Manon AUBRY

Policy topics Manon AUBRY is active on

What Manon AUBRY has said (56)

• 2026-06-17 “(09:36:38 – 09:37:05): Thank you very much, president. Minister, commissioner, can you see this Lego brick? This is the only thing left from a nursery school in Southern Beirut, bombed to pieces by, Israeli bombs. I promised the nuns to come here and to ask why Europe isn't doing anything given these atrocities. And that is why I brought you this part of an Israeli missile that, destroyed a center for people with disabilities. Since you refused to see this, I want to talk about those who I met in Lebanon. Dali, 13 years old, who lost her mother, part of her skull and limbs, and other children who lost their parents in an explosion. What would you say to them, commissioner, that the EU preferred to dilly daller rather than to, do what it had to do? So many children are injured in Lebanon, even more since the so called ceasefire of the April 17. So why should we believe that this week's ceasefire will be respected? The Israeli army has already bombed Southern Lebanon and Beirut. The blood of these children will be on your hands if you do not sanction Israeli ministers and if you don't suspend the agreement with Israel. Then we have the g 7 and the European Council show some humanity. For 15 days, the children of Lebanon need to start learning how to read instead of having to protect themselves from bombs. Thank you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2026-06-15 “Mister Commissioner, the European Union, is it now the 51st state of The United States Of America? Because that's kind of the impression you're giving when you're rolling out the red carpet for Trump and when you're accepting a trade agreement, which is completely asymmetrical where Europe is being hoodwinked. European products, 15% tariffs for any goods coming into the EU. What about goods coming from The USA? 0% tariffs. Don't you think that's a little bit unbalanced? What about our farmers? Do they need this extra competition? Trump wants to threaten Greenland, supports genocide in Palestine, is encouraging far right parties in Europe, and, you know, you're just like a a a doormat. So what about our European standards on the digital, on food? You know, there are some that The US president doesn't like. Trump is asking for everything. He's asking for everything and and absolutely the world. Don't just let him do that. So I'm turning to all the political groups, all of you across the board. You know, those of you who are going to be voting for this agreement, how long are you going to accept the fact that Europe is a vassal state of The United States Of America? Come on. It's time to wake”
  EU-US trade relations
• 2026-06-15 “Thanks for your question. It's quite interesting that EPP all of a sudden cares about European workers. You don't care so much about European workers when it's about killing our protection for European workers. When it comes to SMEs and companies, do you really think that a 50% rate for European products that enter The US market versus 0% for American products to enter the EU market, we really favor economy, we'll very really favor our, companies. I think there's a bit of, economy that is lost there.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “Thank you, Madam President. Madam president of the Commission. Madam Minister. Von der Leyen. The Gaza genocide is not over. As I speak to you, the Israeli government is continuing killing people and blocking Supplies of water, food and medicine to the Gaza Strip. Palestinians are dying of hunger. Over 20,000 injured in a critical condition. The World Health Organization warns of epidemics out of control. But you talk about peace and it's extraordinary, Mrs. von der Leyen, that the situation in the current situation right now in the Gaza Strip appears to have disappeared off the radar of the European Commission. Israel has already violated the ceasefire and killed 100 Palestinians since the 10th of October. And just as they violated the ceasefire back in March, Netanyahu uses the slightest pretext to finish the job, as he says, there's no guarantees of effective withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. There is no binding timetable for that. So my question to you, Ms. von der Leyen is. What does the life of a Palestinian mean to you? How much is it worth? This supposed Trump peace plan that some of you are hiding behind now is just a source of shame. Shame to me, and disdain. So Trump forced Netanyahu to the negotiating table. Well done Trump. Well, actually, he was supplying arms and missiles to the Israeli government while patting his friend Bibi on the back for two years.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Back to French. I'm sorry. Thank you. Chair. Thank you to the rapporteur as well. However, uh, I will try, unfortunately, and bring some pessimism with seeing a smoke screen here, but at. I don't know if you are outside the parliament. Um, last week in Strasbourg, none of them said fantastic. Yay! This safeguard clause that's going to save, uh, agriculture, that's going to solve all of our problems. We're facing this massive, um, flux of imports of beef, cereal, sugar coming from Brazil or Argentina. It's quite strange to see the socialists and the groups on the right of the House and the liberals everyone's very enthusiastic about, well, giving this fantastic safeguard clause. The Mercosur agreement to now become acceptable when there's a number of MEPs seem to know better than the farmers themselves, it seems. Uh, you know, um, this is, I say, just a smoke screen and it is highly unlikely that it will be activated. And it's trying just to put some sugar on the pill if you want. You know, um, Europeans don't want this European, uh, politicians don't want this, uh, farming, trade unions don't want it. And now it's been referred to the Court of Justice. You know this quite clearly. This safeguard mechanism will not change the heart of the problem with these imports, which will increase. And that's the aim of this agreement. But the fight isn't over because obviously we heard the commission wants to apply this provisionally, but we'll see what happens.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Now, once the Court of Justice has actually been handed the file and that they if they decide that the Mercosur agreement is incompatible with the European treaties, how are you going to justify the provisional implementation, not only without the vote of our Parliament, but also with regard to a part of an agreement that is not legal? Now, I'd also like to remind mind. My colleagues here. Now, how indeed can you be satisfied that we have this type of agreement without us having had our say? You might agree with me or not, but at least we have this right, a democratic right. And I'd like to just finish up with regard to the agreement with the United States. Now, maybe I didn't hear properly. We've just received a great slap in the face from the United States with and with the court now in the United States. Having said that, this is an illegal agreement. And so you say now, no, we're going to implement it anyway. Donald Trump has slapped us in the face, and you're actually turning the cheek so he can slap the other cheek. Now, I think that what we want here is you want to have an FTA with Australia, Philippines, Mexico, whatever. And you're never questioning the FTA with Israel. And so I think, Commissioner, that beyond political agreements that we might have and there are many of them. But what is really difficult for us to accept is the whole business about the variability of the rules that you apply.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Just like in his home country, Donald Trump is not exercising democracy. You can see how Ice killed René Nicole. Good. His only interest is power and capturing natural resources. It is curious, I have to say, to see how the far right and Jordan Bardella group contort itself to applaud Donald Trump. And then. Reacts to Donald Trump's attacks on Greenland. Jordan Bardella can you remember? Recall the time when you said that you were firmly at the site of Donald Trump? Is he still your ally? Madame von der Leyen you can continue to consider this country your friend, even though it has shown only hostility and threats to peace. Yes, it is a threat to peace. The US has withdrawn from no less than 31 UN organizations. He wants to privatize justice, to favor those who have power. He attacks on every front. And you yourself, Madame von der Leyen, have contributed to this by refusing to sanction the State of Israel and rendering the EU complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. Madame von der Leyen let us reject the idea that we are the 51st state of the European Union. It is time to stop acting as vassals and affirm our independence from the US. You are now aware of the risks that the US poses to stability in the world. Perhaps you should run for Secretary of State for Donald Trump and leave us to defend the interests of Europeans and peace.”
