misclassified/meps_speeches huggingface dataset:
The UK government’s unilateral introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and respect for international law (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-07-06

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, dear colleagues, what the UK Government is doing right now looks, unfortunately, more like a group of reckless, privileged people trying to distract from their own mistakes by breaking international law, rather than serious governing. What we actually urgently need is calm and constructive discussions on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol; to find practical solutions for the people on the ground, and not to play political games or to blackmail the other side.
To the people in the UK, I would like to say, rest assured that, despite all the difficulty and tension, this Parliament and the citizens in the European Union can still make a very clear difference between the UK Government and the people in the UK. We know that a majority of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly actually stand behind the protocol and want to find solutions. And we know that there are millions of people in the UK who want to have a close and strong relationship with the European Union, and we will continue to put all our efforts into making that possible.
US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and Women’s health in the EU (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-07-04

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, colleagues, in the state of Ohio, a 10-year-old girl has just been denied an abortion. Yes, you heard me right: a 10-year-old girl. The child-abuse doctor who was taking care of her had to arrange a referral to Indiana, a state where soon abortion could also be criminalised.
Denying abortion care to a 10-year-old victim of rape is not a policy based on another person’s political opinion. It is a form of state-supported, gender-based violence. Forcing a 10-year-old victim of rape to go through with a pregnancy is simply brutal. But cases like this will be the outcome if we do not stand up to the aggressive authoritarian backlash that we are facing right now.
We cannot simply wait and see. We have to act, and we have to act now to stabilise and strengthen our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy, to protect us, to protect our children and future generations before it is too late.
Global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturn of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-06-08

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, sorry, I have a very sore throat today, so I had to wear the cloth. 
Colleagues, I wanted to share with you three important points about abortion. First of all, abortion is a fact. Millions of people enter pregnancy each year. Criminalising abortion does not lower the number of abortions, it actually just makes ...
Global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturn of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-06-08

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – I’m sorry, I’m not going to take off the cloth right now, and I hope it’s okay for colleagues. So again ...
(In response to clapping from the floor) 
Are you seriously going to keep clapping until I take this off? Colleague? 
(In response to continued clapping from the floor)
Okay, then I’m going to speak against this noise.
First of all, abortion is a fact. Millions of people end their pregnancy each year. Criminalising abortion does not lower the number of abortions, it just makes them illegal and very often unsafe. Thirdly, and this is important for me, unsafe abortions are a leading, yet preventable, reason for maternal death.
So, if this was about life and health, the answer to the problem would actually be obvious: providing safe and legal access to abortion care, providing safe and legal access to contraception, providing safe and legal access to sexual education and to universal healthcare. But it is not! Because it is about exercising power: power over other people’s bodies, power over other people’s life choices, power over reproduction.
I am not a vessel to supply infants. I and only I have the right to decide over my uterus, my ovaries and my body. Until this is the case in Europe, in the US, and all over the world – and colleague, also to you specifically – we are going to continue to fight here in this Chamber and everywhere around the world. I salute the brave people in the US fighting for this, in Europe and all over the world.
(Cheers from the floor)
(The speaker agreed to respond to a blue—card speech)
Global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturn of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-06-08

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE),  blue-card reply. – Well, I would definitely say that if you can wear a cross, I think you should also be able to wear a scarf like this, especially when you have a sore throat.
The rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan (RRF) (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-06-07

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, I think it has to be said here very clearly that what the Commission did last week was a big political and strategic mistake, and I think there is no dancing around it because even large parts of the Commission seem to agree with that. And now it is actually on the Council to show some spine and not to adopt the RRP for Poland until the pre-given conditions are going to be met. 
And may I remind this House that actually these conditions are not specific political requirements. They should actually not be conditions at all because they should just be self-evident facts that everybody in the European Union can take for granted – to comply with rulings of the European Court of Justice. Now, the Commission does not seem to think that it is bound by the Treaties but I have to break it to you, Madam President, you are. And unless you find back that clarity this Parliament is going to be ready to do what it takes to make sure that Article 2 of the Treaties is going to be safeguarded.
Order of business
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-06-06

