Marc BOTENGA

Policy topics Marc BOTENGA is active on

What Marc BOTENGA has said (54)

• 2026-06-16 “(11:11:25 – 11:12:44): Madam, hi, representative, colleagues. This is an important member. The the most powerful, armies in the world, US and Israel, haven't been able to beat Iran. They've managed to stand up to a illegal react, and there's a chance for peace. That could give an opportunity for life, quality life, good life for people for the people in the Middle East. That's positive. Who wants to separate that? The genocide state of Israel, who wants to continue the war, we want to invade. Syria will stay there. We'll invite invade Lebanon. We'll stay there. We're having ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank. We can stop that. We have the power to stop Israel by sanctioning, by saying we'll stop trading with you. You won't have the privileges. You won't have the arms or the money from Europe. If you do that tomorrow, The Middle East will be a better place.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2026-06-16 “(11:13:19 – 11:13:54): Mister Seaper, I am shocked. You support sanctions on Russia. Right? What else do I need to say? I mean, your hypocrisy. It's so, so horrible. So what do you act what are you actually saying? I don't mind that the Israelis bombed the Palestinians. I don't mind that they bombed the Lebanese. This is hypocrisy. Once it is about measures against Israel, it's like, oh, no. I'm gonna look elsewhere. Yes. We can stop Israel if we stop funding it. 30% of their trade is with the European Union. Put the sanctions on that. Put them.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2026-01-16 “E-000177/2026 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission 1. The parliamentary question E-003832/2025 1 requested information on a concrete project. The Commission considered that the question fell within the remit of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 2 . Had the Commission received such a notification under Article 23(4) of the European Defence Fund (EDF) Regulation 3 , it would have previously consulted the recipient in line with Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on its disclosure and assessed the potential impact on protected interests under Articles 4(1) and 4(2). 2. To date, the Commission has received no notification under Article 23(4) of the EDF Regulation. 3. To date, the Commission has issued no reply. 1 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2025-003832_EN.html. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2001/1049/oj/eng. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng.”
  Arms export from the EU
• 2026-01-16 “E-000178/2026 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission The grant agreement signed with the consortium requires beneficiaries to notify the Commission in advance of any transfer of ownership or licensing of results to a nonassociated third country or entity. Compliance with this contractual obligation may be verified ex post by the Commission, in particular through audits. The assessment involves checking whether the third country is subject to any restrictive measures adopted by the Council in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (e.g. arms embargos, restriction on admissions, asset freezes and other economic measures such as restrictions on imports and exports). The assessment would also check whether the transfer could contravene the objectives in Article 3 of the European Defence Fund (EDF) Regulation 1 . Notifications made under Article 23(4) of the EDF Regulation are not intended to be made public. The assessment as to whether access is possible may take place following the submission of a request for access to documents, which is assessed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 2 . 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2001/1049/oj/eng.”
  Arms export from the EU · EU competences on defence
• 2025-10-13 “E-004012/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission EU sanctions vis-à-vis Iran have been imposed in response to Iran’s nuclear activities, human rights violations, destabilising activities in the Red Sea region, and its support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The recent reintroduction of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran emanates from a United Nations Security Council Resolution. EU sanctions are always targeted and carefully calibrated and are designed to avoid unintended consequences for those not responsible for the actions leading to their adoption. EU sanctions are never aimed at the civilian population and do not target food, medicine, emergency supplies or humanitarian aid. EU sanctions do not prohibit the export of medical or pharmaceutical products to Iran. Furthermore, EU sanctions vis-à-vis Iran provide for humanitarian exceptions under which humanitarian operators can continue to deliver necessary humanitarian aid to the population in need. EU sanctions are one aspect of a complex landscape in Iran. There are many reasons beyond sanctions that may lead private sector operators, including suppliers and banks, to be hesitant to engage with Iran, including reputational risks or anti-money laundering considerations. The Commission engages in frequent dialogues with European businesses and the financial sector in particular to address overcompliance practices and to provide guidance on the content of EU sanctions.”
  EU-Iran relations
• 2025-10-13 “E-004011/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The Commission reiterates that EU sanctions are always targeted and carefully calibrated and are designed to avoid unintended consequences for those not responsible for the actions leading to the adoption of sanctions. EU sanctions do not target food, medicine, emergency supplies or humanitarian aid. Furthermore, EU sanctions provide for humanitarian exceptions under which humanitarian operators can continue to deliver necessary humanitarian aid to those in need. EU sanctions operate often in complex landscapes. There are many reasons outside sanctions leading private sector operators, including suppliers and banks, to be hesitant to involve themselves with countries subject to sanctions e.g. reputational risks, counter terrorism financing efforts or anti-money laundering considerations. The Commission engages in frequent dialogues with the European businesses and the financial sector in particular to address overcompliance practices and to provide guidance on the content of EU sanctions. The adoption of EU sanctions is the sole responsibility of the Member States in the Council acting unanimously. All EU sanctions undergo review by the Council at least every 12 months. During this review, the appropriateness of the sanctions in place, as well as the appropriateness of maintaining sanctions, is assessed. EU sanctions are flexible and react to developments on the ground. The regular review of EU sanctions ensures that they remain relevant and proportionate.”
  EU Development & Humanitarian Aid · Conditions to access EU humanitarian aid
• 2025-10-03 “E-003892/2025 Answer given by Ms Zaharieva on behalf of the European Commission As confirmed in the answer to Written Question E-001930/2024, any research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon Europe must have an exclusive focus on civil applications 1 . This means that, while the activities may involve dual-use related technologies or products 2 , the focus of the activities must be exclusively civil. On this basis, the Commission does not consider that funding research and innovation activities with a dual-use potential, when the exclusive focus is on civil applications in line with Article 7(1) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, constitutes a violation thereof. The Commission proposal 3 to partially suspend the application of the Agreement on the Association of Israel to Horizon Europe 4 with regard to calls for grant and investment support under the Accelerator part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) should not be interpreted in any way as implying that any activities funded by Horizon Europe may have departed from the principle of an exclusive civil focus. The reasons for the Commission proposal were different and described in the proposal and its explanatory memorandum. 1 Article 7(1) Horizon Europe Regulation http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/695/2024-03-01. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/guidance-noteresearch-focusing-exclusively-on-civil-applications_he_en.pdf. 3 COM(2025) 620 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52025PC0620. 4 Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and Israel, of the other part, on the participation of Israel in the Union programme Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2022/323(10)/oj.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions · EU competences on defence
• 2025-10-03 “E-003893/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission 1. The Holocaust Remembrance Conference organised by the Commission aimed at honouring the victims of the Shoah and their memory. The event included the testimony of a survivor of Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen, together with young Europeans reading poems and letters of victims. As the Commission explained in its reply to written question E002000/2025 1 , the network European Jews for Palestine, like other organisations, was given the possibility to attend the Holocaust Remembrance Conference online. In line with the Ombudsman decision (case 2146/2020/TM), the Commission has discretion to decide on the format for its engagement with civil society actors. 2. As the Commission mentioned in its reply to written question E-002000/2025, Google was not invited to take part in this conference. In line with the General Data Protection Regulation rules, the Commission can neither share the list of invitees nor the list of participants in the Holocaust Remembrance Conference. 1 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/-ASW_EN.html.”