  EU-US relations
• “Without allowing us, without stopping Trump from, uh, threatening the EU. His threats against Greenland and Spain are no longer any automatic mechanism for imports. The agreement was already an acceptable right at the start, and when we come on it, it's even worse. And everyone saying wonderful, let's accept it. So what's the next step? Is Donald Trump going to come here? Is going to get rid of our health rules, our environment rules, our economic rules. I'm sorry that we on the left are the only ones here who are beating our fists on the table and saying, we will not accept, ever. The Donald Trump establishes the law for us.”
  EU-US relations
• “We are importing what we should be producing on our own continent in Europe. The ramifications are very clear. Relocalization of companies increase in unemployment and an acceleration of our environmental disaster. But miss von der Leyen, rather than learning from this lessons, you're continuing this headless chase in pursuing more free trade agreements with Mexico, Mercosur, Thailand. How can you do these things? This morning, once again, the European Union is talking about free trade agreements being the solution. Have you not learned anything from our dependence on those states outside the European Union? It's high time to act. It's high time to act, to rethink the way we produce. Why are we producing stuff? Where are we producing it, and what quantities are we producing to export Planes or luxury products, or are we producing to meet basic needs, to house people, to move people, to care for people? That Madame von der Leyen is the question that you should be asking, rather than letting yourself into this, this liberal dogma, which is about markets and growth. We need protectionism to allow our solidarity to show through and live within our planetary limits, build a peace economy rather than a war economy. That is what should be guiding our economies, our lives, rather than their profits.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “Perhaps the Commission can carry out a survey, and then perhaps after that, we'll be able to go back to actually implement the tariffs that were in place before now. Okay. I've lost your interest and I can understand that, because everything that's being is being done within these clauses to make sure that they're not applicable. It even goes further than that because you know, fine. Well that if you actually go along with these safeguard clauses, you're being bought out. Because if you want to push this through, it shows that not only you're in a feverish state, but it also shows that, you know, fine, well that it's going to be voted in just before the Mercosur agreement is actually signed and before it becomes official through the, the, the council. So I can imagine the, the, the socialists will say it's nothing to do with Mercosur agreement, but no, no no no no no, this is a carrot which is meant to get you to actually accept the worst effects of the free trade. So we're not going to take this carrot. We're not going to accept it even if it comes from Brazil or Argentina. We are not going to go along with these safeguard clauses. They are they're illusionary. They are simple communication tools. And I think it's really part of the commission trying to get trying to make our twist our arms to make sure that production is carried out at the other side of the world, using pesticides, using growth hormones, using other GMOs that are, that are forbidden here. The only safeguard that is possible is if we decide not to sign up to this, this agreement. Thank you.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you very much. I just want to be clear. Right from the outset, the Israeli government has violated article two of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel. I'm saying that because clearly some colleagues have not said the commission's report. I'm not talking about NGO reports, the commission report. And what is striking is that the report details, item by item. Over 60 violations. And colleagues are still saying here today, no, there are no issues. Peoples are being massacred in the Gaza Strip. And what is the commission proposing to do? Representative of the commission? Nothing. Talking. Discussions. Perhaps in the future we might do something. But 20 months now that this genocide has been underway, people are being massacred every day. Aid is coming in bits and pieces into the Gaza Strip, and we are still wondering whether we should take action and how. But we have a lever. We have this association agreement. But Kaya callus. How? Rep. Yes, there are human rights violations, but we don't want to upset the Israeli state. But we're not talking about upsetting a state here. We're talking about fundamental human rights. Because this agreement is the pillar of our relationship. It contributes to legitimized, fund and support the Israeli state and therefore supporting war crimes and crimes against humanity and human rights violations. Now, one third of Israeli air imports come from the EU and the and lots of exports happen from Israel to the EU as well. And so that needs to be clear. We need to head towards sanctions, stronger sanctions. And for Russia, the Commission did not hesitate 17 rounds of sanctions. But there's this ping pong situation between the commission and member states. I'm saying this because you're representing the European Commission. We need to put an end to this back and forth, you know, handing each other the blame because there is a genocide underway and history will judge you.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Then when it comes to consumers, you're going to be giving people food, which has been produced 10,000km away using substances which are banned in the European Union. And then you've seen what's going on in California and what has happened in my state as well. And this is an agreement which is going to further climate change and further natural disasters. How can you say that this agreement will not have an effect on our agriculture and our center and our health when the quotas are going to go up, and there is nothing to guarantee reciprocity when it comes to comes to standards. And how can you say that this offers solid climate guarantees, since there's only a symbolical reference to the Paris Agreement and there is no comeuppance or no consequence if countries do not respect that. I think here that it is time that democracy took hold on this point, and I think you can count on us to try and stop this from going through.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “I will, I'll do it in one minute. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you to the rapporteur. I know that this has been a difficult job, but I get the feeling that there are some mistakes or errors there. This report on the European Semester has a rapporteur from the Greens. And a lot of effort has been made by her. There are very interesting elements in the first draft on the impact of climate change. Unfortunately, however, we also have the usual elements. I'm sorry that our colleague from the Greens has gone along with this. I have a very simple idea concerning the investment opportunities and this would help temporarily in particular as regards climate change. We need money. For example. There's none been allocated for hospitals. Thank you, Madame Aubry. You have two hours to submit these changes to the Secretariat. Thank you.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner, how can you come here and defend the Mercosur agreement? It's the largest and worst free trade agreement the EU has ever signed. How can you dare to tell our farmers, who are already struggling to make ends meet, that importing hundreds of millions of extra tonnes of beef, cheese or chicken will have no impact on them? How do you dare deliberately expose our people to pesticides and GMOs that are banned in Europe? Because there's not going to be any reciprocity in standards we see. We're seeing an environmental crisis, and you're defending an agreement that's going to speed up deforestation and climate change. You should be ashamed, Commissioner. You should be ashamed, because the reality is that no one wants this agreement. And you're here again and you're trampling on the consultation rights of the Parliament. And yesterday, the we saw serious concerns about this agreement. The vote showed that there is no real majority for it. This is going to devastate the planet and cause massive problems for our people. Now the battle is not over here. You can count on us to destroy the agreement.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you president. I'm going to start with three simple words. Tax the rich. And I say this because these words might seem taboo. Officially the European Semester is supposed to balance out public finances, but we're seeing that we need to make cuts to retirement health care, but we never look to the revenue that comes from the ultra rich, from the multinational companies. There's always radio silence when it comes to proposals regarding going for the money, where it really is the Greens, the socialists, can they really accept this logic? We need to open up the door and have a little bit more flexibility. Although this seems to only affect certain spending, it seems to affect when it comes to natural disasters and health care. But there is money for other things that isn't money for hospitals, but there is for other things. And for some time those words tax the rich have been taboo and that needs to stop.”
