Debate contributions by Malika SOREL

Madam President, the European Union has a unique voice on the international stage. However, we are too often fearful, submissive, while a formidable window of opportunity presents itself to us. President Costa, President Emmanuel Macron is right to refuse Donald Trump's invitation to join his peace cell, which is a ruse to undermine the United Nations and violate international laws. In 2003, France stood up to the United States and opposed the invasion of Iraq, which destabilized the entire Middle East. France was right. The President of the Commission said that only the Greenlanders had to decide their fate. We are in a common house, so we are also concerned. If the U.S. is annexing or buying Greenland, who's next? Let us remember here the Anschluss, the Sudetenland. We must learn the lessons of history. Let's find our coherence again. We will then regain our power and especially also the ear of the countries of the South.

I fully agree with your comment on Cyprus and would like to know if you have any explanation at all: How is it that, at the level of the European Union, when we pretend to give lessons to the whole world – and often rightly so, for that matter, I do not criticise – no one is concerned about the fact that Cyprus, a country of the European Union, is occupied by a foreign power? I admit my perplexity. Do you have an initial response? Can you enlighten us?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the sexual deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence are organised violence, clicks turn into profits. Denuding people and humiliating them is not an isolated abuse; It is a juicy market based on an attack on human dignity that thrives on anonymity and virality. We have tools to sanction platforms, but this will remain insufficient until we face the central issue of impunity. You have to choose: protect victims or protect impunity. Freedom of expression is not the right to harm without consequences. Colleagues, we must lift anonymity on social media. This is what will massively reduce toxic behaviour, hate messages and harassment. And this will reduce the income of platforms, better than sanctions. On the other hand, we must refuse and reject the scanning of private messages, the weakening of encryption and the violation of the secrecy of communications, because this constitutes an unacceptable attack on freedom.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, according to the European Union Agency for Drugs, the European drug market is worth more than 30 billion a year: a health scourge, a political and security threat. In the LIBE Committee, the question of EU states at risk of becoming narco-states was raised. That is to say, the gravity of the situation. What to do? First of all, it should be made clear that, without a request, there is no offer: Consumers bear responsibility, fuel a murderous criminal system and must be punished. Drugs are a major public health challenge: Massive truth-telling information campaigns are needed. We need to face the reality of young traffickers: When parents benefit from it, they must be prosecuted. In the face of exporting countries that refuse to cooperate, the EU must impose economic sanctions. Finally, let’s fight money laundering by strengthening our agencies and raise anonymity on the online platforms that facilitate this trade. Colleagues, it is only by acting on all dimensions of the problem that we can hope to solve it.

Madam President, cooperation in the defence sector is becoming an urgent necessity and we are very much convinced of this. Commissioner, you worried me when you said that no Member State can do a project on its own. I hope that I have misunderstood and that you will therefore reassure us on this point. Indeed, many of our countries in the European Union have been able to develop major projects and I think, like Mario Draghi, that we absolutely must promote innovation and not over-regulate it. Second point: European preference, too, is an urgent necessity, given the new threats and worrying defection of our former American ally. Does this mean, Commissioner, that the countries of the European Union will, for example, have to buy European fighter jets such as the Rafale, a technological jewel unparalleled in the world, rather than American fighters? Last point, very fast: No one cares about bringing our engineers back to work in the United States, and no one cares about stopping the current hemorrhage of our technological talents. Do you have any ideas to share with us?

This conflict is an extremely serious one that concerns us all. I would like to know why you say nothing about the Palestinians who are now being extremely violently murdered by Hamas.