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, dear colleagues, you have probably all followed the news that the Commission has given a positive assessment for the RRP of Poland last week. And this despite the fact that not even the conditions that the Commission set itself were met by the Polish Government. 
Now we think that this Parliament has been a very strong defender of the rule of law in the past, and we would like to continue on this path, and this is why we want to have a resolution where we clearly state our assessment of the situation. If it can be in June one, I think we would also be fine with that. Otherwise, for June two. 
And on a side note, colleagues, I really think that for the debate tomorrow, it is necessary that the Commission President is here herself to listen to what Parliament has to say.
Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-05-18

  Terry Reintke,  rapporteur. – Mr President, I would like to thank a lot all the colleagues who have contributed constructively. I think it was a very good debate. Maybe we had some exceptions, but in general, I’m very happy about all the input and the very engaged debate that we have had. And I think that we can clearly see, and a lot of you have given examples for this, that the situation is challenging and that in certain parts it has actually deteriorated. And that is something that we need to strongly keep an eye on, not only in the rule of law report, but also with all the other instruments that we have. 
Because I believe that, despite this backlash, we can still make it happen to defend the rule of law in the European Union. But for that, we actually need a European Commission that does not only do the paper work well, but that also has the political will and determination to stand up for the rule of law when wind is blowing in their faces. I hope that with the commitment that the Commissioner has just given, we can we can see that happen in the future. 
Let me take the last of my time to really thank the constructive work that has been put into writing this report, not only the shadow rapporteurs, not only the MEPs, but also the staff, the people from the Secretariat, the APAs. I think we have really pulled this off in a very future—oriented and constructive way, and you have made this report clearer and broader and better. 
I really believe that this approach that we form overwhelming big majorities from the left to the EPP to stand up for the rule of law in this House is something that has proven to be very successful. We have actually shown that this is not a matter of whether you are a liberal, a Christian democrat or a green, or whether you are from Finland, Spain or from Poland, that this is really something about the fundament of our societies and of the European Union. I believe that this is important because at the end of the day, it is in all of our interests to defend the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights. 
Having said that, I hope that we can get a very large and broad majority for this report tomorrow, so I ask you for your support tomorrow.
The social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine - reinforcing the EU’s capacity to act (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-05-04

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, dear Minister, the President is right – European history will be written in Ukraine. That is why our support for a free European democracy against brutal Russian aggression is paramount right now. It is our historic responsibility to do everything possible to show this solidarity, including hard and far—reaching sanctions, and I’m happy to hear that a deal has been reached on a ban on Russian oil. It is an important next step, but it is certainly not the last one that we will need.
While this parliament strongly supports the sanctions, we also already see the negative consequences this war has for Europe. After years of pandemic, we see the economic struggle of many households in the European Union. And our reaction to the pandemic, despite some challenges in the beginning, was based on one of our strongest assets – solidarity.
With the Next Generation EU fund we managed to show that we can stand together in times of crisis, and the same – and probably more – is needed now because we all know what Putin is trying to do. He’s trying to divide us, to play Member State against Member States and to count that the social hardship that we will face will dry out our firm support for Ukraine. Putin is trying to divide Europe, to divide our societies. He is counting on our inability to manage this great challenge together. 
We cannot colleagues, and we will not, let him succeed in this. Let us show that we will face this challenge together, the east and the west of Europe, the north and the south. Let us show that all that he is succeeding in will be to revive the European social model, the promise of a European Union where nobody will be left behind. For that, we will need joint efforts, investments, a solidarity fund to balance out the social inequality. And we will have to proceed in creating a real social safety net on the European level by finally introducing a European minimum wage, closing the gender pay gap and, yes, also a European minimum income. 
This continent is weakest when it is divided and strongest when it is united. Let us be united against Putin!
Ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-04-06