  Wealth taxation
• “Um, the the far right, the Israeli far right is continuing with its colonialist genocide projects in Israel, the Golan Heights yesterday. Ah, now they're filling it with white phosphorus through their bombs. So no to war and no to European complicity. Europe has to stand by side by side with the people, the citizens. And Europe has to finally break the association agreement with Israel and that with Trump. And instead of that, Mrs. von der Leyen, you're incapable of defending international law. You're not condemning what's going on, or worse, you're encouraging it. And no word for the victims of this fascist, these fascist actions. Is this because of cowardice or something else? So do not count on us to continue supporting you here. No. To war. Do not feel that this or believe that this war is not without consequences for the European people. We've seen that oil and gas prices are going up at the petrol pump. No to the war bloc. The prices. Croatia has already done this. So what are you waiting for? Dear colleagues, Europe is facing a historical choice. War or peace? Spain has already shown the path that we should follow by refusing the war. Let's follow them and defend the international law in the face of brutal violence. No to war. As Albert Camus said, peace is the only conflict that is worth waging war over. So we want to go back to the rules based order in the face of what's going on. So make your choice. Mrs. von der Leyen.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “What about the pollution that is caused? What about those who are exploited to death by multinationals, who push the logic of profits to the very end? And today, when you make profits, there is modern slavery. There is the forced labor of the Uyghurs who are forced to make smartphones. Then there's everything that's happening in Uganda and Tanzania. There are people who were building stadia in Qatar and who have died while doing that. These aren't mere administrative costs. And then what do you say when I raise all of this? Because the due diligence directive was supposed to end impunity, it was supposed to ensure that companies are finally held legally accountable for their environmental damage and for their human rights abuses. And we need this because we have multinational companies who are making so much profit. The parent companies scoop up the profits, but the parent companies aren't held legally responsible when there are violations in their production chain. Now, the aim of this directive was to ensure that multinational companies didn't hide behind subcontractors or behind other suppliers so that they could deny responsibility. This was minimal legislation. But now the commission and a far right right alliance wants to completely undo this. And Emmanuel Macron is on the same page as them. So I'm very interested to hear that Pascal Canfin wants to maintain the directive. But President Macron just a fortnight ago said that he wanted to completely revoke and scrap this legislation.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you. Chair. President. I think we are all waiting for the Commissioner to deign to take an interest in our debate, to deign to come to the hemicycle, to deign to come and present this package. I don't know if the Commissioner is having meetings with lobbies or banks to continue to, to deregulate, but I think that we can't have a debate that's as important as this one without the commissioner actually being here. Therefore, I'd like to ask, if possible, if we might reschedule the debate so that the Commissioner could actually be present, and so that at some time they would actually show us some respect rather than disrespecting us, which they do, unfortunately, too often.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Ok, thank you Mister Chairman. I will probably take a minute as a president of the committee. I'd like to organize you for organizing this debate. The way they attacked the use of president and chairman of the committee was unacceptable and I'd like to address the proposal, the statements made by Mister Tassizky accusing us of having connections with foreign regimes. These accusations are odious, intolerable and really is a break of the fundamental rules governing our debates. You have the right to defend Netanyahu's regime word for word but we could really ask ourselves what we mean by defending a foreign regime. You should not make such serious accusations so this should be put in the committee, the minutes of this committee and I will go to the president of the European Parliament to discuss the statements have been made.”
  Foreign interference in Europe
• “Thank you very much, chair. Let me say that this is a bit of a special, a special exercise, but it's sad to. Paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter. You are gutting what we adopted just a year ago. And particularly the due diligence directive. I'm not just saying this because I negotiated this on behalf of my group. You know, hours and hours, days and nights were spent to try to reach a compromise. And we've barely adopted it. And now it's being called into question. And what are the forces behind this now? What is happening to workers here? There are men and women, children that we're talking about. Their lives and their rights are being trampled upon because they are seen as just cogs in a machine as part of this big capitalist machine. Honourable rapporteur, in your introduction, you talk about the cost for businesses, but the cost of the workers.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Extreme right. Well, let's talk about them. They spread their hate everywhere. They're abject poverty is criminalizing abortion, uh, targeting LGBT people. A knife in the back of the rule of law. And I'll leave it there. It's this extreme right that you're answering to you, Mr. Manfred Weber, as well. You've decided to build your majorities. So the motion of no confidence from Jordan, Jordan Bardelas Bardelas group is hypocritical to the extreme. Mrs. von der Leyen, you ought to leave. We see people who are losing their jobs, who can't pay their bills. The destruction of public services under your budgetary austerity. Austerity? You can find money, however, for assault tanks, but not for hospitals. Madame von der Leyen, 60% of Europeans would like to see you leave office. You ought to leave. This motion of no confidence is also a moment for political clarity between those who want to pursue your deleterious policies, to benefit a small number of people, and those who are fighting the fight against you. To colleagues in the Greens and the socialists in this chamber, what have you won in this single year of Mrs. von der Leyen's administration? If it's not just complicity with genocide and the forcing through of free trade agreements against our will. Madame von der Leyen, you should leave. Colleagues, it's time to choose.”
  Von der Leyen
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thanks to Evelyne, our rapporteur. I've got quite an easy a simple question for all of you colleagues to start off. Do we want to put an end to the tax avoidance practices of big companies like Amazon and Total, who are making use of European tax havens to avoid paying tax? That was, after all, ultimately the aim of the proposal. But at the end of the day, we're seeing something that's very far from that. In fact, if you look at the proposal from the European Commission, you'll see that it's not about it's about making life easier for big multinationals, and the European Commission is making no secret of that. No estimate has been provided on the additional tax that could be collected, no doubt, because no extra tax will be collected. And if that principle of a single tax return for big companies is put forward, well, what do we do with that? What the commission is saying that is that the profits will be shared out based on the past three years of income. So a company that was paying tax in Luxembourg over the previous three years will continue to avoid paying their tax depending on where they pay tax going forward. So actually all the commission wants is for us to rubber stamp through the way things are already being done. While companies continue to make use of tax havens such as Luxembourg. And what's worse is that multinationals will be able to show a drop in earnings by saying that they've made they have been subject to this new tax scheme.”