The lives of our students are being tarnished. The one who acts as a Palestinian demiurge graduated early in the morning of the day, says Historia, which will be abolished. Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a pragmatic approach based on mutual security and focusing on the civilian population is necessary. Getting out of the destructive face-to-face, suspending the cycle of reprisals requires that interposition forces and international observers be deployed under a UN mandate. Economic sanctions against Israel would lead to nothing. Moreover, Europe, as the largest donor, cannot make up for an Arab absence, an absence which would lead to the failure of any peace process. Peace requires a lucid Western commitment and an Arab coalition that assumes a concrete role in reconstruction and security. Colleagues, the decisive issue and the link with civil societies, teachers, doctors, artists, entrepreneurs hold the keys to reconciliation. It is to them that international aid must be channelled through reliable and verifiable channels. Reconstruction must become an instrument of emancipation and not an instrument of dependence.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as citizens have understood, this is a highly strategic subject. 90% of them want us to increase our investment in research and innovation. We are dependent, dominated by foreign powers, therefore vulnerable. We must stop the flight of our engineers and bring back those who make the wealth of the big American technology companies. Let's roll out incentives. Europe neglects its researchers and engineers. Break with the neurosis of regulation. When we received our British colleagues in Parliament, they wanted to build an AI with us so that they would no longer depend on the United States. We told them: “no, let’s regulate first”. They turned their backs on us and just signed with the United States. Last point: our societies are weakened by hatred and hybrid attacks, including interference in democratic processes. To remedy this and, at the same time, weaken those who make a fortune on our miseries, a solution exists: Anonymity on social media should be lifted.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, everywhere in our countries, the anger of the people is raging. This is becoming worrying for the stability of the European Union and even for our democracies. Our people feel that the Europe they love is built against them and not for them. They need to be given back the pride of being Europeans as a matter of urgency. This will go through several ways. Europeans can only be respected on the international stage if they become powerful and strong again. This is possible. Let's work for the return of our talents, especially our engineers and researchers who went to work in the United States. Let’s stop hindering our own businesses. Let us review some of our absurd rules on free and undistorted competition, which has prevented the emergence of great champions and giants. Let's take a break from the enlargements. Yes, let us pause in this leak forward that weakens us – the facts are there to attest to this. There would be so much to say and do... But I will quote one last point: it is grave and morally reprehensible that the European Union is organising the plundering of the talents of the countries of the South...

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last Saturday, at the Economic Meetings in Aix-en-Provence, Mario Draghi said that we were suffering the consequences of the lack of investment in infrastructure, education and research and development. Has there been any awareness of the priorities it has set for boosting competitiveness, such as reducing the gap between us and China in advanced technologies as a matter of urgency? In view of the projects financed by the EIB, the answer is no: 46% of funding goes to climate and environment, almost 20% to clean energy. However, when it comes to pollution, we are very far behind China and the United States. Thus, in the end, we may be the most virtuous, but we will have been devoured by the raptors of globalization. Colleagues, as anger grows among our peoples, overwhelmed by rampant poverty, 10% of the EIB's investments go to countries outside the European Union. This is incomprehensible. So I called for a collective start!

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, this directive represents significant progress and should be welcomed. To protect children, however, we will need to do more. First, the services provided by platforms, whose evil algorithms are weapons that trap children: they can be assimilated to products and must be qualified as such. We will then be able to mobilize our legal arsenal for defective or dangerous products. Secondly, from the moment of conception, phones sold to children up to a certain age – 15 years seems reasonable – will have to be shackled. Thus, they will not be able to access certain sites or applications. Finally, when it comes to children, we must ban any notion of consent. Colleagues, in The Little PrinceSaint-Exupéry reminds us that all grown-ups were first children, but few remember them. Making them remember it is the challenge to be met so that the innocence of children is preserved.

Ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the US administration’s attacks on science and academic freedom have led to massive layoffs of researchers, and the climate is pushing others to self-censor. The repercussions are international. Collaborative research projects are concerned. As Luc Ferry, former French Minister for Education and Research, puts it very well, science is inherently democratic, which is why we need to worry. We are witnessing two symmetrical attacks: on the one hand, wokism and political correctness, which have prevailed for decades, including in our countries, and on the other hand a reaction movement that intends to cut off food supplies to research organisations on the pretext that they have been able to come to terms with wokism. What to do? We need to rethink Mario Draghi's report on competitiveness. Colleagues, it is imperative that we take advantage of this window of opportunity, especially as we see financial flows shifting away from the United States to the European Union. Let’s welcome US researchers who can foster innovation and boost our growth, and set up return programmes for our own talents.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, this dossier requires a comprehensive approach. Too many variables are left out. Failure starts at a young age. What is the role of parents? Do they accompany their children in their schooling or hinder them? What are we doing about this? Nothing. What do we do about the problem of the bad climate in the classroom, which hinders learning? Nothing. Is Europe sufficiently valuing successful young people, as the United States does, not to mention wages? No, no. Under these conditions, it is natural for the best to leave and leave the European Union. For girls to be referred to the engineering professions – I am an engineer myself – the first obstacle is the lack of self-confidence, which is transmitted within families and also, it must be said, by some of the teachers themselves, many of whom are women in the early school years. This determines the rest of the schooling. What are we doing on this? Nothing. There would be a lot to say, but I would like to end on one point: Let’s stop stealing their talents from Africa and the Maghreb, as in doing so you condemn these countries to poverty and despair, and this leads to the explosion of migration flows that destabilise Europe. I call for a return to common sense.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, for want of vision, Europe, the land of so many medical geniuses, is no longer capable of caring for its own. The ageing of the population and the massive influx of immigrant populations have led to a sharp increase in health needs, a predictable phenomenon. What to do? Shorten the training of doctors, which varies from 5 to 10 years depending on the country, and integrate artificial intelligence that will revolutionize the sector. Encourage young people to pursue careers in medicine and engineering rather than social sciences. Delegate more medical procedures, reduce bureaucracy and regulation. Reduce training costs. Invest in doctors rather than expensive teleconsultation booths. Finally, let us stop tapping into the medical resources of the Maghreb, Asia and Africa. It's inhumane. We are depriving these countries of caregivers, which is fuelling migration. Yes, dear colleagues, when their doctors come, their patients follow.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the major demographic challenge requires a determined response. What are the barriers to parenting? Economic uncertainty, financial insecurity, excessive rents, difficult access to property, infertility problems, growing insecurity and eco-anxiety. All this pushes more and more young people to give up having children. What should we do? Putting demography at the heart of our priorities. There is a need to better protect women’s professional careers, value motherhood, support families from the first child and increase the number of crèches and childcare facilities, regulate short-term rentals to free up housing and take the problem of infertility seriously. Colleagues, after the First World War, despite heavy losses, Europe was able to cope with demographic challenges. I, Malika, say to you: In many ways, immigration is not a solution. Let us give young people confidence in their future and we will succeed in meeting this demographic challenge.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament is giving lessons in democracy to the whole world, but is it credible in this role? The answer is no. It violates the fundamental principles of democracy. Defending democracy means respecting universal suffrage and pluralism. Here, the d’Hondt system was breached, and our colleague Roman Haider was prevented from chairing the Committee on Transport and I was prevented from chairing the Committee on Culture. Another paradox: the European Union stands as the guardian of democracy, and at the same time attacks freedom of expression, which is consubstantial to it. On the basis of suspicions of manipulation on social networks, she supports the annulment of citizens’ choice in Romania. With the use of tools such as the Digital Services Act, the EU intends to monitor democratic processes. Colleagues, in 2022, at Stanford, Barack Obama himself declared that he was an absolute defender of the First Amendment, which, according to him, enshrines freedom of expression at the heart of any democratic society. I encourage you, colleagues, to meditate on Barack Obama's wise words.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Boualem Sansal is a brother, a friend. He has never felt an ounce of hatred towards anyone, much less towards Algeria and the Algerians he deeply loves. What is happening to him is based on a terrible misunderstanding that we must succeed in removing. Boualem is an Algerian citizen and a French citizen. We owe him assistance and protection and that is why, from the very first moment, our highest political and diplomatic authorities were fully mobilized. His brilliant career and intellectual commitment command respect. An engineer at the École Polytechnique d'Alger, he is the winner of the Grand Prix du Roman of the Académie française as well as the prestigious Prix des libraires allemandes. It is inhabited by a deep faith in the ability of man to surpass himself to reach out to all others. He is an enlightened mind, a true humanist. Colleagues, those who today are trying to use this tragedy to express their hostility towards Algeria and Algerians are serving the cause of Boualem Sansal. I therefore call on everyone to exercise restraint so as not to hinder and jeopardize the efforts that are currently being made to help them. Boualem, here in the European Parliament, we think very strongly of you. We hope that the political authorities of Algeria, this beautiful land that I have known, will be able to advocate reconciliation and seize the hand extended to them to build together a better future for all.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is the international aspect, with the sexual apartheid imposed on Iranian or Afghan women – and I would like to welcome the commitment of the Women’s International Law League, created by Simone de Beauvoir – but there is also what is happening in Europe. In France, according to the Women's Foundation, a woman is a victim of rape or attempted rape every seven minutes. Despite slippages, the #metoo movement is undoubtedly a turning point for our societies. Yet, almost everywhere in Europe, we deplore an increase in violence against women. To better serve the cause of women, we need the courage to break some taboos – I stress two. First, mothers have a decisive role to play. We are the ones who educate our sons. To understand what is at stake, one need only read the ethnologist Camille Lacoste-Dujardin or the Egyptian psychiatrist Nawal El-Saadawi, who fought against female genital mutilation of girls. From now on, these tragedies can be found here in Europe. Second, representation, over-representation of immigration. In France, I worked for the highest state authorities, and we had all the numbers. Let us have a thought here for the victims of New Year’s Eve 2016 in Cologne and for the young Sohan, who died at the age of 17 and was burned alive in an immigration district. Colleagues, we need to do much more to help women’s victim support organisations. But, I tell you, if we persist in acting on the consequences without really caring about the root causes, then violence will continue to increase.

