Maria Ohisalo
Member of the European Parliament · ALE · FI
“Madam President, the five biggest fossil fuel companies – TotalEnergies, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell – together generate roughly EUR 8 trillion in revenue every year. According to the Commission's own estimate, making Europe heatwave proof would cost EUR 70 billion a year – just 7 % of these companies' revenue.”
“Mr President, colleagues, right now we are surrounded by a mood of darkness that is difficult to put into words – maybe dystopia is not too far‑fetched. The international rules‑based order is crumbling; ecological crises are accelerating; democracies and the rule of law are being systematically dismantled.”
“The challenges we face today require imagination to be solved, and the ability to envision a world that does not yet exist. We need a vision, a dream of a better tomorrow. And for that, culture, in all of its forms, is humanity's strongest and oldest tool.”
“Mr President, dear Commissioner Kallas, colleagues, Russia’s goal is not to simply breach our airspace, it is to conquer. It is to conquer by occupying our attention, our confidence and our sense of security. This starts at an individual level, and that is why resilience also starts and begins with people.”
“Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I love video games. I've been collecting them since I was a little girl. All the memories, the friendships, winning and losing together. And here's the thing: I can still play those games, those old console games from the 90s, but many newer ones? Gone.”
“We cannot place the entire financial burden of preservation on developers, of course, especially on the smaller ones. But at the very least, games should be allowed to survive when their servers don't. That's not radical. That's the bare minimum, and I hope the Commission will follow the initiative. 4-0043-0000”
The complete record
Every one of 15 lines we hold for Maria Ohisalo, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“Madam President, the five biggest fossil fuel companies – TotalEnergies, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell – together generate roughly EUR 8 trillion in revenue every year. According to the Commission's own estimate, making Europe heatwave proof would cost EUR 70 billion a year – just 7 % of these companies' revenue. These same companies have spent decades profiting from the very emissions now killing people all over the world and in Europe. So my question to the Commission is: will the Commission make the companies causing the climate crisis pay the bill for making schools, hospitals and care homes safe in hot weather? 3-0135-0000”
“The challenges we face today require imagination to be solved, and the ability to envision a world that does not yet exist. We need a vision, a dream of a better tomorrow. And for that, culture, in all of its forms, is humanity's strongest and oldest tool. That is why I warmly welcome this shared European vision, recognising that culture holds a strategic role in building European security, cohesion, economic strength and well‑being. Therefore, we need to support those who create culture, ensure funding for culture, support quality jobs with fair pay, backed by social security and housing, and make sure that artists' rights are protected, even in the age of artificial intelligence and the rise of authoritarian regimes. 4-0083-0000”
“Mr President, colleagues, right now we are surrounded by a mood of darkness that is difficult to put into words – maybe dystopia is not too far‑fetched. The international rules‑based order is crumbling; ecological crises are accelerating; democracies and the rule of law are being systematically dismantled. Threats are being sought out deliberately: the far right finds them in immigrants, in arts, in science, in the media. But culture has always been a space for free thinking, and that is precisely why it provokes fear in the authoritarian regimes and leaders. Because culture is a political act. Participation is resistance. Every time you go to the theatre, a concert, an art exhibition, every time you play, dance, read or watch a film – you are part of something bigger.”
“Resilience is built across society, in schools, in communities, public authorities and civil society, not only in barracks. The stronger and more resilient our people and societies are, the weaker Russia’s provocations become. 2-0244-0000”
“Mr President, dear Commissioner Kallas, colleagues, Russia’s goal is not to simply breach our airspace, it is to conquer. It is to conquer by occupying our attention, our confidence and our sense of security. This starts at an individual level, and that is why resilience also starts and begins with people. We need stronger societal preparedness: security literacy – which is similar to media literacy – crisis awareness and civil preparedness, so that people know how to respond when threats arise. But this requires proactive, up-to-date, clear and accessible communication from the authorities. Also, before we are in a crisis, when official channels are silent or slow, disinformation will fill in the gaps. And this is again where Russia lurks.”
“We cannot place the entire financial burden of preservation on developers, of course, especially on the smaller ones. But at the very least, games should be allowed to survive when their servers don't. That's not radical. That's the bare minimum, and I hope the Commission will follow the initiative. 4-0043-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I love video games. I've been collecting them since I was a little girl. All the memories, the friendships, winning and losing together. And here's the thing: I can still play those games, those old console games from the 90s, but many newer ones? Gone. Not because they broke, but because a publisher decided to shut down a server, sometimes without even telling the players. We're talking about an industry bigger than movies; esport draws more viewers than traditional sports right now. This is real culture and it is being deleted. If you buy something, shouldn't you then own it? That's the idea behind the 'Stop destroying videogames' initiative, supported by over 1.3 million Europeans. And we're not asking for everything.”