  Tax Havens
• “Thank you. I did actually think that there were other people going to speak from other groups before me. Anyway, on the free trade agreement with Ukraine. Uh, let me be blunt here. I mean, I'm to be honest, although the commission shouldn't surprise me, I'm absolutely flabbergasted at the way you can just come out and announce a new trade agreement with Ukraine has been signed up to. Without us being involved in any way and without us being able to vote on it. And we're not talking about small, negligible amounts. I've been looking at the detail details and we've got levels way above the pre-war ones. Over a million tonnes of corn. Hundreds of tons of eggs, poultry and so on and so forth from Ukraine without even mentioning what would be outside the quotas. And all of this are means that we have agricultural products flooding our market in Europe, allowing to increase unfair competition that our farmers are facing. Plus, you know, hundreds of free trade agreements that are being signed up to the Mercosur as well. And let's be honest, the last thing that farmers in Europe needed was this because Ukraine does not follow the same health and safety standards that we have in the EU. Uh, things are so different. It's much cheaper to, uh, produce, for example, poultry in Ukraine than it is in, in Europe. And there's this huge industrial groups in Ukraine that are going to win, and not businesses in Europe or farmers in Europe. You might say after 2028, it will be obligatory for them to abide by the same rules. But there are no onsite audits to ensure that pesticides rules and, well, animal welfare rules are being abided by. So finally, I would like to put a simple question how can you be absolutely certain that you can guarantee respect of certain European productions without proper on site controls and audits, and in general terms, under these conditions, how are you going to avoid hurting agriculture in Europe even more than it is. And how are farmers going to survive? If you can keep on hitting them down? Thank you.”
  Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Venkatesan, you said, quite rightly, that we shouldn't give in to intimidation from Trump, and we Europeans are strong with the tools that we have. We have monetary tools. And in the economic tools, we have some trade tools. Now, why say one day we need to be strong versus Trump? And then also we need to revisit the negotiations with Donald Trump to stick to them. We. Should not be giving in to Donald Trump and annexing European territory.”
  EU-US relations
• “(10:43:59 – 10:45:24): I have to say that it's hard to stay calm when we hear representative of the far right. We not only still deny the genocide going on in Gaza, but who qualify a judge from the Europe, International Court of Justice as a nasty guy. Sorry? But how can you qualify a guy from the International Court of Justice as a nasty nasty guy? I think you should be ashamed of that. The same way you should be ashamed to be here, the representative of Benjamin Netanyahu. You should be ashamed of not seeing what's going on in Palestine. You should be ashamed of supporting a government that is killing massively. And the way you behave just right now is not only an insult, and it's an insult to all of us when you say silence. No. I'm not gonna stay quiet. I'm not gonna say stay quiet when I hear this kind of qualifications. And I'm proud here that there can be a voice and that this voice is coming from the left, that it's here standing in front of people like you and being able to denounce the genocide in Gaza and asking the commission to take action. So now I do hope that we're gonna get answers from the European Commission.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “And if we add to this long list of rollbacks, the worst thing is that companies will be able to choose between Buffett and the current system, and they'll choose the system that will enable them to pay as least as little tax as possible. And tax havens will continue to exist, and multinationals will continue making huge amounts of money with the green light from the European Commission. So we do need that joint tax return, but companies should be paying tax where they are actually carrying out their activities, where they're actually producing. And it's unfair competition if you compare Amazon to a local bookshop or a local cafe to Starbucks. Just to finish up the report by our colleague Evelyn Regner going in the right direction. Taking into account the sales and the assets with the lowered threshold. But why should we push this back to 2035? Let's have a bet. I think the business Europe will be knocking at our door before then calling for a new report, just like the banks do every year with the relevant directive. I really don't think that multinationals will be paying their fair share of tax, and will stop making use of tax havens, as they have done up until now. That's the main thrust of my arguments. The European Parliament may not have the power of decision, but we do have consultative powers that we must continue to use up until the end. Because multinationals are in charge of making laws, we are.”
  Tax Havens
• “I will, I'll do it in one minute. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you to the rapporteur. I know that this has been a difficult job, but I get the feeling that there are some mistakes or errors there. This report on the European Semester has a rapporteur from the Greens. And a lot of effort has been made by her. There are very interesting elements in the first draft on the impact of climate change. Unfortunately, however, we also have the usual elements. I'm sorry that our colleague from the Greens has gone along with this. I have a very simple idea concerning the investment opportunities and this would help temporarily in particular as regards climate change. We need money. For example. There's none been allocated for hospitals. Thank you, Madame Aubry. You have two hours to submit these changes to the Secretariat. Thank you.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “And I think the worst in terms of hypocrisy is when we hear the European Commission tell us that the free trade, these new generation free trade agreements are great in terms of the environment and human rights. So this really gets me going. But what kind of trust can we place in clauses which are included in the free trade agreements, when those clauses themselves are not adhered to? The agreement with Israel, which has a full article on respect for human rights, which is A very broadly violated. So with anyone faced with a current genocide saying that this agreement should be suspended and not partially, but fully and immediately, without waiting for 700 days of genocide to launch that procedure. And finally, you referred to the US EU agreement. I think it's an agreement. I think it's more of a capitulation. It's so asymmetric between the European Union and the United States, and it's just added to all those other trade agreements like Mexico and Indonesia. So ultimately, my question is, do you really think that the question is lies in more free trade? Or should we learn from the errors of the past and say, we need to change the software and relocate to production, do something viable for our producers and farmers, and also do something more viable for the environment? I have trouble understanding this trade division. I think we're really heading for a big fall here.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “Colleagues. Madam Commissioner, very pleased that you finally made it to the European Parliament. I don't know if there was an omnibus in your way, but I'd like to begin with quite a simple question for you. Has Donald Trump become your model? Because evidently his great wave of deregulation has reached this side of the Atlantic. I imagine you in the European Commission, the planet is falling apart. Multinationals continue to profit from violating human rights. And you say Eureka! Let's get rid of the only regulation that we have to keep companies accountable. With this omnibus package, you're offering carte blanche to those companies that want to destroy the planet and want to exploit workers. You are getting rid of this requirement for them to be vigilant by limiting responsibility only to direct partners. This is betraying a principle. These are companies like total, and they will continue to violate human rights and to destroy the environment with impunity. But while we are here, you can count on my group to fight, to keep regulation and not let multinationals just do what they want and profit from our lives alone. Thank you.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “So if we listen to the commission president, we need to completely get rid of all of the main elements of due diligence. There's no responsibility vis a vis. Direct partners. There's no involvement of trade unions. Basically, there's no due diligence left. This is just true impunity and there's no impact analysis. But I remember that not so long ago, the far right was crying out for an impact analysis. And let me also point out that the far right wants to go even further than the commission. Some things never change in this Parliament. The far right will never be on the side of the weakest. They're on behalf of the money makers and the capitalists. Of course, my group has put forward an amendment rejecting this whole text. We want to maintain the CSCE in its current iteration, as was voted on by the Parliament, and I have put forward various amendments so that we return to the initial piece of legislation. One final thing, colleagues, what's the point of being here if we pass texts and then a mere year later, we put them back on the table? What is the point of us at the end of the day? Are we just here to serve the interests of a few lobbyists, or are we here to serve European citizens? And for us, we're always in favor of people's lives, not in favor of profits.