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, brave people in Ukraine are fighting right now in a brutal war, also to defend freedom and democracy. Ukrainian citizens are fighting for their right to live in a democratic system where the separation of powers means something, where fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary will be safeguarded. Women are fighting for their own self-determination. LGBTI people are fighting for their fundamental right to be who they are. 
A record 91% of Ukrainians are supporting the accession to the European Union. Why is that? Because they believe in the values outlined in Article 2 of our Treaties. Because despite the setbacks and the shortcomings that we clearly see in the European Union, apparently we still stand for a promise of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights. I urge you, colleagues, let us live up to this promise also by being tough about democracy and rule of law inside our own Union. 
And this does not only need a vocal European Parliament, this most of all also needs Member States to open their mouths and to stand up for the rule of law and democracy. So I can only call on the French Presidency to move on with the Article 7 procedure, not only by hearings, because the next step is very clear. We need binding recommendations with clear timelines to protect the rule of law and fundamental rights inside of our common Union.
The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-03-08

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, yesterday I arrived at the main station in Berlin and, when I walked up the stairs, just like in so many other places in Europe right now, I could already see the stalls, the info desks and the many, many volunteers in their neon vests who were welcoming refugees there. And I could see the people, many of them loaded with bags, a lot of children indeed, who had arrived with tired faces, exhausted from a long journey, anxious and worried. And I thought to myself, is it not that in these tired and exhausted faces, we can actually see the meaning of this Union? In these faces – and I want to say it very clearly – no matter whether their skin is white, brown or black, no matter whether their gender actually matches the markers in their documents, in these faces, the promises of this Union are reflected because this Union was built to create peace. This Union was built to defend humanity, freedom and democracy, and this Union was built to defend the rule of law against the law of the ruler. Let us live up to these promises. We have failed so many people before. Let us not fail again. Not now and not in the future.
The Rule of Law and the consequences of the ECJ ruling (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-02-16

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. No secret agenda, no additional obligation, just plain and simple, what all Member States agreed on; in fact, what makes the European Union. Yes, the European Union is not just a single market, but a Union of values, and this applies to all aspects of this Union, including the budget. For me, it is hard to understand that people don’t get that. 
This fundament is not only a clear commitment and promise between the Member States, but it is first and foremost a commitment and promise to our citizens. And whether you live in Finland, in Spain, in Poland or in Ireland, you have to be able to fully rely on that and you have to know that the EU institutions will defend this. 
The Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end. It shall ensure the application of the Treaties and of measures adopted by the institutions pursuant to them. You are the guardians of the Treaties. But right now you look more like the masterminds of delaying tactics and avoiding responsibility, Mr Commissioner. Now you come back with guidelines. Now, after these many months. Power comes with responsibility and you are neglecting this responsibility. You are failing, not only in the duties that stem from the Treaties, but you are failing millions of EU citizens that have put trust in you, that count on you. The European Parliament cannot and will not let that stand. We have to do something. And that will also mean considering the postponement of the discharge of the Commission until you no longer fail the responsibility to protect this Union and its citizens.
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the European Union (topical debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-01-20

  Terry Reintke,  im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Herr Staatssekretär, bienvenue au Parlement européen! Frau Kommissarin, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Seit Jahren erleben wir massive Angriffe auf das sexuelle Selbstbestimmungsrecht in Europa – ein autoritärer Backlash, der versucht, uns unser Recht auf unseren eigenen Körper streitig zu machen.
Aber neben all diesen Angriffen gibt es auch Licht in der Dunkelheit, und das nicht nur in Irland, sondern endlich auch in Deutschland. Ich will es hier noch einmal sehr klar sagen, weil ich sehr häufig auf Überraschung und Unverständnis treffe, wenn ich das erkläre – gerade französischen Kolleginnen und Kollegen: In Deutschland sind Schwangerschaftsabbrüche nach wie vor im Strafgesetzbuch geregelt. Abtreibung ist nur unter bestimmten Vorbedingungen straffrei, aber immer noch nicht entkriminalisiert. Bisher können Ärztinnen und Ärzte sogar dafür belangt werden, wenn sie auch nur Informationen über Schwangerschaftsabbrüche auf ihren Webseiten veröffentlichen. Dieses Informationsverbot, der Paragraf 219a, wurde 1933 von den Nazis wieder eingeführt. Was dahintersteckte, können sich viele wahrscheinlich denken.
Jetzt – diese Woche – endlich, endlich, endlich, nach vielen Jahren des harten Kampfes – ist die ersatzlose Streichung des Paragrafen 219a endlich angestoßen worden. Das ist natürlich nicht der letzte Schritt auf einem langen Weg, aber ich finde, es ist trotzdem ein wichtiges Signal, denn die Debatte um sexuelle und reproduktive Rechte in Deutschland hinkt vielen anderen EU-Mitgliedstaaten weit hinterher. Wir brauchen endlich wieder Fortschritt, was sexuelle Selbstbestimmung in Europa angeht, denn seit Jahren kämpfen wir, wenn wir ehrlich sind, häufig einen Abwehrkampf. Dabei muss Ziel feministischer Bewegungen doch sein, vorwärts zu kommen.
Deshalb: Danke an die vielen Aktivistinnen und Aktivisten, an die Ärztinnen und Ärzte, allen voran Kristina Hänel, den Juristinnen und Juristen und den vielen, vielen anderen Menschen, die sich unermüdlich für die Streichung dieses Paragrafen eingesetzt haben. Seid euch gewiss, dieses Parlament steht ganz klar an eurer Seite! Jetzt muss es weitergehen, bis die alten Demosprüche endlich überall in Europa Realität werden: „Mein Bauch gehört mir“, „Mein Körper – meine Entscheidung“.
MeToo and harassment – the consequences for the EU institutions (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-12-16

