Niels Fuglsang
Member of the European Parliament · S&D · DK
“Madam President, friends, we have a problem, obviously, with our dependency on the foreign fossil fuels we import for billions every day. When we import from the Middle East, from Vladimir Putin, from the United States. When we import gas and oil that we do not have ourselves.”
“It's not a good strategy to be dependent on dictators from foreign countries. It's a good strategy to invest in our own industry. We should do that. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 3-0280-0000 Matej Tonin (PPE), vprašanje, postavljeno z dvigom modrega kartončka. – Kolega bi vprašal zelo preprosto vprašanje.”
“And so we need to invest in our grid system, so that when the sun shines in some places, the wind blows in some places, we can actually move the electricity to the places where it's needed. Also, we need to invest in better storage systems.”
“Madam President, there's one thing this crisis makes clear: that we need more renewable energy and more energy efficiency. 98 % of the oil and gas that we consume in Europe, we import it from foreign powers, often from foreign powers with whom we do not share values.”
“Do you think that post and that policy will age very well when you look at the prices for oil and the prices we can foresee and the dependency that we have? Why not change the policy in a green direction so that we get independency from fossil fuels? That's what we need. Who makes the historical mistake?”
“Because how else can you explain that today in France currently the electricity carbon footprint is 20 times lower than in Germany, which has been massively investing in renewables for 20 years. How can you explain that? 2-0330-0000 Niels Fuglsang (S&D), blue-card answer.”
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“And so we need to invest in our grid system, so that when the sun shines in some places, the wind blows in some places, we can actually move the electricity to the places where it's needed. Also, we need to invest in better storage systems. We both talk about hydrogen and we talk about batteries, and we talk about, well, different kinds of storage. So I think there are clearly solutions to that problem and those we need to invest in. 3-0282-0000”
“It's not a good strategy to be dependent on dictators from foreign countries. It's a good strategy to invest in our own industry. We should do that. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 3-0280-0000 Matej Tonin (PPE), vprašanje, postavljeno z dvigom modrega kartončka. – Kolega bi vprašal zelo preprosto vprašanje. Strinjam se, da so obnovljivi viri energije pomembni. Kaj pa takrat, ko ne sveti sonce ali ne piha veter? Zakaj ni večjega navdušenja v vaših vrstah za jedrsko energijo? 3-0281-0000 Niels Fuglsang (S&D), blue-card answer. – Well, I think, dear colleague, when the sun doesn't shine, well, the wind might blow in another place in Europe.”
“Madam President, friends, we have a problem, obviously, with our dependency on the foreign fossil fuels we import for billions every day. When we import from the Middle East, from Vladimir Putin, from the United States. When we import gas and oil that we do not have ourselves. So, we need to import 98 % of the gas and oil that we consume here in Europe from abroad. I think it is absolutely crazy that colleagues here in this room seriously think that it is a good idea to keep on doing that. They reject investments in renewable energy. We have the possibility to produce our own energy – our home-grown energy – here in Europe. That means that we need to invest more in electrification, solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps. And we can do that and we can become independent and we can combat climate change at the same time.”
“Do you think that post and that policy will age very well when you look at the prices for oil and the prices we can foresee and the dependency that we have? Why not change the policy in a green direction so that we get independency from fossil fuels? That's what we need. Who makes the historical mistake? Well, perhaps you should look in the mirror. 3-0078-0000”
“Madam President, there's one thing this crisis makes clear: that we need more renewable energy and more energy efficiency. 98 % of the oil and gas that we consume in Europe, we import it from foreign powers, often from foreign powers with whom we do not share values. And it's hurting our citizens, the higher prices that we are seeing, it's hurting our industry. So we need to build on the Green Deal. And that is why I am genuinely puzzled by large parts of this House who work to dismantle the Green Deal. The speakers that we've had on this floor just previously actually voted to just dismantle or to reject the climate target for 2040. The EPP Group, I saw on social media, they call the phasing out of combustion engine cars by 2035 a 'historical mistake'. Why do you do this?”