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “Thank you, Mrs. Verdurin. I appreciate that you enjoy debates here in this House. So I just thought I'd mention that. You said we've got means to act as Europe. That we are an economic powerhouse. But in that case, why should we give ourselves the means to act on the one hand but leave Europe's industries fall apart and signed free trade agreements with the rest of the world? I know I know you've got reservations about Mercosur, but we've got the deals with Mexico, Indonesia, India, Australia. We're organizing our own dependence on the rest of the world. So I see that there's a kind of contradiction in your speech.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “Commissioner, what do we call a political regime where a text is adopted without a parliamentary vote? Ursula von der Leyen signed the biggest and worst free trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU, the agreement with Mercosur. In order to achieve this, you had a number of little schemes to get around national parliaments, for example. And now. I hear what is being said in the press that there might be a provisional agreement. Put an application before the agreement of the Parliament. So you are manipulating. You're lying. You're pushing this through by force. You're trampling democracy. You're insulting citizens. And you come in front of us and you talk about transparency and dialogue, but this is going to open up the door to a beef and sugar and poultry, amongst other things. I believe we we already made all of this in Europe, naively, apparently. My irony is bitter though, because you are going to kill off European agriculture. The president of the Commission, Mrs. von der Leyen, doesn't care about farmers at all. She's not even here this evening. But you are not the only ones. The hypocrisy of the far right is incredible. When we look at the issue of free trade. Mr. Bardella, who is once again not here. He has taken up the role of white knight of the agricultural movement. Why did their group vote for the agreement with New Zealand and with Kenya? Why did less than 20% of his group oppose the ratification of CETA? You are, uh. You have the same obsessions as Mrs. von der Leyen. You want to docilely obey the blackmail from Trump? Support multinationals. Uh, make sure that the poor are the hardest hit here. Uh, and ignore the suffering in Gaza. Mrs. von der Leyen has caused too much, uh, damage. And she should go. But the extreme right is not the alternative.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you very much, chairman. Thank you, Mr. Minister Damianos, I'd like to start with a fairly simple, direct question. Are you completely ignoring the European citizens? I'm asking the question, and I'd like to get an answer to that, because apparently, even though the European Parliament had a very clear position, uh, as recently as last week, asking the European Court of Justice for their opinion on the Mercosur trade agreement, you with your government and in Council, you are ignoring this and you're taking on the presidency, and you're asking for the provisional application of the free trade agreement with medical school. Now, obviously, you're going to say you're not alone. The European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, uh, is doing the same after having sworn, uh, no, no, of course there would not be any provisional application. And now there will apparently be a provisional application. I mean, who are you, uh, making fun of. This is the worst trade agreement ever signed by the European Union. It's going to be a disaster for the agriculture, our health, for the environment. How can that be implemented without any Parliament ever having voted for it and taking this to the European Court of Justice? It's very clear it's suspends the ratification procedure from there. How can you dare to ask for a provisional application of this agreement? Because not only is there a high chance that it is illegal, but in addition, you are creating a precedent which is a dangerous precedent. In future, we'll be able to apply any sort of trade agreement without any kind of vote. I mean, what are we going to do, just eliminate the Parliament while we're at it? That might be some savings. Is that your vision of European democracy? Mr. Minister, I'm sorry for my anger. But you're not above the law, nor above democracy. So I would like to ask you clearly. Are you planning to short circuit the or to circumvent the European Parliament? And what can we do to prevent this provisional application?”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thanks. Thanks, Minister. Sorry to come back to my original question. Maybe the interpretation was not correct. So I'm going to follow up in English to ensure we have a mutual understanding because you might want to ignore my question, but you cannot ignore the anger of millions of people across the European Union that do not want the trade agreement with Mercosur, that do not want to kill its agricultural sector, that do not want to be poisoned by pesticides that are imported from the other side of the world. And, um, to apply provisionally, the Mercosur trade agreement, it has to be triggered and requested by the council. So I would like to get a clear answer from your from your end. Will you request this provisional application or will you respect democracy? Let the European Court of Justice do its job and wait for the, um, the consultation and let the European Parliament vote, because once again, there isn't a single parliamentary that has been working, working and voting on this agreement. Thanks. Hopefully this time for a clear answer.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “That's a huge number of lorries, so it's very clear that it's impossible to have sufficient sanitary controls. And of course, if there's a lack of control, well, we'll see the direct consequences of that. Now, uh. I'm not. I didn't just want to to, um, I wanted to see people and speak to people beyond those, um, who were we organised to see with the agenda. So we spoke to, um, civil civilian organizations. We spoke to people on, um, on the ground, which I feel was not included sufficiently in the official agenda. We saw the influence of the agricultural industry, monocultures, the effects of deforestation. I heard in the monitoring group, someone said that, um, they deny the effects of deforestation, but it's very clear how severe these effects are. This country is, um, really, really affected by monoculture as well, which is a large part of farming in this agricultural land. So I came back from this mission completely convinced, more convinced than ever that just in Brazil, just as here. Um, that, uh, large scale industry which is favored is extremely damaging.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you, Commissioner, for being with us here today. I'd like to start with a question that is quite simple, and I think I've asked you this question already, so I'd like to have a clear answer. Are you not trying to get rid of the Parliament? I'm asking that because you have tried to get around national parliaments when it comes to free trade agreements such as Mercosur, and now you're trying to get around our European Parliament when it comes to adopting this free trade agreement, which is the worst possible free trade agreement signed by the European Union. And it's going to involve lots, many tons of beef and chicken. And nobody here has voted for this agreement. So what kind of democracy can this be? Worse than that? There was a vote in Parliament. It was a vote to go to the Court of Justice of the European Union. And they intervened a couple of weeks ago. And so I think that your stubborn approach with regard to this agreement is a double mistake. First of all, it's a political mistake and it's the first time that we've had this type of FTA implemented without any vote from any parliament. But it's also a legal mistake. And I know that often you attach a lot of value to these European agreements for reasons such as austerity. But there is a rule, a page looking at rules. And so I'm going to read part of that out. Article 218 of the treaty of the function of the European Union is very clear with regard to this procedure and the obligation of involving the European Parliament at all levels. Quite clearly, you have not respected that rule because you are really confirming the provisional application of this agreement without our European Parliament having had its say on the subject, and that very same, article 218 confirms the capacity of the European Parliament to go to the Court of Justice.”
