Alexander SELL

Policy topics Alexander SELL is active on

What Alexander SELL has said (15)

• 2026-06-16 “(10:44:00 – 10:45:04): We're talking about the role of the EU in The Middle East. We can, don't need to have this debate. We're not playing a role in Washington and or Tehran. We're they're not interested in what miss Callis or miss Fondelain says. It'd be better if you looked at the tasks which, are within your sphere of influence. Why haven't you been able to have a European peace plan for Ukraine? Why are 5,000 diplomats, in your service Can't they find a diplomatic solution to the war? Because you don't have a plan, and nobody is taking you seriously. You're a breakfast director director and a very dear 1, and the the external action service cost us a huge amount of money without any use. We agree with the French government, and you don't need your service. We we don't need a foreign minister or a foreign ministry. The citizens in Germany and Europe are called on to save. We should set an example and start where it doesn't cause any pain and where nobody will notice it in the commission.”
  EU competences on foreign affairs
• 2026-01-28 “E-000340/2026 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission NextGenerationEU is a temporary instrument (2021–2026) established to support the European Union’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and to emerge stronger and more resilient from it. It consists mainly of loans and grants provided to Member States through the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Information about the instrument, the recipient countries and the funded projects can be found on the NextGenerationEU web site 1 , the Recovery and Resilience Facility page 2 and the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard 3 . Under the 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, funding is provided through EU programmes adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with the applicable legislative procedures. Depending on the implementation mode, EU programmes are implemented through Commission work programmes and open calls in direct management, or through national and regional programmes under shared management. All the information about the programmes, the work programmes, the calls for proposals, and their objectives are published on the Funding and Tender Portal 4 . Information about the funded projects, abstracts, achievements of the projects and deliverables are published on the same site. 1 https://next-generation-eu.europa.eu/index_en. 2 https://reforms-investments.ec.europa.eu/recovery-and-resilience-facility-1_en. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-and-resilience-scoreboard/. 4 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• 2025-06-25 “E-002552/2025 Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas on behalf of the European Commission The European External Action Service uses data from various organisations for the country threat assessment. Terrorism (T) data is sourced from Dragonfly's terrorism tracker and includes the number of incidents, fatalities, and injuries. Crime (C) combines the intentional homicide rate per 100 000 inhabitants (70%) and the kidnapping rate (30%). Data comes from the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime and Seerist's kidnapping risk map. Civil unrest/political violence (CU/PV) data is based on the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators. Armed conflict (AC) is assessed using the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research's conflict barometer. Travel safety (TS) includes road, air, rail, and maritime categories, with data from the World Health Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization, EU air safety list, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, and Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control. Health situation (HS) data is from the international SOS risk map. Hazards (HZ) data covers natural disasters and industrial accidents from the Joint Research Centre’s INFORM Risk Index, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency’s world factbook. Countries are assessed in the above-mentioned categories and overall using weighted averages: T and C (22.5% each); CU/PV and AC (15% each); TS and HZ (10% each); HS (5%). Germany’s ratings for the current release are T: 4, C: 2, CU/PV: 2, AC: 3, TS: 1, HS: 1, and HZ: 3, resulting in a significant overall threat level 3. Germany has held this threat level since 2019, except in 2023, when it was moderate (2).”