Your EPP colleague, Mrme Düpont, just told us a few moments ago that the EPP was in favour of the distribution of illegal migrants across the Member States of the European Union; She even spoke of the principle of solidarity. Do you confirm that, Mr. Bellamy?

(FR) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 34% of Europeans give up medical care, and many young people our young people, are in great suffering. This is the third worldisation of our nations. The Europe of Hippocrates, Pasteur and Marie Curie is no longer even capable of caring for its own people, while it makes non-European preference a dogma. As poverty affects each of our nations, the Commission will provide €1.8 billion to Moldova. Moreover, immigration from the poorest sections of society is breaking records. For Enrico Letta, no reform, no progress will be possible without the participation of citizens. This participation, I tell you, is impossible, because these conditions are not met. Let's review Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Do we want people to be virtuous? So let's start by making them love the homeland: But how will they love it if the homeland only grants them what it cannot refuse to anyone?’ We are here at the heart of the evil that is destroying Europe. Colleagues, I would like to understand: Is it indifference – or worse: cynicism – which leads us to lament about the poverty we are organising?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, how much religious intolerance are we talking about? As early as September 1991, European migration ministers warned that, for many immigrants, cultural identity was largely confused with religion and that problems could arise when immigrants' religious practices were contrary to the traditions of the host society. The real question, then, is the hierarchy of rights. In the name of religious freedom, are we ready to renounce individual freedom, equality between men and women and the dignity of women, as Tunisian Islamologist Abdelwahab Meddeb was deeply concerned when he gave the true meaning and political significance of women's veiling? In the seventeenth century, after wars of religion that tore Europe apart, the philosopher John Locke warned of the consequences of identification through the wearing of religious symbols, which gives men, he said, the opportunity to count themselves. He feared the emergence of sedition actions that jeopardized civil peace. How can the European Commission not see that Europe is sinking today, every day more, into a new war of religion? So, are we facing a rise in religious intolerance or determined resistance from our peoples in the face of imported obscurantism and unbridled proselytism? This resistance testifies to the deep attachment of our European peoples to our fundamental principles. Ladies and gentlemen, let us not stand still, even though it is the historical continuity of the European peoples that is being played out before our eyes today.