“Vi producerer i for lille skala og mangler koordinering. Lad os ændre det. Lad os bruge det her initiativ til at koordinere vores indsats, til at gøre vores alle sammens forsvar og vores sikkerhed stærkere. For hvis vi skal beskytte det Europa, vi kender i dag, så er det ikke tid til tøven. Det er tid til handling. 2-0581-0000”
“Fru Formand! Kære kommissær, ærede kolleger. Den internationale orden er under forandring og desværre ikke til det bedre, og derfor er Europa nødt til at se realiteterne i øjnene. Faktum er, at der stadig er krig på det europæiske kontinent. Ruslands fuldskalainvasion af Ukraine er nu gået ind i sit femte år, Og det er ikke kun Ukraine, der er truet. Det er vores alle sammens sikkerhed, der er truet, hvis ikke vi formår at bakke op om Ukraine. Vi er naive, hvis vi tror, at der kommer nogen andre og hjælper os. Det har vi set med al ønskelig tydelighed den seneste tid, at det gør der ikke, og derfor skal Europa kunne selv. Derfor skal vi investere massivt i vores forsvar. Men vi skal gøre det på en klog måde. I dag er Europas forsvarsindustri alt for fragmenteret. Vi udvikler de samme systemer flere steder.”
“Det er jo helt vanvittigt. Der er noget i balancen, der ikke er i orden, og derfor må vi få sat fart på de her processer. Det gælder vores fremtid. Det gælder vores konkurrenceevne. 2-0521-0000 PRZEWODNICTWO: EWA KOPACZ Wiceprzewodnicząca 2-0522-0000”
“And if you look at my own country, Denmark, I think that's a counterexample to what you're saying. We do not have nuclear power, but we have invested in wind turbines, we have invested in different forms of renewable energy, and we have reduced our carbon footprint. In fact, we have a climate law that says that by 2030 we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 70 % compared to 1990. And it looks like we are going to make it. 2-0333-0000”
“2-0331-0000 Ondřej Knotek (PfE), blue-card reaction. – The follow up is clear. Germany has invested a lot in renewables, and still they have on average 20 times, 15 times higher carbon footprint in electricity production than France with nuclear. So basically today they are the same as Czech Republic with coal and nuclear and, with nuclear, France is much better. So if you invest only in renewables, you will end up like in Germany – you will have gas dependency and still a very, very high carbon footprint. Is that a solution? Where is decarbonisation with the renewables? 2-0332-0000 Niels Fuglsang (S&D), blue-card reaction. – I think Germany needs to invest more aggressively in renewables. I think Europe needs to invest more aggressively in renewables.”
“Because how else can you explain that today in France currently the electricity carbon footprint is 20 times lower than in Germany, which has been massively investing in renewables for 20 years. How can you explain that? 2-0330-0000 Niels Fuglsang (S&D), blue-card answer. – I don't exclude nuclear power for some countries, renewable energy for other countries. I think it's a problem only to put your money on nuclear power for a number of reasons. One important reason, from my point of view, is that it takes too much time. If you look at the three most recent nuclear power plant projects in Europe – in Finland, France and the UK – the average time is 17 years from starting the process until you have them producing power. I think it takes too much time, but I think we should invest broadly in our own energy in Europe.”
“We can do that, investing in renewable energy, investing in energy efficiency, empowering our energy consumers, eradicating energy poverty. We have 30 million people living in energy poverty today who struggle paying their energy bills. Let's get on with it and stop this nonsense of dependency on fossil fuels. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 2-0329-0000 Ondřej Knotek (PfE), blue-card question. – Thank you, honourable colleague, for accepting the question. I understand very well that you would like to invest in renewables as soon as possible, and of course, then have the local electricity production. Unfortunately, we also need nuclear as part of the solution and it takes some time and for this, we need the fossil fuels.”
