Alexandre VARAUT

What Alexandre VARAUT has said (3)

• 2026-06-24 “Thank you chairman. I think everyone agrees that we should combat racism. I suppose 99.9%. There's probably some who see things differently. But what do we call racism? What Do you chairman, together with the four panelists, call racism. And. Maybe you can set the record straight, but I have the impression that this idea of racism starts by trying to control migration. And the inner representative qualified the return directive as a pact on deportation. But deportation is a crime against humanity. I voted for the return directive, as most of my colleagues in the Parliament did, without having the impression that I was committing a crime against humanity. But I welcome the fact that you've come here at our cost to come and insult us. Now, poverty, delinquency, those are signs of Of systemic racism. But read three sociology books and you'll find it inevitable that migrants, in particular at the start of their stay elsewhere, are poorer and commit more crimes than others. Now you say that police are racist. That's certainly not the case in my country. And you know, I can't let you insult our police. They're simply not racist. And Europe isn't racist. Not institutionally and not personally. If I may continue, please. And you can react later if you like. But look at what happened in Tunisia with the sub-Saharan migration. Look at what happened in Japan. And you'll find that Europe isn't racist at all. Now, of course, there are people in agencies and institutions who live off this. But it is but a mirage. And the best way of fighting racism is by having a reasonable number of arrivals of people with foreign cultures and origins, and for those people to respect our laws and integrate, and for that to to be passed on from generation to generation, would you agree with that type of view that first you need integration and then assimilation, or are you in favour of a multicultural civilisation? But my question is in particular for the European Commission. Well, the Commission is here, so maybe you could react.”
  EU policy on integration and ethnic, racial and religious discrimination
• 2025-03-06 “E-000976/2025 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission Democracy is a founding value of the EU, with free and fair elections at its core. The organisation and conduct of elections are the competence and responsibility of the Member States, in accordance with their national legislation, international obligations and applicable EU law. National authorities and courts are primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable rules, as well as for protecting the fairness and integrity of the electoral processes. As guardian of the Treaties, the Commission is responsible for ensuring the correct application of EU electoral law and other pieces of EU legislation, relevant in the context of elections, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 and the Regulation (EU) 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. Under Articles 34 and 35 of the DSA, providers of very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) are obliged to assess and mitigate systemic risks stemming from their service, while protecting fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression. Risks include those related to electoral processes and civic discourse 2 . The DSA does not determine what type of content users may or may not post online. One of the aims of the DSA is to ensure that EU citizens and other persons can effectively exercise their freedom of expression online. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng. 2 Article 34 (1) of the DSA.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms · Foreign interference in Europe
• “Thank you. And thank you for the sincerity of your responses. I say that because sometimes people do not say things clearly. And it is not the case here. It's very good to hear this from you. We've spoken about enlargement. Of course. I was first elected in 1999 for this Parliament. I am not the oldest, but I am probably one of the most senior people here. So Or more than 25 years. And I know that enlargement is a. Essentially something that calls into question the majority vote, the unanimous vote. And we are always told we are a 18, 21, 28. And now there are too many of us. And so we have to have a different system, and people can think what they want about that. What we have to call into question is this issue of unanimity, and to do so we have to enlarge. We have to get as many countries as possible as quickly as possible. And. I'm. Not sure really where you would put me. You know, where I would be in the hemicycle, But. We are not a in favor with enlargement. There are countries that concern us. So we know that Ukraine is a very. Is a subject that really moves us.”
  EU enlargement