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, ‘Me Too, yes, also I have been sexually harassed’. These were the words I started my speech with four years ago. When reports of sexual harassment also from inside of this house came to the surface, when millions broke the silence of what had been considered something you just have to be able to deal with beforehand. And yes, Me Too did change a lot.
We now have a completely different conversation from what we had four years ago, but it did not change enough. Still, cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault and not taken seriously. Still, conviction rates, even of rape, are ridiculously low.
And we have a backlash against women’s rights in full swing. And also here in this Parliament, our common House of European Democracy, issues have been talked down and urgently needed measures have still not been implemented. Like, for example, mandatory trainings or a fully independent audit of the situation.
The European Parliament indeed stands for more than just itself. The fact that the Presidents of this House have still not managed to implement all of these reforms is simply a shame. I was told back then that I would damage the reputation of the European Parliament if I spoke up too loud and too clear about the problems with sexual harassment and the necessary reforms in this Parliament.
Well, here’s the thing: neither I nor the many women who raised their voices about sexual harassment or were damaging this House; quite the opposite. It is the people who have covered this up. The people who slowed down the process of changing things who are damaging this Parliament. But here’s to you. Time’s up.
State of play of the RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-12-15

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, an illegitimate constitutional tribunal that undermines fundamental rights, that attacks the primacy of EU law, and that now declared that the right to a fair trial, as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights, does not apply to Polish citizens. Judges being suspended for applying EU law. Prosecutors moved to the other end of the country simply for doing their job.
I mean, it is pretty obvious by now that Poland does not have a functional independent judiciary any more, and the Commission obviously knows all this. It must, because otherwise it would already have greenlighted the RRF funds going to Poland. 
The big question remains. If an independent judiciary is a precondition for receiving RRF funding, why does this not apply to all EU funding? Why has the European Commission not yet triggered the rule of law conditionality? I guess that it is because the European Council a while ago wrote something into some document.
Let me remind you of this, Commissioner. Not the European Council, it’s the EU institutions supervising the Commission. It is this House, the European Parliament.
Plans to undermine further fundamental rights in Poland, in particular regarding the standards of the European Convention of Human Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-12-15

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, patriarchy has always hated women. That is why we had to fight for every single millimetre to have control over our own bodies. That is why we still have to waste so much energy just to get what should actually be obvious: our body, our rights. Let us be clear: this whole debate has nothing to do with avoiding abortions. It is all about controlling women’s bodies. It is about the exercise of power. 
The latest proposals in Poland again speak volumes about this. The battle over our bodies and our lives is on again, unfortunately, and we can already see the consequences. Two women died in Poland just this year. We can already see the chilling effect it has on doctors who did not perform abortions despite the fact that the foetuses were dying, posing a threat to the women’s lives. We will never be silent about tragedies like this, no matter how long it takes. We stand with everyone who defends freedom and fundamental rights.
European framework for employees' participation rights and the revision of the European Works Council Directive (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-12-14