“Mr President, listening to this debate, I am puzzled by the colleagues who argue that we should slow down the energy transition because, honestly, I think we need to do the exact opposite. We are completely dependent in Europe when it comes to importing fossil fuels from abroad – 98 % of the oil and gas that we use is imported from foreign powers, and often from foreign powers with whom we don't share values. We risk ending being in the pockets of these foreign actors. You look at the Iran war right now, with prices of gas and oil spiking, and we are in a horrible situation. Mr Donald Trump is in a much better position because he has his own oil and gas. We don't in Europe. So of course we need to build our own energy.”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, congratulations once again with your good proposal to phase out Russian gas, and congratulations to the political groups here in the European Parliament for having been able to keep their heads cool and their hearts warm, and negotiate an agreement that has wide support. I think this is worth noticing in a time where it seems that politics is becoming more and more polarised, that we are not able to agree on many things. But this – this we have been able to agree on from left to right, that it is wrong to keep on financing Mr Putin's war, that it is wrong to give Russia an instrument that they can use to put pressure on us, that it is wrong to to spend more on Russian gas than we have spent on helping Ukraine. It is a great day for us that finally this will come to an end.”
“3-0440-0000 Niels Fuglsang (S&D), blue-card answer. – I think when it comes to the vote today, it was mainly the extremes on the right and the left that voted the proposal down. Unfortunately, it was a secret ballot so we could not see who voted. We didn't ask for this secret ballot. When it comes to the climate change proposal, there are lots of good people in the EPP. I work with them. I think you can be a reliable partner and ask you to be one. We support the 90 % in the S&D Group, and I hope you will work with us to do the same thing, because we would sure like to work with you. 3-0441-0000”
“Actually, we're struggling with the EPP right now, so I hope that, EPP – your group – will come together and support your proposal. We want to work and we need it. The European Union needs it. The climate needs it, and we need it for the COP meeting. So good luck to all of us. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 3-0439-0000 Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE), blue-card question. – I have just a question about why you are speaking about the EPP today. We saw your reliability – you promised us to vote on one issue with us and half of your group resign for this opinion. Also, why are you saying that the European People's Party is not against climate change? We are a predictable partner. The problem is the Socialists. If you are not in, we will vote it with someone who has, with us, the majority.”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, I want to congratulate you on the proposal on reducing greenhouse gases by 90 % in 2040. I think it's the right proposal. I think it's a sound proposal. And I think it is important, when we go to the COP meeting, that the European Union delivers ambition also to move other countries. We are struggling in the European Parliament to get your proposal through. I am leading the negotiations in the ITRE Committee, and as you can hear, Commissioner, there are lots of groups in this Parliament that either don't believe in climate change or don't think it's important that the Europeans should act. So we need to work together with those that can – the S&D, the Greens, Renew, and hopefully the EPP.”
“Det går ikke, når for eksempel russiske oligarker eller iranske eller kinesiske borgere køber et gyldent visa i et tredjeland og udnytter smuthullerne for at komme ind i EU på den måde. Det går heller ikke, at visafrihed bliver brugt som en bagdør for at opnå asyl, og det går slet, slet ikke, at visafrihed udnyttes til hvidvask, sanktionsomgåelse, spionage eller hybride aktiviteter. Og derfor mener jeg: Lad os beskytte den ærlige rejsende, men lad os slå fast, at misbrug finder vi os ikke i. Frihed går hånd i hånd med ansvar, og når det ansvar svigtes, skal det have konsekvenser. Så lad os støtte aftalen om visa her i dag. 1-0153-0000”
“Fru formand! Rigtig mange mennesker i Europa lever et godt liv, og derfor er der også mange, der gerne vil komme og besøge os og opleve vores kultur og historie. Og det kan jeg godt forstå. De fleste kommer med et ærligt forhold, men der er også nogle, der udnytter smuthullerne for at komme ind i EU og undergrave vores fælles projekt og begå kriminalitet. Derfor bakker jeg op om, at vi laver en aftale. Den vi diskuterer i dag, hvor vi strammer reglerne for visafrihed, fordi vi skal kunne sige nej, når dem, der vil udnytte smuthullerne, bruger de her regler på en helt forkert måde. Visafrihed er ikke en rettighed. Det er et udtryk for tillid, som skal fortjenes og også forvaltes med ansvar.”