“Madam President, colleagues, in this report, housing is not considered primarily as a human right and as a cornerstone of dignity, but as a tool that can be used for speculation. Therefore, I would like to put forward an oral amendment at the beginning of paragraph 1, which reads as follows: 'Emphasises that speculation on housing must be eradicated as a matter of priority; underlines that adequate housing is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of human dignity'. 2-0209-0000 (Das Parlament lehnt es ab, den mündlichen Änderungsantrag zur Abstimmung zu stellen.) 2-0210-0000 Die Präsidentin. – Ich habe jetzt vermerkt, dass der Kollege Simon gerne eine Wortmeldung zur Geschäftsordnung einbringen möchte. 2-0211-0000”
“Madam President, Commission, first of all, my condolences to all affected. As the climate crisis intensifies, extreme weather events are becoming a norm, not an exception. Droughts, wildfires, heat, flooding – while the financial cost is high, the human cost is staggering and no one is safe here. We cannot escape these effects in European workplaces either. Intense conditions cause accidents, illness and loss of productivity, loss of lives. Work-related accidents and illnesses already cost EUR 475 billion a year, and a growing share of it is due to extreme weather. Commission, if you really want to live up to the idea of solidarity, the European Union must start protecting all workers equally from extreme weather conditions and it is high time to propose legislation against this escalating threat. 2-0048-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, to be able to provide accessible social and health care, affordable housing, education and other services. we collect taxes. But while most people contribute towards this common good, there is one group that avoids its duty and this is the ultra-rich people. A small group of them sit on billions of euros and do not pay their fair share. If the top 0.5 % of super wealthy were to play by the same rules as others, EU countries could have almost EUR 273 billion more to invest in services. In practice, this could mean, for example, increasing education budgets by 39 %, employing 7.4 million additional hospital nurses, or covering all of the housing development initiatives and extend them by more than eight times. So, colleagues, let's start taxing the ultra rich to finance the well-being of Europeans.”
“Mr President, Commissioner, the far right is on the rise and the conservative centre-right is enabling this all over Europe. Nazi salutes and bizarre culture wars every day. They are not any accidents. They divert people's focus from painful political decisions restricting workers' rights, making access to healthcare and education harder, cutting from social security, reducing the capacity of civil society, science and arts, feeding misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia – and all in the name of freedom of speech. All in the name of the richest getting even richer. The economy and competitiveness – they also suffer from this kind of instability. They need certainty. So people, let's not be fooled. Let's not get numb and quiet. Let's raise our voices and let's fight back. 3-0169-0000”
“Näemmekö me tällä hetkellä saman avoimuuden pätevän aivan kaikkiin niihin yrityslobbareihin, aivan kaikkiin toimijoihin, jotka saavat EU-rahoitusta tällä hetkellä? Tämä on minun kysymykseni. 3-0364-0000”
“Because we're not attacking NGOs. We're not trying to ban their money, as you are saying. Not at all. We're trying to make sure that the laws we produce here can be trusted and can have an integrity to them. So please react to that. 3-0363-0000 Maria Ohisalo (Verts/ALE), vastaus sinisen kortin kysymykseen. – Kuten sanoin puheessani, me näemme kaikkialla maailmassa, kuinka demokratiaa ja oikeusvaltiota nyt paraikaa poljetaan alaspäin. Täällä moni kollega on hyvin sanonut, että osa toimivaa demokratiaa on toimiva kansalaisyhteiskunta, ja kansalaisyhteiskunta ei toimi, jos demokratiassa myös poliittiset tahot eivät myönnä sille paikoin tukea. Se, mitä me vaadimme, on samat kriteerit kaikille. Saman avoimuuden pitää päteä aivan kaikkiin.”
“Those who wish to ban advocacy of environmental NGOs receiving EU funds, I ask you: following your logic, should we also ban lobbying of all companies, cities and other organisations which are receiving the same EU funding? (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 3-0362-0000 Dirk Gotink (PPE), blue-card question. – You're framing this very much as an attack on NGOs, and many of you have done that. Could it possibly enter into the debate that we're actually trying to protect also the integrity of the way laws are made in Europe? That it would reinforce the trust people would have in these laws if we would not have this phenomenon of a kind of shadow lobby that is financed by the European Commission? This is in fact what we are talking about today. And could you please give us a reflection on that?”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, we are witnessing in real time how countries after another fall into autocracy. And I want us all to think for a moment: is this really the time we want to see the civil society in the EU suppressed? The Commission wants to stop environmental NGOs receiving EU funds from doing advocacy work. This attack has been pushed by EPP, their far-right allies and corporate lobbyists against NGOs and citizen participation. Every resilient democracy needs an active civil society, and civil society requires resources to represent the voices of the silenced – unlike corporations, whose financial resources are incomparable.”