  EU political integration
• “Madame von der Leyen. It's been a year since you were re-elected to the head of the European Commission. One year too many. Over that time, you've committed irreparable damage. Your speech cannot mask reality. Yes. You have become complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. You've taken no real sanctions, and your announcement today changes nothing. Because faced with a genocide, there can now not be half measures. Yes, you've bowed to Trump's trade blackmail and you've signed the worst Mercosur free trade deal in history. You've affected us with austerity that takes from the poor to give to the rich, and you've backtracked on green measures and you want to stay another year. You should leave over the course of this year with your entire commission. It's not just our group asking for it. 60% of European members. Neighbors and citizens as well. And we will put a confidence vote against you for your inaction on the genocide in Gaza.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you. Connor and Evelyn in particular, for all of the work that has gone into this file. Well, it's been quite a while now that we've all been working on the dossier, and we're hoping that this will conclude successfully and hopefully in a very different form to what we see now. Last time we spoke about this, I called upon all of you in this room, colleagues, because before we open negotiations on this text, I asked a simple question do we really want to put an end to the tax avoidance practices of Amazon, total, Apple, etc., who use tax havens in Europe to avoid taxation? The position of the majority of groups here, including the liberals and the extreme right. I think that the answer is no. You've refused any kind of formally apportionment based on the real activities of companies. If you refuse that, then in practice you're refusing to act against the tax avoidance by multinationals. I mean, the position is absurd. Let's look at Amazon. Just one example. For years now, Amazon has been declaring most of its European profits in Luxembourg, although its warehouses are in France, Germany, Spain, etc. and its customers are across Europe with buffet. What the commission is proposing is you could oficiales this in just model. The profits would be apportioned on the basis of the tax over the last three years. That's to say we're basically writing in stone the current tax avoidance practices that Amazon is using by simply transferring all of its profits to Luxembourg. So you don't have to imagine any particularly complex tax arrangement. All of the stuff that's currently being done secretly is now going to be done out in the open.”
  Tax Havens
• “Mrs. von der Leyen and Mr. Costa. You talk of peace, security. But yes, today you have said nothing about genocide in the Gaza Strip. Mrs. von der Leyen. The report is quite clear. Israel has breached article two of the EU Israel Association Agreement. This comes from your High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaiya Kallas. It took 20 months of systematic devastation of the Gaza Strip, indiscriminate bombing, children being starved to reach this Is evident. Conclusion Israel has violated international law. European law. However, what conclusion have you drawn? Did you immediately unconditionally oppose the EU Israel Association Agreement? No. You have done nothing because you don't want to punish Israel. But we have some 57,000 civilians killed. Aid cannot be distributed. Those that survive are living amongst the rebels, choosing between death through starvation or bombing. If you don't punish the Israeli government when it commits genocide, when will you punish it? You have no fear of punishing Russia and Putin, quite rightly. But you've not taken any action against Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu. What about invading the French airspace? Mrs. von der Leyen, you cannot stop genocide through words and empty gestures. You need to take action. The EU is Israel's top trade partner. We cannot continue trade with a country responsible for genocide. Otherwise we are legitimizing massacres in the Gaza Strip. You have failed to take action, Mrs. von der Leyen. In each day you make yourself ever more complicit in genocide. That brings shame on our continent. Every life counts. Every day counts. Take up your responsibilities here and take action.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. Mr. president, just for your information, we've been told that we have 2.5 minutes by the secretariat in the email that was sent to us. I'll switch to French. Commissioner. I'm not going to go through each of the individual issues. I feel that this agreement is a disaster. I think that it was quite, quite perilous to come here and try and defend its merits here when it comes to the method. How can you come here and speak to us? And now, once the agreement has been signed and practically we can't change the commas or the on this, we are supposed to be have codecision on this and we really have not had access to enough information. Can you confirm that in the new version the national parliaments will not have their say, and so there will not be any ratification at national level. And then how can you defend the agreement as a win win across the board? I think that it's fair to say that this is a sham, because behind the fine words of greenwashing and involvement of European citizens, it's at that point I don't think they're going to be duped. I think that they understand that this agreement is a disaster, because when farmers are really struggling, we're going to import even more food from other parts of the country and put small farmers in direct competition with major sized farmers in Brazil.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Yes. Thank you very much. President. Minister, Mrs. von der Leyen, Mrs. von der Leyen. I've come along here with a very simple, simple, but essential slogan no to war and to those who propagate it. If you take a look at the war being waged by the United States and Iran in Iran and Lebanon, it's fully illegal under international law. Especially when we knew that the negotiations on the nuclear aspects were coming to their close, and Iran are probably going to end their enrichment program. Who really, seriously thinks that you can install democracy with bombs? Have you not learned anything from Iraq and Afghanistan? These bombs kill blindly. For example, like the Ninab school with over 100 young Iranians being killed, very often it's the civil populations who are the victims, and 750,000 people and very many children have had to flee to survive, because the objective of Benjamin Netanyahu is to turn Beirut into the new Gaza and this in Lebanon. And this because you, Mrs. von der Leyen, have been incapable of holding him in what he's doing in Palestine, so he's doing it all over again. Mr. Bardella has talked about the situation in Iran, but you're on the side of the executioners. Mr. Netanyahu. And Mr. Trump said no to war and imperialist objectives. If and we've seen that the leaders of the United States and Israel. The battle is elsewhere. Take a look at the Strait of Hormuz. We know that Trump is focusing on these aspects of what's going on in the world to evade the Epstein files.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “I will, I'll do it in one minute. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you to the rapporteur. I know that this has been a difficult job, but I get the feeling that there are some mistakes or errors there. This report on the European Semester has a rapporteur from the Greens. And a lot of effort has been made by her. There are very interesting elements in the first draft on the impact of climate change. Unfortunately, however, we also have the usual elements. I'm sorry that our colleague from the Greens has gone along with this. I have a very simple idea concerning the investment opportunities and this would help temporarily in particular as regards climate change. We need money. For example. There's none been allocated for hospitals. Thank you, Madame Aubry. You have two hours to submit these changes to the Secretariat. Thank you.