“Skal vi ikke give hinanden håndslag på, at vi fremover ikke sælger kritisk infrastruktur til Kina, at vi beholder den i Europa, og at vi gør, hvad vi kan for at gøre os uafhængige, når det kommer til den kritiske teknologi. Det ville være en god start. 2-0050-0000”
“Fru formand! Fru kommissær! Fru minister! Kære kollegaer! Kina er en vigtig samarbejdspartner for Europa, en vigtig handelspartner og også en samarbejdspartner i forhold til at løse nogle af de store udfordringer som f.eks. klimakrisen. Men vi må samtidig indse, at vi har ført en naiv Kinapolitik, hvor vi har gjort os afhængige af det store rige i midten. Vi har solgt kritisk infrastruktur, og Grækenland har solgt sin største havn til Kina, Athens havn, Piræus. Vi har gjort os afhængige af kritiske råstoffer, sjældne jordarter fra Kina. Vi har gjort os afhængige af deres teknologi, når det gælder den grønne omstilling. 95% af de solceller, der sættes op i Europa i dag, kommer fra Kina. Vi bliver nødt til at gøre os uafhængige. Det må være det, vores Kinapolitik består i.”
“But we have to realise that there are huge differences when you look at how much money that we, in the European Union, spend on defence, and we need to change that. So I urge you, colleagues, go to your governments. Tell them to invest. Tell them that we need a decision in The Hague that we invest in our common defence. Let's do it, and let's do it now. 3-0082-0000”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, we are not at war, but we are not living in a time of peace either. I think it's safe to say that, in our lifetimes, we are seeing the greatest threats that we have ever seen with Putin and his war in Ukraine. And who will be next if we do not stand together and invest in our common defence? Many countries, including my own, Denmark, have not invested sufficiently if we look at the past decades. We have let down our defence system and we have not realised how important it is for our security that we are able to defend ourselves here in Europe and not rely on other forces. We are changing that. We are investing massively in Denmark. We are investing massively in other countries as well.”
“Vi skal ikke overbebyrde vores virksomheder, og derfor synes jeg, at Kommissionens forslag om at reducere byrden for langt de fleste selskaber, men beholde 99% af effekten, er en god idé. Jeg synes, vi skal støtte den. Lad os stemme for dette forslag. 1-0247-0000”
“Hr. formand! I sidste mandat, der har vi vedtaget en række klimalovgivninger for at styrke den grønne omstilling, for at reducere CO2-udledninger. Det kan vi være stolte af. Vi skal i EU gå foran på den grønne omstilling. Vi skal stille krav til vores virksomheder og vores økonomi. Men samtidig vil vi ikke acceptere, at vores virksomheder bliver udkonkurreret af selskaber fra andre dele af verden, hvor man ikke stiller krav til klimaet, og hvor man ikke har nogen afgifter på CO2. Derfor syntes jeg, at klimatolden CBAM er en rigtig god idè, fordi vi netop sørger for, at der er en retfærdig konkurrence. At man stiller de samme krav til de importerede produkter som til vores egne. Men det er klart, at vi skal gøre det på en så simpel måde som muligt.”
“Jeg ved, at vi samarbejder på mange punkter allerede, når det kommer til handel, fiskeri, uddannelse, grøn omstilling, og det samarbejde er der al grund til at styrke fremover. Vi støtter grønlænderne. Vi ser frem til et stærkt samarbejde mellem EU og Grønland. 2-0354-0000”
“Fru formand! Kære kollegaer! Det er paradoksalt, hvordan de klimaforandringer, som stadig flere nægter finder sted, har den konsekvens, at Arktis, og herunder Grønland, er blevet genstand for international interesse i hidtil uset omfang. Det er, som om vi har glemt, at bagtæppet for hele diskussionen om Arktis er konsekvenserne af det klimakollaps, vi bevæger os tættere på. Men i stedet for at diskutere det, så finder vi os nødsaget til at diskutere spørgsmål, som burde være selvindlysende, om territorial integritet og selvbestemmelse. Men lad mig i den forbindelse slå fast: Grønlands fremtid bestemmes af den grønlandske befolkning. Punktum. Og det skal vi i EU bakke helt op om. Det gør vi, og derfor er det mit budskab her i dag, at EU og Grønland ser frem til et tæt samarbejde.”