  EU foreign policy approach
• 2025-05-13 “P-001894/2025 Answer given by Mr Serafin on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is not in position to comment on information that the European Court of Auditors decided to exclude from its special report 1 . The Commission observes full impartiality, as it does not require beneficiaries to undertake advocacy activities for specific political and policy purposes. Moreover, the guidance 2 issued by the Commission´s central services confirms that specifically detailed activities directed at EU institutions should not be mandated as a requirement or condition for Union financing. Beneficiaries decide on their work programme in full independence. To ensure that a wide range of opinions is supported through operating grants, the selection and award of such grants is based on open calls for proposals publicly available on the Funding and Tenders portal 3 . Funding is awarded through a transparent and competitive process. The definition of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the need to indicate in the direct management grant applicant’s information whether an entity is an NGO only came into effect in September 2024 with the Financial Regulation recast 4 . In addition, when it comes to receiving EU funding, NGOs are no different from other applicants. They are subject to fulfilling the necessary eligibility requirements. Having an NGO status does not entail any preferential treatment, nor is it an eligibility criterion in itself, aside from a few, very specific cases. Therefore, the status of an NGO is in principle not relevant for receiving EU funding. The Commission is not aware of findings in the context of the ECA’s special report which would require launching an internal investigation. The Commission refers to its replies to the ECA’s report in question 5 . 1 https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2025-11/SR-2025-11_EN.pdf. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/guidance-fundingdev-impl-monit-enforce-of-eu-law_en.pdf. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home. 4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202402509. 5 https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECAReplies/COM-Replies-SR-2025-11/COM-Replies-SR-2025-11_EN.pdf.”
  Regulation of NGOs in Europe · Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• 2025-03-20 “E-001187/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission In line with the Anti-Money Laundering Directive 1 and the methodology 2 for identifying high risk third countries, the lists of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are the baseline for the EU list of high risk third countries. The European Commission is a founding member of the FATF setting the Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards globally. The Commission also autonomously lists third countries posing a specific and serious threat to the EU’s financial system. In the future, the revised policy on third countries 3 will continue to rely on the FATF listings as a baseline. Under the new framework on Anti-money laundering agreed in 2024 4 , countermeasures and enhanced due diligence measures will be more detailed and tailor made for each listed country. This will mean an effective, consistent and harmonised mitigating response at EU level. Such granular identification would, in line with the risk-based approach, also ensure that the measures are proportionate to the level of risk. As regard the next update of the EU list, the Commission remains committed to adopt an updated EU list of high risk third countries as soon as possible in order to protect the EU financial system. In the past months, the Commission has been working with relevant third countries and with the European Parliament to address the concerns raised by the European Parliament in its resolution rejecting the latest EU list in April 2024. 1 OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 43–74, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018L0843 2 SWD(2020) 99 final, https://finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/f745b6e8-735b-4855-b050f52276356fe6_en?filename=200507-anti-money-laundering-terrorism-financing-action-planmethodology_en.pdf 3 Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, OJ L, 2024/1624, 19.6.2024. 4 Latest update on Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism legislative package European Commission https://finance.ec.europa.eu/news/latest-update-anti-money-laundering-and-counteringfinancing-terrorism-legislative-package-2024-04-24_en”
  Anti-money laundering regulation
• 2025-02-04 “E-000497/2025 Answer given by Ms Kos on behalf of the European Commission EU financial assistance to Ukraine follows a control framework with both internal and external controls, which includes checks by the Commission before making payments, expenditure verifications by independent auditors contracted by the Commission, audits by the European Court of Auditors on expenditure and performance, and administrative and criminal investigations by the Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. With the establishment of the Ukraine Facility 1 , the Commission has even more robust powers to exercise audit and control, which became binding on Ukraine with the Framework Agreement between the Union and Ukraine 2 . An independent Audit Board 3 assists the Commission in assessing the effectiveness of Ukraine’s management and control systems for the funds provided under the Ukraine Facility. In implementing the Ukraine Facility, the Commission and Ukraine are taking appropriate measures to protect the financial interests of the Union. The Commission conducts comprehensive ex ante controls prior to any payment requests submitted by Ukraine. Following the disbursement, the Commission also carries out risk-based ex-post audits on Ukraine Plan steps. Regarding the future reconstruction of Ukraine, it is currently too early to provide specific details on costs and the involvement of various donors. The Commission will continue to collaborate with Ukraine and its partners to support recovery and reconstruction efforts, particularly through the Ukraine Donor Platform. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/792/oj/eng 2 Commission Decision C(2024)3456 of 17 May 2024 approving the Framework Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine laying down the principles of financial cooperation under the Ukraine Facility. 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2024/1697/oj/eng”
  EU-Ukraine relations · EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• “The US has attacked Iran and we're seeing petrol prices. Increase in Germany. Petrol now costs over €2 a litre, but much of that price is in taxes. Citizens pay and the government takes in money. But actually. So most of this. These petrol prices are the result of taxes. So it's Metz and von der Leyen who are benefiting, not oil producers. Your policies, the Green Deal, etc. have made Germany poor. Europe no longer plays a role in the world. Taiwan, the Middle East, whatever. No one's interested in what von der Leyen has to say. You have destroyed our continent with your disastrous green policies and your open borders. If we want to see Europe play a role in the world again, we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Co2 prices must be got rid of, sanctions need to be levied and we really need to move back to reality. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Five years ago, Mrs. von der Leyen said that Europe would be the first climate neutral continent. You know, for years now, for years now, we've seen what's happened to CO2 emissions in Germany. I think it has a lot to do with our chemicals industry, our automobile industry. They're not competitive. It's too expensive. And what's happened is that a lot of jobs are being lost 30% in terms of Volkswagen, 25,000 altogether gone. And in the whole automobile sector or industry, we're talking about hundreds of thousands. And why? Because of the climate targets, the arbitrarily set climate targets that we have here in Europe. That's why people are buying from our competitors in China in order to avoid sanctions from the EU. This is a way of selling our industry down the river. We have clear responsibility here in terms of the Commission, Mrs. von der Leyen, the CDU position, they are actually threatening the well-being of Europe and of Germany. So it's not a corrective that we need. We need to basically vote them out.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. And this right means information without restrictions from the authorities. I assume that you all know the source of this quote. 14 articles 14 and article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU. And this is what people and the public expect. A month ago, the Commission wrote a letter to Elon Musk and saying that Musk must take effective measures to deal with deal with illegal content on his platform. But what does harmful content actually mean? In the interview, this was about an interview between Musk and Donald Trump on his platform that would have been broadcast live. This was a discussion between a candidate for the American presidential election and Elon Musk. How can that be harmful? Why do we want to ban such a thing here in Europe? Well, the answer to that is easy. It's because those who have power in Europe have. They are afraid of different opinions because when because they see this freedom of expression as a risk to to their power. The Sakharov Prize is there for freedom of thought in the Soviet Union. Sakharov was a dissident. But now you would say that he is spreading dangerous content in um, in 68. He said that people need spiritual freedom and the freedom to receive and spread information, and the freedom to have discussions without fear, without authoritarian pressure. If we nominate somebody for the Sakharov Prize, we need to use Sakharov, Sakharov as an inspiration, and we therefore need the courage to have fearless debate. Elon Musk has that courage. He ignored the letter from Brussels, he stopped censorship on Twitter, and millions of people across the world are able to express their opinion freely. And that is worthy of a prize. In. On behalf of the ESN group, I therefore nominate Elon Musk for the Sakharov Prize 2024. Thank you.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Thank you, chairman, and thank you for being here. Well, I can't really understand the irritation on the US. Strategy that we're seeing here because their analysis is correct. Europe is destroying itself with a failed migration policy, failed climate policies which destroy our competitiveness and our industry, and also through censorship, which is undermining democratic discourse in Europe. So that is all absolutely correct. And relations with Washington are excellent. I mean, I represent the strongest party in Germany. And next week we'll be travelling to Washington with a large delegation. We have contacts right at the top. Unfortunately, when it comes to peace negotiations with in with regard to Ukraine, Europe is not involved. And we regret that because a strong Europe should have a strong voice on the international stage. Us special envoy Visited. Uh, that's Mr. Wyckoff, and he was visiting, but he, uh, was, uh, not seen by the, uh, for, uh, uh, foreign and security policy. Now, we've also got this scandal with regard to your predecessor, Mrs. Mogherini. Now, we've been transferring massive amounts of money to Ukraine, but we've known that it's corrupt for years now. Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine are being acted against by Zelensky, and he is refusing to look into where the corruption comes from and what's happening. So there are accusations against Zelensky, but there are accusations against the European External Action Service as well. So how are you going to ensure that the money that's being sent to Ukraine isn't simply spent on golden toilets, etc.? Thank you.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “In Europe, there is a shortage of kerosene. Lufthansa has cancelled 20,000 flights. Many Germans won't be able to go on holiday this summer. But then here we hear from the commission that. That we know from the commission that this shortage is a direct result of commission policy. And it's. Therefore, many places in Germany are no longer competitive. And then when it comes to the global climate, we are even more dependent on. Outside Europe. We've destroyed our own industries. What's the Commission's solution? No, it's about an observatory to monitor fuels so that things can be redistributed. This is like in the Soviet Union or in former East Germany. Everything needs to be saved. Then the commission has have has over 3 billion, wants to have over 3 billion extra euros. It's important to know one thing. Those who are responsible for the loss of welfare, wellbeing and prosperity are CDU, SPD and the Greens here, and they can be voted out of office.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you. Mr. Lopatka. Expecting my question. I'm surprised that you, coming from the EPP are talking about sovereignty because. You know, for the last ten years, you have basically been responsible for things like the Green Deal. Uh, you know, the law on value chains, everything that has really undermined our competitiveness and has actually undermined our sovereignty as Europeans as well. So that's why we're in the situation we're in, and that's why foreign powers are able to play with us, with their policies, with the policies that you were responsible for. The creation of works. But.”
  Climate efforts
• “No medicine in hotels. Long lines. Economic collapse that were the threats ten years ago when the British were voting about membership in the EU. Western civilization is going to collapse. That's what was said. But what's happened? British economy is growing five times stronger than Germany's. And so now they have more money than Germans. They go they retire earlier and they pay less taxes. So and right now the biggest contribution we are paying. And now with the new deal, the Brits have the advantage of having the advantages of the EU without the disadvantages of Brussels. No sensor, no value chain laws.”
  EU political integration
• “Miss von der Leyen needs money. €800 billion for weapons. And now we've heard that private savings need to be turned into investment. And we're calling it a savings and investment union. It's just fraudulent labeling, really. What she actually wants is to give more money away, namely, money from our citizens. Savings accounts are going to be plundered. And we Germans know very well how reliably you behave with taxpayers money. We saw when you were in Germany what was done and that there were systematic violations carried out. Millions of euros went where they shouldn't have been. In fact, there was even an inquiry committee set up looking at what happened. Umas von der Leyen instead ran away to Brussels, and you're continuing to do exactly the same as you have in the past, spending billions of euros on vaccines. And here again, we're seeing all of the information hidden, everything hidden. All of your messages on your mobile phone magically disappeared. This is not something we should see happening. Never should this woman be able to invest our money. Never should she be able to get her hands on citizens' savings. We do want to bolster the army. We do want to have good investments. However, we shouldn't have billions given away by text message.”
  Defence spending
• “I will speak in German. The, um. The European. Well. Pretty much, uh, a huge amount of of extreme debt here. And the German debt is €2.5 billion. Here is 2.1. Germany is now has issues with the regular budget funding that without, uh, debt for 2026. It's going to take on 180 billion extra debt. So that means a quarter is through debt. Now, your proposal is that Germany at the same time should take on guarantees for credits for Ukraine. €140 billion guarantees for Russian bonds. Taking it that Germany will need to bear a quarter. That means taking on guarantee for 30 to €40 billion. How will you how are we going to put this across to German taxpayers who have to tighten their belts? Increasingly they've got stagnant incomes and health insurance is going down as well. How is this all going to be funded? We also know that over €190 billion that have gone to Ukraine, a lot of it was underwritten. 30%, according to experts. Given all those measures, wouldn't it be better to check and see where that money will be spent, where it's got to. And for you, if it's for Ukraine again, then, uh, not to be called upon where it's already been used.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)