  Terry Reintke,  im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Rechte Parteien stellen sich gerne als die Stimme der kleinen Leute dar: gegen die abgehobenen Bürokraten in Brüssel und die hippe Großstadtschickeria. 
Aber wenn die kleinen Leute selber eine Stimme haben sollen, wenn Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer an den riesigen Transformationsentscheidungen der Wirtschaft, die jetzt gerade vor uns stehen, beteiligt werden sollen, dann hören wir plötzlich ganz andere Töne. Immer noch haben viele Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer keine oder nur beschränkte Möglichkeit, wirklich Einfluss auf Unternehmensentscheidungen zu nehmen. 
Dabei müssen wir gerade in Umbruchphasen wie jetzt alle mitnehmen. Dafür ist es zentral, Demokratie am Arbeitsplatz EU-weit zu stärken. Anstatt Menschen das Märchen zu erzählen, dass einfach alles so bleibt, wie es gerade ist, müssen sie besser eingebunden werden. Über umfassende Informations-, Konsultations- und Mitentscheidungsrechte – in Betriebsräten und in Führungsgremien. 
Wir stehen vor massiven Umbrüchen in der Art, wie wir arbeiten und produzieren. Digitalisierungsprozesse, aber auch der Klimawandel werden unsere Gesellschaft und Arbeitswelt einschneidend verändern. Und: Nein, Klimaschutz und gute, verlässliche Arbeitsplätze sind natürlich nicht unvereinbar, ganz im Gegenteil. Die Transformation hin zu einer nachhaltigen Wirtschaft schafft neue Arbeitsplätze, gerade im Industriesektor. Aber: Ja, das geht nur mit Veränderung und Umstrukturierung. Und genau daran müssen Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer umfassend beteiligt werden. Und dabei kann und muss die Europäische Union eine Rolle spielen und Rahmen schaffen, gerade wenn es um grenzüberschreitende Mitbestimmung geht. 
Und last, but not least: Dabei sollten natürlich alle Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer einbezogen werden, und nicht nur die Hälfte von ihnen. Genau deshalb haben wir uns in diesem Bericht für Geschlechterparität eingesetzt, weil Frauen in der Politik, aber natürlich genauso in der Arbeitswelt, die Hälfte der Macht verdienen. 
Ich danke der Berichterstatterin für die gute Zusammenarbeit. Herr Kommissar, wir können viel tun für ein sozialeres Europa, für Demokratie und Mitbestimmung am Arbeitsplatz: „let's do this“.
The Rule of law crisis in Poland and the primacy of EU law (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-10-19

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, dear Prime Minister, dear colleagues, dear Commission President. Mr Morawiecki, despite what you have been saying today, I must admit that I have to ask myself the question after what happened in Poland in the last weeks and months, whether on 7 October, when this ruling was proclaimed by the Constitutional Tribunal, you actually did not secretly open a bottle of champagne together with Vladimir Putin. Because seriously, when I look at the situation, political vision and political agenda, I see a lot of similarities between Putin and what your government is doing.
What you are trying to do is to convert Poland into an authoritarian state with weak democratic institutions and weak enforcement of fundamental rights of its citizens. And you seem to be sharing another political aim with Vladimir Putin. And that is a weak and disunited European Union.
But let me break it to you, let me break it to you. The majority of the Polish citizens disagrees with you. The majority of the Polish citizens – and they have shown that beautifully last weekend – they want to live in a strong Poland, in a strong European Union based on rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy. And we salute these people in Poland.
And it shouldn’t be here in the European Parliament that this is addressed to you. It should be you, Mr Prime Minister, who speaks to your citizens, who speaks to your judges – some of them I hear on the tribune today – to your prosecutors, to your civil society organisations, speak to them and listen to them. They want to live in a country based on rule of law, with an independence of the judiciary, with separation of powers and with fundamental rights.
And I must say I find it unbearably painful sometimes to say so many obvious things again and again in these debates. But yes, obviously, Polish citizens are EU citizens and they are protected by EU law, and it is not a nice-to-have luxury for the European Commission to protect their rights. It is the duty of the European Commission to protect their rights.
And lastly, I would like to say one thing, because I think this has been confused a lot in this debate. There is no conflict. There is no disagreement between the Polish Constitution and the EU treaties on the subject matter that we are debating, on rule of law and separation of power or the independence of the judiciary. They are completely in line there.
So please, Mr Prime Minister, bring Poland back on a path to rule of law, implement the ECJ rulings as demanded and do what your citizens demand you to do: bring Poland back really to the heart of Europe.
The state law relating to abortion in Texas, USA
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-10-07

