Speeches

Commissioner, President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen! – this was the theme of World Food Day on 16 October 2022. No one should be left behind. But what does reality look like? About 830 million people go hungry every day. More than 340 million people are at risk of acute famine. And about 50 million people are waiting immediately for death, unless something decisive happens. Behind these figures, ladies and gentlemen, are human lives. People who don't have to die because this earth has enough for everyone. And as long as people face this fate, as long as only one child has to die of hunger, this world is at war. In war – where weapons kill, but also where people die silently because they are deprived of what is necessary to survive. That is why we must not rest, ladies and gentlemen. And we have to act. At the moment, we are spending only about 20% of the humanitarian aid we need. The EU has made an additional 100 million available. That's good. But we need to move on and close the gaps. We have to collect the extra profits. There are an infinite number of new billionaires in the big business of the agricultural sector. And we need to make agriculture sustainable so that it can feed those who make us growers. (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The people of the Horn of Africa need everything, but not this war. We heard the numbers. Thousands of people have died and more than two million have lost their homes. More than a million children can't go to school, are forcibly turned into soldiers, have lost their parents. It is raped, people suffer, especially women and children. These are clear violations of human rights that must be punished. And it must be ensured that one of the most serious famines in the world is stopped. We need peace, war must come to an end. And yes, the European Commission must become a global commission, as announced at the beginning of this mandate, helping the United Nations, helping the African Union to play its role. We must become a factor of peace and stability.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. If we ask ourselves today how we want to make this world better, then we must recognize how much power lies in shaping trade relations. To recover this treasure, to make it a reality – what do we need for it? Fair trade, decent pay, sustainable products that give the planet a chance to survive, and good working conditions for every woman and every man. It takes courage. It takes courage to agree on binding rules – I say binding rules – the power to turn these rules into reality. And this is particularly important to me, because implementation has often been addressed today. We need solidarity, the people of good will, to give our partners, the local producers the chance to do the same, to take their fortunes into their own hands, and that needs us on the ground! This needs not only the abstract rule, but our interference and presence where it applies.

Madam President, High Representative, ladies and gentlemen! The summit ahead of us is a huge opportunity. But this opportunity will only become a reality if consistent action is subsequently taken, not if we adopt only one resolution. It has been said in the discussion: Only a fraction of the African population, 11 to 12 percent, have been vaccinated so far. In many large nations, it is less than 3 percent. 900 million doses of vaccines are missing to meet the United Nations goals set at the end of last year. We have 40 percent of children in eastern and southeastern Africa who can't go to school at the moment. A whole generation is in danger of being lost if we don't act. Education, health must become the number one points of our debate, our consistent strategy for mutual partnership. Then we must invest in sustainable economic development, in the fight against inequalities on the African continent. Then we give the next generation in Africa the opportunity it deserves.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Millions and millions of people around the world are at risk of acute famine. We know that hundreds of thousands of children will die as COVID-19 worsens the hunger crisis. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a situation in which one thing is completely unacceptable: Look away, turn away and don't act. Commissioner, I am grateful to you for being a strong voice, for supporting a strong initiative, for finally getting to work and finally fighting against it. This is a commandment of humanity. But it is also a requirement of our common interest in survival, because only in societies where hunger is combated, only in societies where inequalities are combated, can we develop the full potential to have a good time together, to build a good future. The agreements must be implemented swiftly, with protection for the poorest, with the fight against child mortality and with the help of farmers in the Global South who want to do their part and can do their part to overcome the disaster. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, we want nothing less than to eradicate hunger in this world, once and for all.

Mr President, Madam President of the Commission von der Leyen! At the beginning of your mandate, you started with the ambition to lead a global Commission, a Commission at the height of time, which ensures first and foremost that we make the major challenges manageable, under an important role, led by the European Union. I think this claim is still correct and it needs to be pursued. But today we must critically ask ourselves how far this project has come. And this is the debate of the day. COVID-19 – yes, we have improved internally, but mass deaths are taking place on this planet. I'm not saying we can do this alone. But we must lead the coalition that solves this problem that defeats the virus. Tax policy – a unique opportunity to put an end to tax evasion, tax havens. But then we have to take part ourselves, and the Member States must not block. Serious words must be spoken. And our values – you speak of dialogue. The steps in Poland are correct, but when will the patience with Mr Orbán end and when will the appropriate measures be taken there as well?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, The lesson of the disaster in Afghanistan can only be one thing: We need a self-confident, independent foreign, security and development policy in the European Union. A global policy that is not based on saber-rattling and one-sided national interests, but looks at how people can live freely in their own self-determination, how we can strengthen the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how we can combat the real causes of crisis. That, Mr Borrell, must be the debate in this House in the coming weeks and months. Now, of course, there is nothing but not letting people deteriorate in their misery in the short term, providing emergency assistance, ensuring that human rights organizations and aid organizations can work freely, and that we maintain the corridors of human dignity with unified strength as best we can.