sell books about the dictatorship. And China is a dictatorship, and they prove to be a dictatorship, because they abducted him from another country. On this 10th anniversary, we demand his immediate and unconditional release, consular access and independent medical care. When I talk to Chinese diplomats these days, they tell me they want to have more trade, better relations with Europe. They tell us, you know, 'America is not your friend anymore. Why don't we work together?' Yes, but we do not want to work together with a brutal dictatorship. We do not want to work together with a country that just puts any critical author into jail. So I am proud that this House, united, can stand behind this message. I don't see anyone from the right-wing extremists. We'll see. They are not here for this, which is also interesting. No one has to be imprisoned for exercising their freedom and their expression.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, Haiti is not only facing a crisis. The state is failing, institutions are collapsing and big criminals now rule with impunity. The Cabaret massacres, where innocent lives were brutally mown, are not an isolated tragedy. This is a symptom of a country where the rule of law has disappeared and justice no longer exists. What to do? First, the people of Haiti need justice. The perpetrators of crimes must bear the consequences. Secondly, we must break the cycle of violence. Thirdly, we must support the Haitian people. The European Union must step up emergency humanitarian aid and ensure safe access for humanitarian workers.

First of all, it was Iran financing Hezbollah and Hamas. They told Hamas to do the terrible crimes of 7 October. And then Israel reacted. No, I am not in favour of bombing Gaza. But Israel has a right to exist, and it is our job to do everything so that Israel has the possibility to exist. And Iran does not have the possibility to erase all Jews and all Israelis, because that is their plan. And there we have to be very clear.

Madam President, Commissioner, Minister! Iran must never have nuclear weapons. I hope we agree on that. This is a terror regime that not only terrorises the opposition, the people who kill women in their own country and does not allow them to live a normal life, but - and Mr Botenga does not want to understand this - also promises to murder all the people in Israel and to annihilate Israel. That's the mullahs' program, and that's why it's not just any regime. This regime must not have nuclear weapons. We know that any dictatorial regime will use this to blackmail others and nothing else. We know – and this is what the two ladies also mentioned – yes, there was this JCPOA attempt and, unfortunately, Trump broke it. That is why, of course, if there is a way, one must try to somehow control Iran. But one thing is also important: These Revolutionary Guards must be on the sanctions list because they dominate Iran's economy. As long as we don't put them on the sanctions list, the sanctions don't make sense either. So: The terrorist organization of the Revolutionary Guards must be sanctioned.

Madam President, Commissioner! We have seen today in this discussion not only that Putin threatens us with hybrid war, but also that he has friends and puppets sitting here. At least two parties in this House, the Austrian FPÖ and the Italian Lega, have a contract with the Putin Party, and it says, among other things, that the youth should be educated together to strengthen the friendship of the young generations in the spirit of patriotism. That is, Putin, who sends his youth to the war for murder and who has the Ukrainians murdered, is to educate the youth together with the FPÖ and the Lega. You have to imagine that. And these are the people who sit here in Parliament. And we know that Orbán has also surrendered. There has been a lot of talk about unity today. The so-called patriots are traitors. We in Europe need to stick together, because there is this threat from Putin – we now know it too. But the threat is not only from the outside, but it is also from the traitors from within.