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, a couple of years ago, I watched a documentary, it’s called ‘Trapped’, and actually, I recommend you watch it too. It’s about the situation of access to abortion in the US, and this was from before these kind of laws were passed.
And there is one scene that I will never forget, it is a healthcare worker describing the situation, when a woman is calling the abortion clinic that she’s working in. And this woman says: I’m pregnant. Nobody can know. I cannot come to the clinic right now, it’s too far away. I don’t have enough money, but I can tell you what I have in my kitchen cabinet. And then can you help me to perform an abortion over the phone?
This situation is something that we will see happen again if we do not make sure that there is access to abortion across the board. This law in Texas, and none of the crazy laws that have been passed over the last years, will actually prevent abortions from happening; what these laws prevent from happening are safe and legal abortion. And this is why we have to make clear that laws like this are called what they are: they are barbaric, and they are putting women in exactly these situations.
And some of you might say, well, OK, this is happening far away, this is happening in the US, they don’t have their religious fundamentalists under control. Well, look at the situation in Europe. Look at what has happened over the last years. We have exactly the same problems here. So, we need to have global solidarity in defence of women’s rights, in defence of sexual and reproductive rights – our bodies, our rights – everywhere in the world.
The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-10-05

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, what is the most powerful weapon that dictators and autocrats have? It is not the tear gas they use or the water cannons, or even the machine guns of their brutal police forces. It is oblivion. People like Lukashenko want us to stop caring. They want us after months and months and months to turn a blind eye, to look away and not look at what is happening in Belarus anymore. 
Maria Kolesnikova was illegally detained more than a year ago. Last month, she was illegally convicted, once again, to 11 years in prison. Maria is 39 years old. If this madness is not going to be stopped, she’s going to be 50 by the time that this sentence is over, and even if our message today cannot reach her directly right now, as she is in prison, let us make sure that it’s going to reach Lukashenko. This Parliament will not stop caring. This Parliament is not going to look away, and this Parliament is not going to forget what has happened in Belarus. We will continue to stand in solidarity with the democratic opposition in Belarus.
Media freedom and further deterioration of the Rule of law in Poland (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-09-15

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, Igor Tuleya, Ewa Wrzosek,  Beata Morawiec: these are just three of the many people who have been targeted by the Polish Government over the past years. They were targeted because they were trying to defend rule of law, democracy, media freedom and fundamental rights. They were targeted because they were trying to defend EU values, EU law and everything that the EU stands for. They very clearly show that the rule of law, the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary are not abstract concepts. Behind these concepts there are stories of people. They have names, they have faces and their life realities are at stake here as well.
These people were in the forefront of the struggle for the rule of law. They stood up to defend EU values in Poland and, when they became targets, they waited for a determined response from the European Union. They waited and they waited some more. They were dragged in front of unlawful courts. They were the targets of smear campaigns, of hate and of threats. After waiting and waiting and waiting, finally – finally – the Commission seems to have changed its mind and is ready for more decisive action right now. 
From now on, the stories of the people who stood up for EU values, their names and their struggles, should be at the centre of the EU’s response because this is not an abstract battle of lawyers. The struggle for rule of law matters in every single citizen’s life, and the people who defended our rights and our freedoms deserve not only our solidarity, they deserve our praise and our protection.
Identifying gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in Article 83(1) TFEU (continuation of debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-09-15