  EU engagement with civil society · Jewish culture and antisemitism
• 2025-10-01 “E-003832/2025 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission In accordance with Article 23(4) of the European Defence Fund (EDF) Regulation 1 , the Commission shall assess whether a transfer of ownership to a non-associated third country or non-associated third country entity contravenes the security and defence interests of the EU and its Member States, or the objectives set out in Article 3 of the EDF Regulation. Where such a transfer of ownership contravenes the security and defence interests, the support provided from the Fund shall be reimbursed. The Commission has in place a mechanism to assess whether a transfer of ownership to a non-associated third country or non-associated third country entity contravenes the security and defence interests of the EU and its Member States, or the objectives set out in Article 3 of the EDF Regulation. Notifications made under Article 23(4) of the EDF Regulation are not meant to be public. Neither is the reply of the Commission to the entity notifying the transfer of ownership. A request for information from a third party on the existence of notifications cannot result in such notifications made public without the consent of the recipient of the EU funding. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng.”
  EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure · Disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons
• 2025-10-01 “E-003822/2025 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission The guarantees that have been submitted to the Commission substantiated that: (i) control over the entity is not exercised in a manner that restricts its ability to implement the action or deliver results; (ii) access by the non-EU parent company to sensitive information is prevented with security measures applied where relevant; and (iii) ownership of intellectual property and results remain within the EU entity and is not subject to non-EU control or export without prior authorisation. In line with the European Defence Fund (EDF) Regulation 1 , the guarantees were approved by the Member State of establishment of the nonEU controlled entity and the Commission has assessed them and concluded compliance with the EDF Regulation. The measures to ensure compliance with the EDF Regulation have been recorded in the provided documents and are part of the grant file managed by the Commission. The Commission holds the right to audit projects (until five years after the final payment), informs the European Anti-Fraud Office or the European Public Prosecutor's Office when it becomes aware of any suspected illegal activity, terminates grants or recovers funds in case of non-compliance. At this stage, the implementation of the Advanced Capabilities and Certification of Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (ACTUS) project proceeds in compliance with applicable rules. Once cost claims will have been submitted, ex ante controls performed, and payments will be processed, it will be included in the population to be sampled, in the framework of the annual audit programme. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng.”
  EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• 2025-07-24 “E-003081/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission Sanctions (restrictive measures) are an important tool of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. Adopted by the Council of the EU in line with Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, they are used to defend universal values and international law and to preserve peace, security, and human rights in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter, which can lead to saving people’s lives. Sanctions are a peaceful measure of last resort, which is always part of a broader policy approach to a specific situation that includes diplomatic efforts and other tools at the disposal of the EU and its Member States. EU sanctions are temporary, proportionate and fully compliant with international law. They are always designed in a way that minimizes negative impacts on humanitarian activities and unintended consequences for the civilian population. EU sanctions never target the civilian population, nor food, medicine, emergency supplies, or humanitarian aid. In addition, they contain specific derogations and exemptions that facilitate humanitarian efforts and ensure that public health and safety are not negatively affected. When negative outcomes cannot be entirely avoided, the EU makes every effort to mitigate them to the greatest extent possible. Recognizing the importance of assessing public health and socio-economic impacts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the Commission actively monitors and evaluates, together with Member States, the broader implications of EU sanctions as well as their impact and effectiveness.”
  EU foreign policy approach
• 2025-07-18 “E-003012/2025 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission The European Defence Fund (EDF) 1 supports the EU strategic autonomy by funding only entities established in the EU and Norway. Israel-based entities are not eligible 2 . EU-based entities controlled by non-EU companies, such as INTRACOM DEFENSE may participate only if robust safeguards are in place 3 . EDF rules require submitting guarantees, approved by the Member State of establishment, ensuring that the non-EU parent cannot access sensitive information, and that results and intellectual property rights remain with the EU entity. It is for the competent authorities in the Member State to approve the guarantee and for applicants to submit it to the Commission. The Commission assessed the submitted guarantees and concluded compliance with the EDF Regulation. Moreover, any transfer of ownership of results of EDF actions outside the EU or Norway requires prior notification to the Commission and may trigger recovery of funds if it conflicts with the security and defence interests of the EU, its Member States, or the objectives of the EDF 4 . The Commission holds the right to audit projects, launch European Anti-Fraud Office investigations, terminate grants, and recover funds in case of non-compliance. Under EDF, the results of an action are owned by the beneficiary that generated them. Regarding the Advanced capabilities & certification for tactical unmanned aerial vehicle systems (ACTUS) project, the intellectual property rights will remain with INTRACOM DEFENSE as the EU-based beneficiary. The applicable safeguards ensure that the non-EU parent entity cannot access or exploit the technologies or results developed under the EDFfunded action. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng. 2 Article 9(1) of the EDF Regulation. 3 Article 9(4) of the EDF Regulation. 4 Article 23 of the EDF Regulation.”
  Defence spending · EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• 2025-07-18 “E-003011/2025 Answer given by Mr Kubilius on behalf of the European Commission The European Defence Fund (EDF) 1 supports the EU’s strategic autonomy by funding only entities established in the EU and Norway. Israel-based entities are not eligible 2 . EU-based entities controlled by non-EU entities, such as INTRACOM DEFENSE, may participate only if robust safeguards are in place 3 . EDF rules require submitting guarantees, approved by the Member State of establishment, ensuring that the non-EU parent company cannot access sensitive information, and that results and intellectual property rights remain with the EU entity. The Commission assessed the submitted guarantees and concluded to compliance with the EDF Regulation. Moreover, any transfer of ownership of results of EDF actions outside the EU or Norway requires prior notification to the Commission and may trigger recovery of funds if it conflicts with the security and defence interests of the EU, its Member States or the objectives of EDF 4 . Furthermore, ethical screening is conducted for all projects under the EDF Regulation 5 . This process assesses ethical risks at project-level, focusing on its content, activities, and methodologies, not on participants’ corporate structure. Compliance with international law is also evaluated at project-level. The advanced capabilities and certification for tactical unmanned aerial vehicle systems (ACTUS) project underwent such screenings before grant agreement was signed. The Commission also holds the right to audit projects, launch European Anti-Fraud Office investigations, terminate grants, and recover funds in case of non-compliance with applicable rules. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/697/oj/eng. 2 Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/697. 3 Article 9(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/697. 4 Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2021/697. 5 Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2021/697.”