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Thank you. Thank you very much, chair. I think that we're at a key point in time now. We all are aware of this, that we're actually at the last stage in finalising this free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur. And I must say that I am a mazed at even the way this debate is being held today. We were talking about safeguard clauses, and in fact, the majority of the political groups have come along to this committee and they're saying, oh no, no, no, no, no, let's not touch on it. Don't touch anything. Let's leave this as it is. Let's not make amendments to a text from the Commission, even though we know fine. Well that they're not going to be applied. And then. So. So what's the next step? Give up our mandate. Close the Parliament. Close it up. If you want to close up shop, that's up to you. But I've come here to do a job. I've got amendments I wanted to table. Because the truth about these safeguard clauses is that you're trying to present them to us as if there's some type of miracle formula. But if I listen to you, it's a really a magic spell to save the European farmers from the worst effects of the worst free trade agreement ever signed. But I don't know whether it's just because it's Christmas and you're wanting to actually tell a few tales, a good a good positive tales. But I think the farmers as well are have grown up way before are wiser than that. So you're looking at the increased volumes of the. There's been a drop of 10% in their production. We can actually show the link between Mercosur imports and the change in prices and volumes.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “We have representatives from car manufacturing, from wine, the sectors that stand to gain. But we have no one representing the small farmers who in Europe and in Mercosur countries are going to lose. And that's quite symptomatic when you look at the list of guests on the car manufacturing sector, for example, yes, you're going to sell more cars to Mercosur countries, but who knows, maybe that will benefit Europeans, uh, and Europe, European population. And not just the, the, the shareholders. Uh, who, who who says that it's not the shareholders that are going to benefit more and more, generally speaking, we're very much aware that the type of sector that a stand to gain depends on what you keep in the details. And even in farming, it's the big multinationals that stand to gain. To conclude, you are aware of our position on this free trade agreement. We're here to speak on behalf of the people, not the lobbyists. And Mr. Rubin, a representative of the commission. You talk about a climate clause as a tool to control violations and impacts on the climate. But obviously, I have doubts when I look at the human rights clause in the cooperation agreement between the EU and Israel, which is not even respected. So how, how, how, how can we be sure that the climate clause will be respected?”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Wake up. Wake up, Mr. Shushkevich. In this protectionist war. Don't be. Don't kid yourselves. Because we need to look beyond this, this farce. And we can't lose this, this war. This war is a war led by capitalism, which makes people turn against each other and destroy the planet. Let's learn the lesson. The EU keeps giving power to multinational companies and signing more free trade agreements. Or as the new motto is deregulation and simplification. And we're going to destroy everything we've built over the past few years and leave it all to the power of multinationals. So yes, Europe needs to take its future into its own hands and face the rest of the world. How is it that we have to import solar panels or medicines from the other side of the world when we can produce them here. So instead of having all of these agreements, we need to end free trade. We need to change the rules so that we can protect, uh, and, and regain our sovereignty on, on energy and food. We need to show solidarity in our protectionism so that we can overcome this danger. Otherwise, we will not survive.”
  Free trade agreements (FTAs)
• “The EU is rolling out the red carpet for Mr. Trump. And I must say that I'm really shocked by everyone here saying great. Let's be there. Let's be under Trump's feet. Um we can have these non-reciprocal, uh, duties 15% for the, uh, Americans, 25 for the Europeans. And there's no connection. Now, the only safeguard that the Parliament was putting up has been set aside by council and the commission.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “So the safeguard clause that we've just voted on is clearly not going to help the farmers at all, and nor is it going to deal with the structural issues of the agreement. We're coming from a long way because initially we didn't want to submit any compromises, which means that there wouldn't have been any vote in the Parliament on the safeguard clause, Close and there would have been no amendments possible. Now we've come a long way. We've gone from 10 to 5% in volume. Nevertheless, all the criteria are very difficult to trigger, and all these measures are symbolic. And even if it was triggered, the clause would only make it possible temporarily to re-establish tariffs because he could not suspend imports, nor could it impose new quotas. Furthermore, the safeguard measures could only apply for 12 years. This is black and white in the Mercosur agreement. So beyond then at that time, the farmers could not be protected at all. Although you might think that these measures might protect them. So this is not how we're going to protect farming in. Europe from imports Also of poultry, beef, ethanol, maize produced under much worse conditions in South America. And this is why we voted against. We are ignoring the elephant in the room, the Mercosur agreement. So see you in the plenary to continue our fight.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Sorry to insist, Minister. I've tried in French. I've tried in English. Maybe I need to learn Greek for the next time I ask you a question. Because I don't know in which language to ask it. Yes. For a provisional application of the Mercosur trade agreement, it has to be ratified first and voted. Voted. Voted. It's something we we need to forget. We tend to forget here. It has to be voted by one parliament of the Mercosur. But it's up to you to decide whether there's a provisional application or not. And you are escaping that question. Probably because you're escaping your responsibility. But sorry to ask you again, if one of the Mercosur does vote on this agreement and the European Parliament does not vote yet on the agreement, despite the request to the European Court of Justice. Will you ask for the provisional application of this agreement, and therefore, will this agreement be implemented without the vote of the European Parliament?”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “The population of Gaza now is still suffering, and it's as if the 68,000 dead and the all the injured have already been forgotten. It's as if all those bombings can be cast to one side now that 2 million people living in fear. Day after day, for more than two years. All of that's in the past. Now is it? We could just just draw a veil over all of that. This is the seeds of chaos, not a peace plan. It's a neocolonial plan for Gaza. There's no self-determination for the people of Palestine. It is enshrining the West Bank Colonialization and the Israeli occupation. Putting that in law and turning it into a real estate opportunity. International law does not provide for a is not being applied to ensure that justice is done to the Israeli government, and if there is no justice, then there is no peace. History will recall your own responsibility and your own complicity in this. All those who have continued treating Israeli as Israel, as a privileged partner, and refusing to roll back the provisions of the Association Agreement. Those who have constantly, deliberately refused to sanction Benjamin Netanyahu's genocidal government, those who have kept trade and diplomatic relations while giving full impunity of total scorn for international law. The war in Gaza is not over. As von der Leyen, your complicity should end.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Thank you. Well, for six years I've been in this Parliament, and I'm always surprised to see to what extent a number of, uh, uh, lobbies, uh, managed to push their points through here in this forum. That's particularly the case with the Mercosur agreement, given how opaque the negotiations of this text have been, I would not be surprised that certain lobbies have information that we as members of Parliament did not have, and obviously the population doesn't have. So we have a number of lobbies that are often at our meetings saying to what extent? This is a fantastic opportunity. It's a free trade Opportunity with Mercosur countries. That's no surprise. I agree with my colleague. I mean, it's not a coincidence that the. That we have this type of representation of interest.