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Frau Präsidentin! Jeden Tag versucht ein Mann in Deutschland, seine Partnerin oder Ex-Partnerin umzubringen. Jeden dritten Tag passiert es. Jeden dritten Tag findet allein in Deutschland ein Femizid statt. Das sind keine Familiendramen oder gar Morde aus Liebe. Das sind brutale patriarchale Verbrechen, die nicht vom Himmel fallen, sondern gedeihen, in einer Gesellschaft, in der Frauen immer noch ständigem Sexismus und Gewalt ausgesetzt sind. 
Ich bin vor sieben Jahren in dieses Parlament gewählt worden, und ich kann nicht mehr zählen, wie oft ich seitdem gehört habe: Ja, Gewalt gegen Frauen, das sei ja schlimm, aber nicht Aufgabe der Europäischen Union, dagegen vorzugehen. Die Zeit der Ausflüchte muss einfach vorbei sein. Wer Gleichberechtigung will, das Gleichheitsversprechen der Europäischen Union wirklich ernst nimmt, der weiß doch ganz genau: Gleiche Rechte sind reine Illusion, solange wir diesem Flächenbrand der Gewalt gegen Frauen nicht Einhalt gebieten. Und dafür brauchen wir die volle Umsetzung der Istanbul-Konvention, eine EU—Richtlinie gegen geschlechtsbasierte Gewalt. Und ja, wir brauchen auch endlich Regierungen in den Mitgliedstaaten, die dieses Problem ernst nehmen und konkret angehen.
Breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary as a result of the adopted legal changes in the Hungarian Parliament - The outcome of 22 June hearings under Article 7(1) of the TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-07-07

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, Minister, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, when I wake up next to my girlfriend in the morning and I’m filled with happiness and gratitude, I sometimes ask myself, how can you hate that the two of us love each other? When I see beautiful pictures from gay weddings I ask myself, how can you hate this kind of joy? And when I see a young trans person living a life as their true, authentic self, I ask myself, how can you hate someone just for wanting to be who they are? 
In Europe today we are faced with a choice, a choice between a Europe of freedom, of equality and diversity, where I can love and care for my girlfriend, where two men can get married and where a young trans woman can live her life without being afraid of violence or discrimination. And a Europe of hatred and oppression, driven by Orbán and Kaczyński and other people on this continent, where governments sponsor homophobic campaigns to cover up their systemic corruption, where our community is used as a distraction from the blatant failures of government politics. 
Now some of you might say, well, but this is only affecting a small part of the population because you are after all only a minority. But actually this is not true. It affects all of us. All of our freedoms are at stake here. And they might attack us first and in the most aggressive way but in the end this is about freedom of expression for all of us. This is about the fundamental rights of all of us, and this is about democratic principles for all of us. 
And between a Europe of freedom and a Europe of hatred and oppression, the choice is very clear. We choose freedom, we choose equality, we choose democracy. And we choose a European Commission that will stand up for this freedom, for the freedom of trans people in Hungary, for the freedom of judges in Poland, for the freedom of everyone in the European Union to love who they want to love and to be who they are.
(Applause)
The creation of guidelines for the application of the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-07-06

  Terry Reintke,  rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. – Mr President, Parliament has again and again been pretty clear. First of all, the development of these guidelines for the regulation is actually not necessary as it is sufficiently clear as it stands. Secondly, the guidelines presented by the Commission unfortunately have little, or very little, additional value to clarification. Thirdly – and I must say this, Commissioner – suspicion is actually high that the Commission is fully aware of this, but presented these guidelines anyway to buy some time.
Commissioner, I must say that I think we really need to end these theatre plays. We don’t need more delaying tactics, and we don’t need statements or Commissioners being very concerned about the situation of the rule of law in the European Union. We need action, and it is not me saying it. Check the committee votes. Apart from the far right in this Parliament, all groups agree. So, Commissioner, take this as a strong appeal. I can only support my colleagues in saying, come back from the summer break with a strong case on the basis of this regulation.
Order of business
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-06-23