  Arms export from the EU · EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure
• 2025-06-30 “E-002628/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission The EU’s action on the international scene is guided, inter alia, by the respect of the principles of international law, human rights and the preservation of peace and strengthening international security, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter (Article 3(5) of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 21 TEU). The EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights prepared an assessment of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory regarding Israel’s respect of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law for the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of 22 July 2024, based on credible third party sources. Subsequently, the report was updated for the 18 November 2024 FAC meeting, when it was proposed to the FAC to suspend the political dialogue with Israel by invoking Article 2 (human rights clause) of the EU-Israel Association Agreement 1 . There was no unanimity among Member States to adopt such a decision. At the 27 May 2025 FAC meeting, 17 Member States supported the proposal to prepare a review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) launched the review and tasked the office of the EUSR for Human Rights to prepare it. This document, which concluded that there were indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 was presented by the HR/VP at the 23 June 2025 FAC meeting. Following this, the EU engaged in dialogue with Israel, with the objective to achieve significant changes in the humanitarian situation on the ground. At the 15 July 2025 FAC meeting, Ministers discussed an inventory of different measures that could be taken in relation to the Article 2 review. On 29 July 2025, the Commission proposed to partially suspend Israel's participation in Horizon Europe 2 . 1 https://eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/israel/documents/eu_israel/asso_agree_en.pdf. 2 https://north-africa-middle-east-gulf.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-proposes-partial-suspension-israelsassociation-horizon-europe-2025-07-29_en.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2025-05-28 “E-002153/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is a priority for the EU. The EU has consistently called on the Israeli government to lift the blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza 1 . The EU reiterates that humanitarian aid must never be politicised or militarised and stressed the role of the United Nations (UN) in distributing humanitarian assistance 2 . The EU continues to voice its urgent call for the immediate, unimpeded and sustained resumption of delivery of aid at scale, fully in line with humanitarian principles and according to the needs of the civilian population in Gaza, as expressed in a joint statement by the High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) with the Commissioner for the Mediterranean and the Commissioner for Equality on 7 May 2025 3 and in a joint donor statement on humanitarian aid to Gaza on 19 May 2025 4 . A diplomatic solution is the only way forward. The EU continues to support the efforts by the mediators to reach a permanent ceasefire and hostage-release deal. The HR/VP is engaging in diplomatic efforts with all relevant actors, including the UN and regional partners, to help end the conflict in Gaza. Since the onset of the conflict in Gaza, the EU has deployed all available humanitarian instruments to ease the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza and the West Bank. The EU announced initial humanitarian funding of EUR 120 million for Gaza in 2025, and then allocated an additional EUR 50 million to address the urgent needs. This brings total EU humanitarian assistance since October 2023 to over EUR 500 million (EUR 103 million in 2023 and EUR 237 million in 2024). 1 https://north-africa-middle-east-gulf.ec.europa.eu/news/joint-statement-high-representative-kallas-andcommissioners-suica-and-lahbib-humanitarian-situation-2025-04-12_en; https://north-africa-middle-eastgulf.ec.europa.eu/news/joint-statement-high-representative-kallas-commissioner-suica-and-commissionerlahbib-humanitarian-2025-05-07_en; https://north-africa-middle-east-gulf.ec.europa.eu/news/read-out-phonecall-between-president-von-der-leyen-and-his-majesty-king-abdullah-ii-jordan-2025-05-27_en. 2 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/israelpalestine-statement-high-representative-occupied-palestinianterritory_en. 3 https://north-africa-middle-east-gulf.ec.europa.eu/news/joint-statement-high-representative-kallascommissioner-suica-and-commissioner-lahbib-humanitarian-2025-05-07_en. 4 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/joint-donor-statement-humanitarian-aid-gaza%C2%A0_en.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine · Support for international humanitarian organisations · International humanitarian alignment with UN
• 2025-05-19 “E-002000/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The Commission marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation Nazi death camp AuschwitzBirkenau by hosting the Holocaust Remembrance Conference: Remembering the past. Shaping the future, in partnership with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, on 21 January 2025. This is a key deliverable under the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. The Holocaust Remembrance Conference aimed at honouring the victims of the Shoah and their memory. On 21 January 2025, the Commission organised the conference in partnership with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The testimony of a survivor of Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen was centre stage, together with young Europeans reading poems and letters of victims. The Commission seeks to ensure a balanced representation in the events it is organising. The organisations invited are engaged in the fight against antisemitism and in countering Holocaust distortion. In this case, it declined the request of European Jews for Palestine (EJP) to be a partner organisation given that the information provided by the organisation in their letters and Transparency Register 1 did not show how their mission and expertise would support the objectives of the conference. The EJP was invited to participate in the Holocaust Remembrance conference online, as it was livestreamed. Contrary to the Honourable Member’s query, Google was not invited to the event. 1 https://transparency-register.europa.eu/search-register-or-update/organisation-detail_en?id=640759493817-74.”
  EU engagement with civil society
• 2025-03-19 “E-001178/2025 Answer given by Ms Zaharieva on behalf of the European Commission 1. Given the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the measures taken regarding the participation of Russian entities in Horizon Europe 1 were based on: a. EU restrictive measures adopted under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union as well as Articles 75 and 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, notably Article 1i of Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP and Article 5l of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 2 , and b. eligibility restrictions set out in the Horizon Europe work programmes in application of Article 22(6) of the Horizon Europe Regulation 3 . 2. Article 2(2) of the Agreement on the association of Israel to Horizon Europe 4 sets out the principle that Israeli entities participate in the Horizon Europe programme under terms and conditions equivalent to those applicable to legal entities established in the EU. While any actions of the State of Israel cannot be considered automatically attributable to Israeli entities participating in Horizon Europe, Israel needs to comply with Article 2 of the EuroMediterranean Agreement 5 . In the context of Israel’s intervention in the Gaza Strip and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe, the Commission has come to the conclusion that Israel is violating human rights and humanitarian law thus breaching Article 2 of the EuroMediterranean Agreement. Therefore, it has proposed to the Council to partially suspend the Horizon Europe Association Agreement with Israel so that legal entities established in Israel would not be eligible to participate in calls for grant and investment support under the Horizon Europe European Innovation Council Accelerator. Furthermore, in her State of the Union Speech on 10 September 2025, the Commission President announced a further package of measures. 1 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-opencalls/horizon-europe_en. 2 OJ L 229, 31/07/2014, p 1. 3 Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 1–68. 4 Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and Israel, of the other part, on the participation of Israel in the Union programme Horizon Europe — the framework Programme for Research and Innovation, OJ L 95, 23/03/2022. 5 ‘Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement’.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022) · Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2025-02-05 “P-000539/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, the EU has consistently reiterated that Israel has the right to defend itself in line with international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The EU is gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and has fully supported the negotiations to reach a ceasefire/hostage release agreement. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access is an obligation under international law. The EU has been playing its part and recently announced EUR 120 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians 1 . The EU is strongly committed to international criminal justice. The EU has taken note of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and supports the ICC and its principles set out in the Rome statute. All Member States have ratified the Rome Statute, which means that they are under an obligation to implement arrest warrants issued by the ICC. The EU has a long-standing position of non-recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 and considers Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as illegal. EU positions and policies are fully aligned with the United Nations resolutions 2 regarding the status of the occupied Palestinian territory and are therefore overall consistent with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice 3 . The EU keeps its diplomatic and trade relations with third countries under constant review. The EU has been clear that political engagement and dialogue are the most effective way to convey EU concerns, including to the Israeli partners. The High Representative/Vice-President has convened the EU-Israel Association Council on 24 February 2025 4 , which provided an opportunity for the EU and its Member States to discuss the situation in the Middle East and convey EU concerns to Israel. 1 https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/news-stories/news/eu-announces-new-eu120-millionhumanitarian-aid-package-gaza-2025-01-16_en 2 Notably United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016), https://docs.un.org/en/S/RES/2334(2016) 3 Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/186/186-20240719adv-01-00-en.pdf 4 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-ministerial-meetings/2025/02/24/”