“Men lad os sørge for, at de skåltaler, som i øjeblikket bliver holdt, de bliver til virkelighed. Lad os sørge for hurtigere tilladelser til industrien, udbygning af infrastruktur, og at vi bruger vores midler, vores penge til at støtte det her. Det støtter jeg, og det håber jeg, at et flertal i Europa-Parlamentet vil bakke op om. Tak for ordet. 3-0106-0000”
“Fru formand! Kære kommissær, ærede kollegaer. Der var en tid for ikke så mange år tilbage, hvor man sagde, at tung industri, stål, cement og anden form for tung industri den havde vi ikke brug for i Europa. Den kunne vi bare outsource til andre dele af verden, og så kunne de producere det for os. Det var en stor fejl. Vi har set, hvordan arbejdspladser er forsvundet fra Europa, hvordan vores produktion af for eksempel stål er gået nedaf. Vi har brug for en produktion af stål. Vi har brug for den tunge industri i Europa, når vi skal lave vores vindmøller, når vi skal lave vores militære grej, når vi skal lave vores infrastruktur. Vi har brug for at gøre det grønt, og derfor siger jeg: Lad os støtte den plan, som Kommissionen er kommet med i forhold til at fremme denne industri.”
“Det var den tyske vicekansler, der, da krigen brød ud, kaldte vedvarende energi for frihedsenergi. Det tror jeg stadig holder, og det tror jeg, det er den plan, som kommissæren lægger frem, som vi skal støtte os op af. 3-0434-0000”
“Det skal han betale for, og derfor mener jeg, det er på tide, at vi forholder os til dette, om ikke vi skal bruge de indefrosne aktiviteter til at genopbygge Ukraine. Det er Putin, der skal betale. Det er ikke Ukraines befolkning. Lad os komme i gang med det. 3-0408-0000”
“Hr. Formand! Kære kommissær, ærede kollegaer. I over 3 år har Ukraine kæmpet med at forsvare sit land fra en ulovlig og uprovokeret invasion. I over 3 år har Ukraine kæmpet mod tyranni og for frihed, og helten Zelenskyj har stået op mod diktatoren og aggressoren, Putin, og i EU har vi stået bag ham, støttet ham, og det bliver vi ved med. Det er en kæmpe uret, som er blevet begået, og som bliver begået - et overgreb af dimensioner. Og fra EU's side har vi støttet Ukraine med over 100 milliarder kroner, og mere er på vej. Men derudover er der også de mange penge, som ligger i Europa i form af indefrosne russiske aktiviteter - over 15 hundrede milliarder kroner. Nogle af pengene kommer fra oligarker, men langt de fleste kommer fra det russiske regime direkte. Putin er i gang med at smadre et land.”
“Og den gode nyhed er, at ved at handle på dette, så gør vi samtidig noget for at øge vores sikkerhed, fordi mere vedvarende energi kan gøre os fri af Putins gas, og vi gør også noget godt for vores konkurrenceevne, for eksempel med energieffektivitet, der kan øge vores konkurrenceevne i forhold til vores virksomheder. Så lad os handle. Lad os gøre det nu. 1-0163-0000”
“Hr. formand. Kære Kommission, kære kommissær, kære kollegaer. 2024 var det varmeste år nogensinde målt. Klimaforandringerne er ikke en fjern fremtid. De er her nu, og vi ser konsekvenserne med menneskelige tab, ødelæggelser, oversvømmelser, migranter, der bliver nødt til at flygte og bevæge sig i millionvis. Det er meget skræmmende, og det er paradoksalt, at samtidig så ser vi, hvordan politikerne - nu Trump i sin indtrædelsestale - negligerer problemet fuldstændigt. Vi ser, hvordan store grupper her i Parlamentet, der taler i dag, taler som om, at der ikke er noget problem, og at CO2 er en god ting, fordi det er naturligt. Ja, det er naturligt, men ikke i de mængder, det kommer i nu. Vi bliver nødt til at handle.”