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, I would like to present a point of order on the basis of Rule 39. 
Colleagues, you have probably been following the debate that has arisen over the past days on the meaning of rainbow colours, also in the context of the Euro Cup, with UEFA taking the rather unfortunate – I would say – stance of putting down the request by the City of Munich to illuminate the stadium in Munich in rainbow colours tonight in the match between Germany and Hungary. Since then, many institutions, including town halls and a lot stadiums all across Europe, have declared their solidarity. They are going to be illuminated in rainbow colours tonight, or they are going to show rainbow flags. 
We would like to request the European Parliament do the same and join these efforts. So, Mr President, if possible, we would like to ask the European Parliament also, for tonight, to hoist a rainbow flag, because I think this Parliament agrees that the rainbow flag is not a political provocation. The rainbow flag is a sign of respect for fundamental rights, diversity and human dignity, and we should show this in this Parliament as well.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-06-23

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Mr President, dear colleagues, I only have three things to say. 
No, you will not prevent abortions from happening by criminalising them. You will only force people into having unsafe and illegal abortion and thus endanger human life, period. 
Yes, the right to decide about our own bodies and our own health is our absolutely fundamental human right, and especially for women and queer people who have been deprived of this right for centuries. It matters the world. We will defend it with all we have. 
And thirdly, the enemies of sexual and reproductive rights are not pro-life. They are only part of a movement trying to restrict our freedom to choose, trying to police our bodies, trying to get women and sexual minorities back into the captivity of authoritarian fundamentalists. We will not let that happen. Vote in favour of the Matić report.
Rule of law situation in the European Union and the application of the Conditionality Regulation (EU, Euratom 2020/2092) (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-06-09

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE).   – Madam President, I remember very well the first time I came here to the European Parliament in Brussels. It was a hot and sunny September day, just after the summer break. I came out of the metro and there were cars, buses, and people speaking all kinds of languages all around me. As I was walking towards the European Parliament, it really looked like this ginormous beehive made out of concrete and glass. It was humming, it was full of life while, at the same time, many things actually seemed a little bit improvised and maybe even messy. 
I must be honest that probably this building taught me more about the European Union than what I had previously learned in school in textbooks or infographics. Because this Parliament, with its many doors and corridors, all the different shapes and styles, the sheer massiveness of the place, the extensions and annexes that came with the time, even the grey carpet and the art pieces all around the house, really are a perfect metaphor of the European Union because they show our diversity and, at the same time, show the imperfection and incompleteness of this project.
But, just like this building, just like any other building, the European Union needs, more than anything, a strong fundament – no single market, no freedom of movement, no Erasmus without a common basis that we can all stand on. And this fundament is actually pretty clearly spelled out in the Treaties in Article 2: democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. 
But we all know that this fundament is under heavy attack. The basis that unites us all, the precondition for the existence of the European Union, is being dismantled as we speak. But, instead of defending it, the European Commission has been watching, monitoring and writing reports over the past years, without, I must say, obviously fully grasping the seriousness of the situation we are in and without seeing the urgent need to stabilise our common fundament because that needs action. Now.
The European Parliament is ready to do what it takes in order to defend this common fundament and, if it takes pressure to make the Commission do the same, pressure you will get.
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 2021-2027 (debate)
Speaker: Terry REINTKE (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2021-06-08

  Terry Reintke,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, the growing social divide is one of Europe’s biggest challenges today. Over 20% of Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. That is more than 92 million people in Europe. Every day, also directly here in front of the European Parliament, we can see people living in the streets without shelter.
But poverty and social exclusion cannot be understood with facts and figures alone. They shape lives. From stagnant wages, deteriorating mental health, bills that cannot be paid, and indeed people living without a roof over their heads. And the coronavirus has exacerbated all of these issues. Children and youth are the ones that are suffering the most.
For a better future for them, but for a better future for everyone in the European Union, we must be strong in solidarity. We must invest in opportunities, in fairness and in social justice. And the European Social Fund is one of the answers, with its social investment of EUR 88 billion for solidarity and social justice across and within borders. And we’re investing in children and young people so that they have the same chances, no matter where they come from and no matter who their parents are. Bringing people, especially women, back into jobs with decent wages and supporting the most marginalised people to create the conditions for a dignified life for all: that is the Europe I want and fight to live in.
And let me finish by thanking everyone, the rapporteur, the shadow rapporteurs, for the great work. I think we have really shown that, if we are together as one voice, unified in the debates with the Council and the Commission, we can have very strong outcomes. So I think this European Social Fund is also a great success of the European Parliament as a whole.