  Support for International Criminal Court · EU competences on human rights · Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2024-10-16 “E-002117/2024 Answer given by Ms Šuica on behalf of the European Commission As announced by President of the Commission in the Political Guidelines in July 2024 1 , as part of a wider comprehensive EU-Middle East strategy, the Commission committed to work on a multi-year support package for an effective Palestinian Authority (PA), on the basis of agreed reforms, and to help pave the way for a two-state solution, as the best way to ensure security for both Israelis and Palestinians, strengthening partnerships with key regional stakeholders. The PA is facing a critical budgetary crisis, which risks destabilising the West Bank and the broader region. In this context, the Commission proposed a two-step approach composed of the emergency short-term financial assistance (EUR 400 million) to cover urgent financial needs, thereby paving the way for a longer-term Comprehensive Programme for Palestinian Recovery and Resilience. The letter of intent 2 signed between the Commission and the PA on 17 July 2024 outlines a strategy to address the PA’s financial challenges and includes all agreed milestones related to the disbursement of the emergency support. The third and final tranche of emergency support was disbursed on 18 November 2024. In parallel, work continued on the second element of the two-step approach, with significant progress made, including the agreement on 31 October 2024 on the Palestinian Reform Matrix, which will underpin the multi-year comprehensive programme. The Reform Matrix, which is based on the PA’s own reform agenda, was developed in close cooperation between the PA and the Commission and was discussed with Member States. The aim of the comprehensive programme would be to stabilise the PA’s fiscal situation and strengthen governance, fiscal policy, the business environment, and service provision over the medium to long term, in line with the EU’s wider EU-Middle East Strategy. 1 https://commission.europa.eu/document/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en 2 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/letter-intent-between-palestinian-authority-and-europeancommission_en”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine · EU development aid (migration conditionality)
• “Thank you, Chair. Thanks for this report. There are some aspects of the report which we agree with, naturally stressing international law is important, but we also need to be consistent, and that is perhaps a sensitive point. I could mention Sudan and Congo, the role of certain European countries or even the EU and what's playing out down there. But I think I'll focus on the Middle East because, in my view, today there is nowhere where international law is more disregarded than in the Middle East. We've mentioned Ukraine, but what can we say about the sovereignty of Syria, of Lebanon? We talk about the right to self-defense, but if we apply that to every country in that region, then that would be open war. So, we need to be specific, and we need to be realistic. These days, there is one country, Israel, which has in the past years bombarded, I think, seven or eight countries in the region. Recently, we have Qatar. This report does not condemn that. So naturally, we will be tabling amendments, proposed amendments in the name of consistency. How can we talk about international law for Ukraine but not applicable to Israel? That's inconceivable. There is a paragraph where we say that the EU reaffirms its commitment to the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself, but today it is the Palestinian people who are threatened in their very existence, not the state of Israel. And so, we would introduce wording of that sort into the report. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner. Now, a farmer came to see me and said. Now you. You work for Europe. Um, so tell me something. It takes me an hour to get to work. An hour to drive there. With the cost of fuel, it's completely impossible. Now, why don't you go and can you take that message to the commissioner? And he's right, because he doesn't have a plane. He doesn't have a private jet, a private chauffeur. He doesn't have a €30,000 a month, but he has to get to work. And the responsibility which the EU bears for this is enormous, that this crisis without the Americans would never have happened if Trump hadn't decided to attack Iran illegally while the Strait of Hormuz would remain open, fine. But during this war, oil multinationals have been making an €80 billion worth of profit per day. This is a vast amount. So why aren't you acting? Why aren't you taxing these profits? Why aren't you providing subsidies for our citizens? And finally, tell Trump to stop.”
  Taxation of windfall profits
• “Most of you don't condemn, even support Trump's and Netanyahu's war on Iran, yet claim to stand with the Iranian people. Now, I dare you to say that to the eyes of that seven year old girl, her backpack still beside her desk that was killed when a US Tomahawk missile hit her elementary school. Dare to admit to the 167 other victims in that school that you are offering European bases to us killing machines? Tell the families of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, that you support the chemical warfare of Israel as they poisoned the air with toxic fires and black rain that will cause cancers for decades. Tell the Iranian people how much you really love them. While from Golestan to Charlestown, Western bombs damage century old cultural heritage. Afghanistan. Libya. Syria. Iraq. Your bombs never brought democracy and never will they bring chaos, death, destruction and the unbearable silence of children who will never come home.”
  EU-Iran relations
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. In order to justify the hundreds of millions of public money that we send to multinational companies, weapons companies. We say that we have to protect Europe. That's under threat. Even von der Leyen said that this was important because we are no longer the leaders of the previous world order. There's a new world order. And so we have to be ready to project our power. But what does that actually mean? Does that mean going out there and bombing other countries? In other words, there's this policy of non-interference is over us defending ourselves will also allow us to attack. We no longer want to be submissive in the world. We are going to align ourselves with those who violate international laws and who kill children who occupy Palestine illegally. Those who are attacking Syria and Libya. We collaborate with those who kill in Congo and in Sudan, in Latin America. We also co-signed the kidnapping of a leader who was in power. If we act this way, then how are others going to act? Why are they going to respect rules that we ourselves aren't respecting? If we want to guarantee the security of our citizens, we have to change our foreign policy and we have to stop waging war all over the world.”
  Disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons
• “We're seeing our companies, um, being forced to outsource. We're seeing this dependency on, um, fracked gas as well, and imports. And then I could see that yesterday that European trade unions have made a calculation. They said that the trade war with Trump could cost 700,000 jobs. That's a huge number. And if another country was to do that, I imagine that you would all be, um, on a war footing, as it were. But your solution in this report is to actually step up cooperation with the United States, be nicer to them. And maybe they're going to say that we've been good boys and they'll thank us. I don't think it's going to work like that. I think that today we need an independent Europe, which does not follow American imperialism in its projects. And it's not in our interest at all to see where the strongest ends up ruling. Look at Ukraine. You can see that there's a lack of respect for international law there, and that means that we lost out. We're going to table a range of amendments to make fundamental changes to that approach. And we're going to say that we want a Europe which isn't just following Washington, but Europe that respects international law, which promotes it, and which at global level, works with a multilateral approach for peace and justice. And I think that that is possible if we take up our responsibilities here. If we do this, we can call for justice and peace.”
