Speeches

...obstacles to innovation, the European Commission comes up with further regulations that stifle European entrepreneurs. Our entrepreneurs face constant bureaucratic hurdles. What do we see in real life? Trade union leaders during a strike in Brussels yesterday pointed to a broader threat to industry. A union representative at the Audi factory said: "We also want to send a clear message to the European authorities, which are complicating the situation for Belgian industry, but also for European industry. The manufacturing sector is leaving our countries in the first place.” This event is just further evidence of how European industry is under pressure, while the European Commission remains blind to reality. So what to say in conclusion? Wake up, Europe! Wake up!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the report on Europe's competitiveness is full of alarming data which should lead to an immediate response. What does the European Commission offer us instead? Analyses, forecasts, while losing key industries that will decide our future. The European Union, once a centre of innovation and technological progress, is now lagging behind its global competitors. The facts are relentless. Only four of the 50 largest technology companies in the world are European. Meanwhile, the United States and China control more than two-thirds of the global market for cloud technologies and artificial intelligence. How is it possible that Europe has been pushed into a corner? The answer is clear. We lack the will to make the necessary changes and admit mistakes. Instead of removing... (The Chair interrupted the speaker)

Madam President, we are in the European Parliament. All of us, as we sit here, have been democratically elected and represent millions of voters of differing opinions. During her previous mandate, the President put on the European Union an iron jacket of measures that stifle our competitiveness and increase the cost of living for ordinary people. All in the name of the European climate. But there is no such concept. There is only a global climate. The consequence of this policy is an increase in Europe's dependence on third countries and its huge overregulation. Europeans want a strong, secure and competitive Europe. The aim of the European Commission should be to find common paths across the political spectrum in all Member States. Instead, we are witnessing a chess game in which you arbitrarily decided that your opponent's pieces would cease to be valid. Europeans need solid ground, not liquid sands of insecurity. You tell us that only your path is the right one, and anyone who disagrees with you is automatically anti-European. This is a simplified and very dangerous logic that undermines the foundations on which our Union is built. What happened to our common motto ‘United in diversity’? The European Union was built on the principles of tolerance, dialogue and respect. The elections have clearly shown that citizens want change, but instead you plead for the voice of those who behave as if there are no elections. Please respect the voters and their choices.