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you very much. Let's be frank. We're on the brink. Of. Voting on the last attempt from the commission to get us to swallow Mercosur. And we're supposed to believe that the farmers would be protected, although there's going to be thousands of tonnes coming in from Brazil and elsewhere. This is what we normally call misleading advertising. There seems to be a number of people who are in favour of this, including President Macron, where the whole point of this agreement is to leave the door wide open and to endanger our food sovereignty, with the hope that we would be able to sell more cars and other products in South America. We don't we refuse this horse trading, which is going to endanger us and My entire group refuses it. This. Protection mechanism will only be very rarely triggered, and they're not going to be efficient. So our group is not going to be fooled by this attempt to mislead us. And we all say no.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you, Commissioner, for being with us here today. I'd like to start with a question that is quite simple, and I think I've asked you this question already, so I'd like to have a clear answer. Are you not trying to get rid of the Parliament? I'm asking that because you have tried to get around national parliaments when it comes to free trade agreements such as Mercosur, and now you're trying to get around our European Parliament when it comes to adopting this free trade agreement, which is the worst possible free trade agreement signed by the European Union. And it's going to involve lots, many tons of beef and chicken. And nobody here has voted for this agreement. So what kind of democracy can this be? Worse than that? There was a vote in Parliament. It was a vote to go to the Court of Justice of the European Union. And they intervened a couple of weeks ago. And so I think that your stubborn approach with regard to this agreement is a double mistake. First of all, it's a political mistake and it's the first time that we've had this type of FTA implemented without any vote from any parliament. But it's also a legal mistake. And I know that often you attach a lot of value to these European agreements for reasons such as austerity. But there is a rule, a page looking at rules. And so I'm going to read part of that out. Article 218 of the treaty of the function of the European Union is very clear with regard to this procedure and the obligation of involving the European Parliament at all levels. Quite clearly, you have not respected that rule because you are really confirming the provisional application of this agreement without our European Parliament having had its say on the subject, and that very same, article 218 confirms the capacity of the European Parliament to go to the Court of Justice.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you, Madam President. Madam von der Leyen, you ought to leave. You have been accompanying the genocide in Gaza by your cowardice and inaction. Tens of thousands of civilians and children have been left to die under Israeli bombs. You still refuse to stop trade relations with Israel and to introduce an arms embargo. When we're looking at the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, given those numbers, how can you look at an entire people being decimated. Children starving. Madame von der Leyen. You should leave. You've capitulated to Donald Trump not just by supporting his neocolonialist plan for Gaza, but also by giving way on all of the economic demands of Europe to benefit the US. It's been a one way street against democracy, the bastardization of the EU and accepting the fascist ization of Europe. You should leave, Madame van der Leyen. You've acted against democracy with this Mercosur free trade agreement, disregarding national votes in parliament and the unity of the member states. You're killing off our agriculture. You're poisoning with dangerous pesticides, pesticides and destroying the planet. Madame von der Leyen, you should leave because it's a fact. For an hour a year now. We've seen your Administration looking solely at economic governance, looking at large corporations who are responsible for human rights violations. And yet you don't do anything about it. Reorientate this. Let's. You can hear the right and extreme right applauding your actions.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “Commissioner, with the trade war triggered off by Donald Trump, we are undergoing an historical upheaval. And the first thing we have to do is to have the courage to raise our voice against a US president who's violating international law. Secondly, we should refuse to give in to his blackmail. Adding all these tariffs, promising us to sell us peace while at the same time allowing us to dig our own grave. We should also forget the idea of signing new trade agreements with the US, not to mention Mercosur, Thailand, Japan and so on. So he hits you and you turn the other cheek. So all we're saying basically boils down to long live free trade. Let's forget that we need the rest of the world as if we've learned nothing from this crisis. And once again, the people of the price. It's the same each time. Workers. The industries which are selling out. Commissioner. Never before has the blind alley which capitalism and international trade find themselves in. Let's finally recognize this and abandon this deadly system.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “Thank you very much. And I apologize in advance. I'm going to have to leave at the end of this discussion because I have a train to catch. But thank you very much to Miss Weyant. Thank you for this overview, which was quite comprehensive for of the European Union's trade policy. You seem to have a source of satisfaction, but you seem a source of satisfaction. But I think this is a source of concern Because I think we're heading for a fall with the current trade policy. The biggest trade agreement ever signed by the commission. That is with the Mercosur. I'll start with that. You said, and you know full well that this agreement ultimately is harmful in all aspects. And it's striking, this kind of false advertising that you're doing for this agreement. Um, you can't, on the one hand, encourage the important to Europe of 100 millions of tons of beef and poultry into the European Union, without saying this will have an impact on European farmers and without talking about all of the trade agreements in the same way, you can't say. That you can't or you can't set up an agreement to enhance trade flows between South America and Europe and say it won't have an impact on climate and ecology and the environment. If you're getting goods from the other side of the planet and you can't set up an agreement where it's written in black and white, where it says that you're reducing the number of controls, unlike what you said, that's actually what it states in the text. And then also say there's no risk in health terms if we know that there are pesticides authorized in Brazil, which are banned in Europe.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• “Thank you president. I'm going to start with three simple words. Tax the rich. And I say this because these words might seem taboo. Officially the European Semester is supposed to balance out public finances, but we're seeing that we need to make cuts to retirement health care, but we never look to the revenue that comes from the ultra rich, from the multinational companies. There's always radio silence when it comes to proposals regarding going for the money, where it really is the Greens, the socialists, can they really accept this logic? We need to open up the door and have a little bit more flexibility. Although this seems to only affect certain spending, it seems to affect when it comes to natural disasters and health care. But there is money for other things that isn't money for hospitals, but there is for other things. And for some time those words tax the rich have been taboo and that needs to stop.”
  Wealth taxation