  Relations with NATO
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll speak French. So thank you to the Commission for the presentation. I've got three questions to ask. First of all, yes. As has already been said, money is being moved. It's being shuffled around and there will be losers. So my question is, what is your analysis of where the money will be lost from. You've heard from colleagues whose political views I don't share. I'm saying there shouldn't be a ecological environmental excuses, but what will be the impact on other projects which will lose out? My colleague from the Greens talked about step. I'm thinking about technological delay. We're lagging behind a great deal. Isn't this going to be worse if investments there are limited? I don't know if you'll be able to answer. Um, what about an impact assessment? The Court of Auditors has been criticising you for lack of impact assessment in other programmes. Can you do this analysis on the basis of what you have asserted? I think it really is time for an impact assessment. I know that you do give a one paragraph explanation, but if you don't want to be criticized by the Court of Auditors every time for the lack of impact assessment, maybe you should actually do one. And then European autonomy is my third point. This is part of Rearm Europe, but this may not be the priority for all the other programs which are opened up. And there are various third countries participating in funded programs. What will be the impact of their inclusion on European autonomy, or is that less of a priority when it comes to rearming Europe? Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you very much. President, we all know about construction sites, whether it's Building or whether it's a hospital. And the workers all work for different subcontractors one for the cement, one for the scaffolding, etc. and a study has identified up to 188 subcontractors on the same construction site. We see it in other sectors as well in industry, in farming, in the food industry and so forth. It's become a whole business model to maximise profits, to weaken workers rights and to literally kill workers. And you can see the right here saying, oh, you've misunderstood this, that we know better than workers, we know better than those who literally die at the workplace. And that's what's irresponsible. We need a European law to limit these practices, to limit this social dumping. And we will count on you tomorrow and afterwards.”
  EU policy on employment subcontracting
• “It's well known in all our different countries that every year Europe comes knocking at the door to say, listen, you've been spending a little bit too much on pensions or you're spending too much on healthcare. You need to make cuts. And then governments very often say, yes, okay, well, we'll make those cuts in Belgium today. Right now, the government is. Doing a hold up on pensions. And faced with these policies everywhere in Europe and especially in Belgium, trade unions are rising up and their right to do that. Then we hear colleagues say, no, well, we can't spend that too, too much. There's austerity. We have to consider budgetary rigor. But what we're seeing, we're seeing now that there that military spending is excluded from European rules. And this seems absurd. You can invest if you invest in pensions and in healthcare, but then Europe will get annoyed. But if you want to spend on weapons, don't worry about it. That's fine. Why are we not looking at taxing the rich? The rich, rather than taking money out of the pockets of workers? Thank you.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you very much. I think you need to check your history in the Spanish colonial history and the fight with the United States. There were, at the end of the 19th century concentration camp set up. But this is okay. You will check. Let me ask you a real question. Iran replied to an Israeli illegal attack by bombing Israel. It is easy to condemn Iran, as you have done time and time again. But over the last years Israel has bombed. What is it? Syria? Lebanon? Iraq? Iran? Sudan? Yemen. Of course, Palestine is illegally occupying Palestine, parts of Syria, illegally occupying parts of Lebanon. Are you able to condemn this? Or do you say no? I fully stand with Israeli violations of international law. Do you have these double standards or do you adhere to international law?”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. President, Minister, Commissioner, I never go on holiday. I skip meals so that my children can eat During winter I die of cold. Heating medicines. These are messages that I receive from people. And this is the reality of about 100 million citizens who are at the risk of poverty in the EU. So that's one Europe. And then on the other side, there's another Europe, the Europe of the arms industry, which is making record profits. Take German, Rheinmetall, uh, incredible growth and profit figures. But where are our priorities under this budget? Who's going to receive the large increase? Where are we going to spend this money? Well, we're going to spend it on the large arms companies who don't need it, you know. Are you going? You know, you'll see a fighter jet come over. What are you going to say? Well, that's my pension up in the air there. We need to leave this European bubble. And let's say to these ministers, to these commissioners, that that is not what the people need. Let's tax the rich. That's what we need to do.”
  Priorities of taxation policy in the EU
• “Thank you president. Representatives of the Council, Commissioner, fewer rules to complete the single market. This wonderful market, I think we're all used to hearing this chorus. It's always the same thing for at least thirty years now but I can sum everything up here in twenty seconds. Twenty-five years ago the Commission said that with fewer rules we would have the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. Twenty-five years later we're behind not just the US but also China. This promise of better services, thirty, thirty years later we're seeing that post offices are disappearing, look at the state of the railways. Are things really better thanks to your market? Industry, in four years we've lost a million jobs in European industry. Congratulations. Posted workers that you always talk about, for a lot of workers, factories, what does that mean? It's social dumping because these workers haven't seen the same protections, rights, salaries as other workers. And now what are you telling us today with a new European type of social security? You are going to undermine, undermine all of the social security regimes in Europe. Okay, you might not be saying it but that's what you mean. That's what it means. This next regime is just going to mean undermining social services. And again mister Sergey, you're here. Yes, I'm happy that you're answering me because people outside of this room, they know what their reality is. They see there's a big difference between what they experience and your words. So well done everyone.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. When I read budget, I saw that the commission wanted more money for their private jet trips. But in actual fact, you're talking about an aircraft taxi. At the end of the day, it's a taxi. And over the last few years, it's increased to around 15 million. And I ask how you can defend this. You say, well, it's for emergency trips to get to different parts of the world. I understand that, but having looked at that, miss van der Leyen actually takes the private jet from Brussels to Luxembourg or Brussels, Strasbourg. Even when there's a train that can do the same trip in three hours. So millions of EU workers can't even afford a week's holiday a year. But the commissioners are taking private jets left, right and centre, and a private jet also emits 4 or 5 times more CO2 than a regular aeroplane. So these are things that are bad, not just for our pockets but for our climate as well.”
  Budget for EU politicians
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. Minister. You would have read the same headlines as me. Israel wants to have 600,000 Palestinians moved to a camp in Gaza. It's like three times the size of Shiloh, three times the size of Liege in a camp. The ultimate objective, in the Israelis words themselves, is to actually tell these immigrants, these Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Israel is now reopening the worst pages of European colonial history. Let us not forget, well before the horrors of the Second World War, colonial Spain had already established concentration camps in Cuba, with hundreds of thousands of people dying from poverty and famine and illness. The UK had them in in South Africa, uh, the Germans in Namibia and the French as well. So it's a concentration camp. And if that doesn't shake your support for Israel, then that is unacceptable. In the meantime, we've been fighting for human rights. We've been fighting against colonialism. But you you stay faithful as partners to Israel. In fact, privileged partnerships that some of you continue to defend. That's unacceptable. Today, let us sanction Israel urgently. Thank you very much.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. For coming. Dear Commissioner, I have a question around the topic that the startup industry currently is very engaged in, which is the EU, Inc. I think my and your LinkedIn are probably equally flooded by founders with little caps saying that they want to have the EU Inc and in the work program, which of course is not officially released, but which has circulated. We saw that you're proposing a directive and not a regulation, but I'm wondering because, I mean, what we really need is one united corporate form. And I was wondering if we now set the ambition level already so low that every member state can then change what EU Inc really means. Do you think that does it make any sense? And I know that Mr. Lopez cares very much about the fact that it would be unanimity in Council and so on, but I think we need to have the right level of ambition. So that would be my first question. And then on the competitiveness Fund, I just wanted to repeat what Mr. Ehler said on the role of Parliament. It seems very unclear what we what kind of powers we would have in the competitiveness Fund to ensure that the industrial policy is really European. Thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Yes, thank you very much. I'm hiding here behind us. Thank you very much for for being here. Um, maybe as I'm not going to ask you on how to guarantee a market for defence products, as I think the most suitable way to do that is to guarantee war, and I would oppose that concept. I'm also less enthusiastic in regard to one of the comments of my colleagues. The ESG criteria are no longer an obstacle or perceived as an obstacle for investment in this industry, because I do think they're particularly relevant, and I do think there's a lot of merit in their application or strict application on this. But I want to ask you a specific question. Um, I think in August last year, you were forced to open an internal assessment on allegations of the EIB support to Israeli companies blacklisted by the United Nations and alleged violations of the International Court of Justice ruling of the 19th of July in 2024. Um, this goes specifically on three projects, uh, as you know, the loan facility to Bank Leumi in regard to the funding of activities in illegal settlements or related to illegal settlements. Also infrastructure, financial inclusion of that bank that's also active in occupied East Jerusalem. And finally, millions of guarantees, uh, in a loan portfolio for Israeli businesses operating and servicing illegal settlements. So I want to know, um, obviously that would be extremely grave if the EIB would be involved in supporting violations of international law and would go against, uh, the opinion of the International Court of Justice. So I want to know where is your internal assessment on this? And secondly, as you are now moving ever more into an even more sensitive, uh, sector, which is the one of, of military of defense, how do you, how do you assess the risk of you becoming involved in, in, you know, projects that might violate international law even worse than the civilian projects you are now under, uh, assessment for? Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. President. The United States sanction the judges of the International Criminal Court because that is what they want. They sanction the special rapporteur, the United Nations, the occupied Palestinian authorities because she has drafted a report that they don't like, and they even sanction a whole country. They're suffocating the island of Cuba because they want a different political economic policy. So essentially, these are, uh, this is gangster politics, a rogue state. If you try and suffocate an island, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people without electricity, hospitals without fuel. And this means that operations are being carried out with somebody holding up the torch on a mobile phone in across all the wards. And in a tropical country, no electricity means you don't have a fridge to keep your food fresh. Uh, the European Union says, well, yes, human rights are important, but when Trump acts, you just, um, submit, lie down and submit. And it's inacceptable, especially when it comes to human rights. We have to act now is our.”
