Speeches

Mr President, technological and digital developments can be extremely important under strict conditions to tackle crime and protect our society from criminals. But then it is crucial that such technology is not used unlawfully or arbitrarily. That's exactly what we're talking about here today. We have been able to read a lot about Pegasus and we can be grateful for the work of, among others, The Citizen Lab and all the journalists who investigated and brought out this case. Because the idea that a government can just give itself access to our phone, our cameras, our conversations and our personal messages is more than shocking. But for some people, it's much more than that. For journalists, human rights activists, lawyers and politicians in some countries, it's not only shocking, but outright life-threatening. Plasters are now being pasted. Apple yesterday presented an update to close the leak, but the wound under those plasters still stinks. More effort and, above all, more information is absolutely necessary. President von der Leyen was quite right when she said that this use of spyware in this way is absolutely unacceptable. We need to get more answers on how and whether European Member States – and in particular Hungary – used this technology and how Europeans ended up being victims of this spyware. What are we actually going to do from Europe to protect our citizens from this kind of technology? And above all, how are we going to ensure that we do not fall into the wrong hands outside our borders?

Mr President, it’s not often as a Member of the European Parliament that you can very concretely and personally scrutinise the fruits of our labour. But with this COVID certificate, we actually can because I got my second vaccination last Monday, I already did a test on Monday in order to travel to Strasbourg, and on Tuesday morning both were very nicely uploaded to the app on my phone. So I am happy to be able to confirm myself personally that it actually works, which is very good news. And just like Commissioner already said, let’s not forget that the proposal was only launched four months ago, less than four months ago. And today more than 200 million certificates have been issued by the Member States, 200 million small steps towards a return to normality, towards regaining our freedom of movement. This is a great result. And it also shows that Europe is delivering on its promise. However, it’s also not all good news. And I’m disappointed that quite a few Member States decided to use the option of phasing in the scheme for six weeks, and that also in some countries, not all three certificates are actually available to be issued. I think that all Europeans should have the right to receive their certificate and I really call on those Member States to make sure that those Europeans will have the same rights as soon as possible. In this Parliament, we have strongly insisted on coordination and on the importance of clear, comprehensive and timely information to citizens. And we welcome the work that has been done there. But it’s not enough. We still hear many stories from our citizens, from travellers, that they’re not sure what exactly is expected of them. And these questions are mainly not about technicalities but they are about the patchwork of national rules that is still present today. And we need to get rid of this patchwork if we want to allow our citizens to cross borders in a predictable way. And, of course, the Delta variant is there. And yes, Member States have the opportunity to impose restrictions because to or in order to protect their national health. But let us do that in a non-discriminatory and in a proportionate way, and unfortunately, that is not what we’re seeing today. So our call on the Member States – please cooperate, please coordinate, please make sure the rules are predictable and easy to understand for our citizens, and don’t do it for us but do it specifically for those citizens.

Mr President, I would like to start this debate on the rule of law with the shocking event that took place last night in the Netherlands. Journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot during a cowardly attack yesterday and is currently fighting for his life. This is not only a shocking attack on him, but also on our rule of law in a broad sense. Our thoughts go out to Peter R. de Vries and his loved ones and we pray for his recovery. I also thank Commission President von der Leyen and all others today for their words of sympathy and solidarity. This is not the first attack against a journalist in Europe, but let’s make sure it is the last one, because when journalists are not safe, our democracy is in danger, our rule of law is in danger, and ultimately our society is in danger. Just like we need, to come back to today’s debate, a society where you are free to be who you want to be instead of being told by a government who you ought to be. A society where you can love whoever you want to love. Because what kind of message are we sending as a government to young people by insisting that even the mere portrayal of homosexuality in itself is already so abnormal or so dangerous that young people should be shielded from it? What message does it send to a boy or a girl who falls in love for the first time with another boy or another girl that their feelings aren’t normal, that they have something to be ignored about, that there is something wrong with them? Of course there is not. The only one who has anything to be ignored of is a parliament who sends such a message. It was good to see the strong response by the European Commission. It was good to see all those heads of state and government who send a strong message standing up for equality and non-discrimination, standing up for our fundamental values. We call on them not to let this be a one-off event. Don’t travel back to your capitals feeling very good about your statement and leave it at that. The rule of law in Europe is in need of some long overdue maintenance and the Member States have all the tools necessary to make the difference. And it's time now to put your money where your mouth is and finally act.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, year after year, survey after survey, we know that migration is one of the topics that is most important to our citizens, a topic that Europeans expect the European Union to take seriously and to address at European level. This new fund for asylum, migration and integration is a very important first step to show that we have received that message. We tripled the size of the budget to almost 10 billion to also really reflect the magnitude of the challenges that we are facing. These challenges are diverse. Member States need our assistance to fight illegal migration, to make solidarity a reality, to ensure good reception conditions, to effectively integrate refugees and to make sure that those who cannot stay are also returned to their country of origin. And yes, this is in essence an internal EU fund, but we must not make the mistake of ignoring the external factors of migration. We need to work with countries of origin and transit to fight smuggling networks together, to support reintegration projects and to offer perspectives in the region. I am happy that the majority of this Parliament ultimately agreed with the EPP to allow this fund to have the flexibility to do so, because if there’s anything we’ve learned in the past seven years, it is that the future is not always predictable, so we need this flexibility also to be able to respond swiftly to the challenges of the future. And all we need is political willingness in the Member States not only to spend the money under this fund, which is fairly easy to do, but to finally take political responsibility to break the deadlock in the Council and to agree on a common European asylum system.