  EU-US relations
• “Thank you, Mr. President. Commissioner, we need to keep our feet on the ground in Belgium. Um, we, ASF and ArcelorMittal, we've seen that they have put investments for the future on hold. And one of the reasons for this is the energy price. And as long as our energy prices are, um, so unreliable, then the commission has to come up with a proposal, a solution. The solution is looking at the private sector, but when are the energy multinationals going to make the necessary investments? Uh, they only do it when and where it, um, is good for them, but not necessarily to ensure the future of our industry or our climate. And now we're seeing that they're moving to regions where energy is affordable. And this means an end to jobs and factories closing in order to ensure that we can keep our energy up and running. Commissioner, we need to see massive public investment and public control over our energy sector. We need to take this back. We need to see all of these measures on the table. Thank you.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Thank you. President. President of the Commission. Thank you. Well, you're running scared. You're running scared. You feel the demonstrations in the street. Popular anger. Because after years of non-social policies, years of supporting genocide in Palestine, years of submission to the United States. Well, suddenly a speech, uh, to try and respond to all of that. You're trying to save your skin, clearly. I mean, uh, it's great that you're here after an hour and a half, because last time you left after half an hour. But you're responding to popular pressure here, social mobilizations that we're seeing today in France, Belgium and other European countries. And I'm pleased that you're listening. But I also see the contradiction, because billions of euros, 800 billion for arms company shareholders. I mean, you're putting that money there, but it's money that won't go into pensions, into housing to fight poverty. So on the one hand, you're smiling at people, but on the other hand, you're stabbing them in the back. And we're not going to let that happen. We'll continue our mobilisation. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. President. Mr. Costa, Madame Callas. Last year, the president of the European Commission, Madame von der Leyen, went to Washington and she took her orders. We saw her with her notes. How many weapons do we have to buy from the US? Okay. How many automobiles do we need to buy? Okay. We all stood silently by while they directed us when they bombed eight countries in one year, from the Middle East to Venezuela. And now Trump says that we need to annex Greenland. And the president of the commission says, well, we are nonetheless aligned. The Stockholm syndrome is very powerful. That is clear. It's clear that we're going to struggle to get out of it. The UN is honest to at least say that they are the biggest threat to peace in the world. Thanks for that clarity. What do we do then? The Americans are powerful but not overly powerful in Asia, in South America, all over the world. The countries are sick of U.S. imperialism. Imperialism. Let's try to do what we can.”
  Relations with NATO
• “Thank you. Chairman. Thank you, Director General, for your introduction. Now I want to stay a little bit in the same area, because it's obviously a story the commission likes to tell on saying how we are the most important donor. Financial donor for the Palestinian people. Sometimes it sounds a bit like a fig leaf, when at the same time you see arms going to Israel in the midst of a genocidal war today. But we also give some money to the Palestinians. See how balanced we are. Now, what you've just said is that you have now introduced conditions on this loans, making it conditional loans. And indeed mid-July, I think you told the Palestinians to change the textbooks they used in school. By the end of August, if I'm right, you told them you you advised them some austerity measures in the in the letter of intent with to to cut the expenditure. Um, now that doesn't sound like, like, like solidarity. That sounds more like old school finger. Yeah. You need to do this in order to get a loan. So I have some concrete questions. Who drafted these conditions? You know that these conditions were applauded by the state of Israel. Did you get full support from member states? Did you get full support from the College of Commissioners? Were there other conditions that were tabled during the negotiations but that did not make it to the letter of intent? Um, indeed. I'm very interested as well. Like in this entire letter of intent, Israel, the Israeli occupation seems to be in existence. Are you doing anything to tackle that? Because there is no Palestinian economy without tackling the occupation. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “It's well known in all our different countries that every year Europe comes knocking at the door to say, listen, you've been spending a little bit too much on pensions or you're spending too much on healthcare. You need to make cuts. And then governments very often say, yes, okay, well, we'll make those cuts in Belgium today. Right now, the government is. Doing a hold up on pensions. And faced with these policies everywhere in Europe and especially in Belgium, trade unions are rising up and their right to do that. Then we hear colleagues say, no, well, we can't spend that too, too much. There's austerity. We have to consider budgetary rigor. But what we're seeing, we're seeing now that there that military spending is excluded from European rules. And this seems absurd. You can invest if you invest in pensions and in healthcare, but then Europe will get annoyed. But if you want to spend on weapons, don't worry about it. That's fine. Why are we not looking at taxing the rich? The rich, rather than taking money out of the pockets of workers? Thank you.”
  EU fiscal rules and oversight of national budgets
• “Thank you very much. No. The commission is coming along with this clean industrial deal, and it's claiming that it's a solution to everything. We need to look at three things. First of all, energy prices. Energy prices continue to be high. And you haven't come up with a mechanism to ensure that there's going to be a stable, low price for all companies. You're not coming with a massive investment plan that we're going to take this in hand, and energy is going to be state owned again. A lot of taxpayers money has been given to companies over the last years. They've pocketed it. They've given it to their shareholders. They've not guaranteed jobs in Europe. So what guarantees are there for the workers in this? And are you once again going to weaken the social and environmental responsibility of multiple multinational multinationals. So we're going to have a more exploitation of Congo and other countries.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Thank you. President. The European Commission has just issued a new concept selective independence. We will break off ties with Russia. No gas from Russia, but we will increase our reliance on the US. This will increase production costs for the manufacturing industry and weaken Europe. So we have selective indignation when it comes to foreign interference. We point the finger at Russia, Belarus and others. But what about an Israeli strategy to influence courts and cabinets around Europe? We read the US National Security Strategy and see that the US will rely on the far right to redefine Europe. And yet we see the EPP voting with the far right. And yet you are not criticising the US. You say that you want to defend our way of life, but your economic and social measures are sapping the lifeblood out of our economies. You're not defending our way of life. You are decimating it. What about military investment? What are you doing? Are you trying to keep up with the US? Engage in war around the world. Are you jealous that you can't bomb Venezuela or Iraq? What does Europe need? Well, it's quite clear. We need to diversify our diplomatic relations. We need a sea change. We need to behave very differently to the US in this world. Thank you.”
  Foreign interference in Europe
• “Thank you. Madam president, Commissioner, colleagues, in ten years, military spending in Europe has exploded. Doubled. You are talking about €7 billion. €7 trillion for the war. But with a budget above that of Russia and virtually every other country, we cannot defend ourselves. Are we completely incompetent? If the money is to to defend ourselves, why are we buying armed vehicles for design for the Sahara in 2025? Rheinmetall guaranteed, uh, over €700 billion to its shareholders. Now, why is our taxpayers money financing the shareholders of these firms? The US. Is turning. The on on overinvoicing um, for particular items. Um, that's a real problem. You're here to deal with this not to profit shareholders of companies.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you, president 100% of the Belgian population lives in a risk at risk area and and 20% in a high risk area. These are chemical substances accumulate in our drinking water, in our soil and are linked to hormonal and other kinds of diseases. But instead. But we're trying to protect these people by deregulating. Other companies don't have to even declare what toxic substances they're using and the quantities. But you're depriving the public authorities the chance to decide whether a project harms public health or not. Maybe 2 or 3 years would be reasonable, but I'm seeing here that in extremely in the case of extremely dangerous projects, we're talking about 2 or 3 months. So we cannot do a serious investigation in that period of time. And if we don't have the means to carry out an investigation, then there's maybe a tacit granting of a permit. So this can lead to major consequences for people, even cancer. We can't play with those things.”
  Chemicals regulation
• “56:28 – 11:58:35): Thank you very much indeed Madam Chair and I thank our guest for this very detailed analysis that we share. Now today we see the court under attack then that clearly is because the court is targeting or is now has got Israel in its crosses and I think it's you know if the ICC didn't tow the US line we wouldn't was towing its line the US line we wouldn't be where we are now. You simply did your duty you did your carried out your mandate on the crimes committed by the Israeli government in Gaza especially so what this shows is that aside from grand speeches on international law that have been held by various different US administrations we see there are two parallel international orders a legal international order for the Africans and so on as people have said and then there's the other world order for western nations and the Americans. Well it's true that we have voted on good tax but I think there is some hypocrisy on the European government side they're continuing to welcome members of the Israeli government they're taking pictures of themselves posing next to members of the Israeli government when in fact the government is subject to an arrest warrant and I think we should be having a detailed reflection on what's going on and I'll be asking politicians and leaders to do that. I think we need to now stand up and shoulder our responsibility if you have a prime minister who is under an arrest warrant of the ICC should they really be allowed to cross European airspace using an aircraft let's be clear here let's not share a platform with some members of government whose head of government is under an arrest warrant. Now just to repeat and echo what Hannah said a little bit what should Europe be doing what should it be doing better now I know we can call out China Russia and we are much more timid when it comes to the United States and will never really get tough on them unless they're really like threatening territory in Greenland so what expectations concretely specifically do you have obviously there's a distinction between your role and the role of a parliamentarian I think if we really care about the ICC and its role then surely there must be certain steps that we can take that certain steps that we can take to protect your colleagues but to protect the staff of the ICC and to protect and shield the institution as a whole and I think it would be useful for us to have a concrete discussion of what we can do and take two or three individual specific measures that can concretely support the ICC and allow it to function based on what you said and what I heard from your colleagues I understand that the risk we have today is that the ICC is going to become powerless and unable to function so I think I'd like to know what measures we can take that will give some tangible concrete protection for you and for your colleagues thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “56:28 – 11:58:35): Thank you very much indeed Madam Chair and I thank our guest for this very detailed analysis that we share. Now today we see the court under attack then that clearly is because the court is targeting or is now has got Israel in its crosses and I think it's you know if the ICC didn't tow the US line we wouldn't was towing its line the US line we wouldn't be where we are now. You simply did your duty you did your carried out your mandate on the crimes committed by the Israeli government in Gaza especially so what this shows is that aside from grand speeches on international law that have been held by various different US administrations we see there are two parallel international orders a legal international order for the Africans and so on as people have said and then there's the other world order for western nations and the Americans. Well it's true that we have voted on good tax but I think there is some hypocrisy on the European government side they're continuing to welcome members of the Israeli government they're taking pictures of themselves posing next to members of the Israeli government when in fact the government is subject to an arrest warrant and I think we should be having a detailed reflection on what's going on and I'll be asking politicians and leaders to do that. I think we need to now stand up and shoulder our responsibility if you have a prime minister who is under an arrest warrant of the ICC should they really be allowed to cross European airspace using an aircraft let's be clear here let's not share a platform with some members of government whose head of government is under an arrest warrant. Now just to repeat and echo what Hannah said a little bit what should Europe be doing what should it be doing better now I know we can call out China Russia and we are much more timid when it comes to the United States and will never really get tough on them unless they're really like threatening territory in Greenland so what expectations concretely specifically do you have obviously there's a distinction between your role and the role of a parliamentarian I think if we really care about the ICC and its role then surely there must be certain steps that we can take that certain steps that we can take to protect your colleagues but to protect the staff of the ICC and to protect and shield the institution as a whole and I think it would be useful for us to have a concrete discussion of what we can do and take two or three individual specific measures that can concretely support the ICC and allow it to function based on what you said and what I heard from your colleagues I understand that the risk we have today is that the ICC is going to become powerless and unable to function so I think I'd like to know what measures we can take that will give some tangible concrete protection for you and for your colleagues thank you.”
  Support for International Criminal Court
• “Vous voulez pas les artistes Russes participant des concours en Europe par la Russie et une guerre illégale en Ukraine. Mais vous acceptez sans aucun problem la participation des Israel a ses concours et notamment a l'eurovision. Tandis Israel a femme est exécuté des enfants auteurs et des prisonniers des illégales dans toute une région occupe, la Palestine occupe, le Liban occupe la Syrie. Mais vous voulez danser chanter avec les représentants de l'État israélienne la Russie non Israel. Cette hypocrisy, la torpille tout monsieur le commissaire. Donc c'est tout c'est pas grave par les massacres. Quand les autres qu'ils sont quand vous allez savva. Mais désormais, quand vous parlez et vous aussi de droits humains a cause de ces deux fois de mesure, les citoyens NE vous entendez blah blah blah, parce qu'il savez vous avez par des valeurs. Il vous avez pas de principe. Si vous voulez commencé a vous reactor excluir Israel de l'eurovision et.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. Commissioner. So you said that the European Union is not there to sponsor the profits of the military multinationals. But then at the same time, you note that the Russians are producing more with less resources. And I think that does raise some questions. And I've seen that 2025 Rheinmetall, which has had a lot of European support, has paid €750 billion out to shareholders tallies over a billion b e over 1,000,000,002 and Mbda, which you will be visiting, I think, next week. Several hundreds of millions to. And I do find that striking because the European Union is giving them taxpayers money. So we're making available that money, and then they're paying that out to shareholders. I think that does raise some concerns. And then in the US now there are some investigations going on to see whether there has been a structural fix a set up. And. Apparently they're paying for a screen button which is then used in Iran, and they're paying billions of dollars. And at the same time, this is something which could have been made for much less money. And we have seen that a few years ago, the EU was held hostage by the pharmaceutical industry. When it came to the price of vaccines, we paid 2 or 3 times the price of a certain vaccine. Some colleagues didn't want transparency at the time and now people object that. I recall that point. But my question is, do you have a specific view when it comes to the real costs of development, research innovation within these enterprises. What does it really cost? What is the justification for these prices? And has the Commission put in place any new follow up mechanisms for looking at what becomes of our funding? How are you sure that it is being used effectively so that we also, again, have transparency? And then in parallel with what is going on in the US, are there any investigations on potential overinvoicing of taxpayers by these large businesses? Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. You talk about ceasefire. Everybody in the region knows that there is no ceasefire. The Lebanese are being bombarded on a daily basis in Gaza. Children are being shot. Just see what the Israelis say. We've managed to neutralize an imminent terrorist threat. And it's a child of 10 or 9 or last time, even a three year old girl. There's only one way of stopping this, and that is to sanction Israel. But the EU doesn't do it. What are we waiting for here within the Parliament? It rather worries me that we're now being told that Israel has a deliberate strategy to influence MEPs. That makes you doubt certain voices that we hear in this chamber. But you have a responsibility for saying that is enough. We're going to stop you because otherwise they're going to continue. Send drones to Beirut. Take another bit of Lebanon and to occupy the whole of Gaza.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. Chair. Thank you. Rapporteur. Your report celebrates the traditional and current leadership in the US when it comes to international matters. Now, when I read that, well, it doesn't seem to me that we've really lived through the same past 25 years. Because if you look over the past 25 years, you can see that the USA has been dragging us into one war after another, and they have actually been putting our European citizens security at risk. And they've been creating places where you can have international terrorism grow. You've had the war. You've had the Yugoslavia war in 1999, you've had NATO and Europe involved. Oh, well, then you had Iraq in 2003. That was the destruction of a country on the basis of lies. There was the point about the weapons that were never found. And then Iraq actually turned into just a, um, place where terrorism was being developed, then Libya, where we were dragged into the destruction of a country which is now being run by, uh, gangs and armed groups. And it's continuing right now as well, because we're being called to support all of these, uh, attacks by Israel and the attacks on Iran, which are illegal. If you look at the perspective of international law and today the USA is imposing. Well, it's drawing the logical conclusion, as it were, of its vision, and it's the vision of the law of the strongest. And they're imposing that on us, and you're continuing to celebrate that. And that's why I don't understand this. We're looking at this trade. What are you saying? Okay, either we do what we want or we try to punish them.”
  Relations with NATO
• “(21:53:06 – 21:54:25): Thank you, dear president. Colleagues, you want to sanction Chinese members of parliament because they voted a law. They proposed a law on, what is it, regional languages in in the country. Right? Now first of all, there's probably a lot that can be said about that law, but I'm convinced that most of you speaking here have neither read nor understood it. And it's also a little bit arrogant, I think, because first of all, many of us come from countries in which minority languages are not even recognized at all. You know? So we need to be a little bit careful because we before we also want to go and rule, China, I think there's there's some modesty here. But I could understand this as a if it was a sincere consideration for human rights. But then I'm asking you, why did you never ask for sanctions against India in regard to the discrimination that the Muslim population is there, experiencing? Why are there still no sanctions against Israel? I think that there's a very clear double standards there. Right? I mean, there there there's there's a very clear double standard. Yes. You you do not like democracy. But what I'm wondering is, is it because you want to avoid more European autonomy? Because if we want more European autonomy, we do not need sanctions against China. We need to cooperate with China, with Brazil, with India, and with other partners. You are undermining European autonomy. Thank you.”
  EU-China relations
• “Thank you, Mr. Commissioner. I read your remarks in the press, and I sometimes wonder, is there a Eurovision contest for being Washington's best lapdog? Because, honestly, Trump threatens us. And your reaction is. Well, Will might import more shell gas. Yes. That's going to cost us very, very dearly. Our workers will pay more. It's going to pollute our planet. But we will do it. Please be nice to us. The agricultural produce. I think you spoke about more beans on the on the EU market. Why do we want to reward him or China, you say? Yes. Let us be tougher on China. This will mean increased prices for European consumers and less access potentially to technology for our economy. Now, I think if you really want to react to what Trump is doing and what you would do if you would be attacked by, I don't know, China with a trade war or Russia or whatever would be to invest in our own infrastructure. Why don't we take, I don't know, public energy companies. They can guarantee cheap, affordable energy to industries and to workers, or diversify our relations also with China and with all these other countries that have been mentioned. That is a strategy and that is what we need.”
  Trade relations with China
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. In order to justify the hundreds of millions of public money that we send to multinational companies, weapons companies. We say that we have to protect Europe. That's under threat, even. Von der Leyen said that this was important because we are no longer the leaders of the previous world order. There's a new world order, and so we have to be ready to project our power. But what does that actually mean? Does that mean going out there and bombing other countries? In other words, there's this policy of non-interference is over us defending ourselves will also allow us to attack. We no longer want to be submissive in the world. We are going to align ourselves with those who violate international laws and who kill children who occupy Palestine illegally. Those who are attacking Syria and Libya. We collaborate with those who kill in Congo and in Sudan, in Latin America. We also co-signed the kidnapping of a leader who was in power. If we act this way, then how are others going to act? Why are they going to respect rules that we ourselves aren't respecting? If we want to guarantee the security of our citizens, we have to change our foreign policy and we have to stop waging war all over the world.”
  Disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons
• “Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues. We're talking here about our duty to protect Canada from the United States. You've all seen Donald Trump's flag. The putting the American flag over the map of Canada as if he wished to annex it as the nth. A state of the Union. And perhaps Canada has reason to be concerned. I mean, Trump, you know, he doesn't mess about. He's kidnapped the leader of Venezuela. He now wants to appoint the new supreme leader of Iran. Tell him what to do. And at the same time, he is imposing a suffocating embargo on Cuba, which is now deprived of fuel. People can't keep their fridges going to preserve their food in hospitals. They're having to operate using the light from their mobile phones. All of this means that one has to be very cautious about criticizing the United States. You don't really dare say anything. If any other country does, you know, just a tiny fraction of what the US has done, you know, we'd all be up in arms about it. But developing a relationship with Canada can be a good thing. You know, if this is to help them break away from imperialism what is Canada and Canada is wondering how they can protect themselves against American imperialism. We have to. Make sure that we don't follow the mistakes made by Canada when they have gone along with this imperialism in the past.”
  EU-US relations