Li Andersson
Member of the European Parliament · The Left · FI
“Mr President, a civil servant from a ministry in one Member State stated the problems with the MFF very clearly to me. He said: how are we going to defend social spending when it is all lumped together under the NRPPs? Are we going to ask the disabled, poor children and the elderly to take to the streets?”
“Madam President, the root cause of the housing crisis is complete market failure. The problem is not a general lack of supply, but a shortage of not-for-profit, affordable housing that could balance out the negative effects of this profit-driven market.”
“On selvää, että toimia tarvitaan niin jäsenmaissa kuin EU:n tasolla: alipalkkauksen kriminalisointi, joukkokanneoikeus ammattiliitoille, koko ketjua koskeva tilaajavastuu sekä välittäjille ja alihankintaketjujen pituudelle asetettavat rajoitukset. Mikään liiketoiminta ei saa perustua ihmisten hyväksikäyttöön. 3-0494-0000”
“Mr President, blackouts are a part of the everyday life of Ukrainians. In Kyiv, thousands of homes are without heating or water, while temperatures outside are even -20 degrees.”
“And this is why we must put more pressure on Russia, sanctions on the shadow fleet, support for energy infrastructure, financial and military support – because only when Putin feels pressure will he ever have a real reason to negotiate. And that is why our support for Ukraine is so needed right now. 2-0237-0000”
“Siksi on myös tärkeää ymmärtää, mikä on Elon Muskin, Trumpin ja myös Putinin suhde moniin laita- ja äärioikeistolaisiin liikkeisiin Euroopassa. He jakavat samanlaisen ideologian, samanlaisen narratiivin, jossa nähdään, että Eurooppa on romahtamassa oikeusvaltioperiaatteen tai ihmisoikeuksien vuoksi.”
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“Mr President, a civil servant from a ministry in one Member State stated the problems with the MFF very clearly to me. He said: how are we going to defend social spending when it is all lumped together under the NRPPs? Are we going to ask the disabled, poor children and the elderly to take to the streets? This is why EMPL has called for a separate, stand‑alone ESF+ with dedicated funding. This is reflected in the interim report, which includes the same call. This must mean a separate fund under the ESF+ Regulation with separate, reinforced funding. The question is, what happens now? Will this House disregard the social funding because the voices of people with disabilities, children and the elderly are not as loud as those demanding the separation of agricultural and cohesion funds?”
“We need to address the failures created by the financialisation of the housing market, and we need to recognise housing as a human right. 2-0056-0000”
“Madam President, the root cause of the housing crisis is complete market failure. The problem is not a general lack of supply, but a shortage of not-for-profit, affordable housing that could balance out the negative effects of this profit-driven market. This point is exactly where this report – that mostly focuses on increasing market supply – falls short, and therefore it constitutes a huge missed opportunity for this Parliament and for the EU to really address this crisis that affects millions of Europeans. For my country, the most acute issue is the new Eurostat classification, which treats interest subsidy loans for state-subsidised housing as government debt, even when the government only acts as a guarantor for the loans. This needs to be changed if we want more incentives for social housing investments for Member States.”
“On selvää, että toimia tarvitaan niin jäsenmaissa kuin EU:n tasolla: alipalkkauksen kriminalisointi, joukkokanneoikeus ammattiliitoille, koko ketjua koskeva tilaajavastuu sekä välittäjille ja alihankintaketjujen pituudelle asetettavat rajoitukset. Mikään liiketoiminta ei saa perustua ihmisten hyväksikäyttöön. 3-0494-0000”
“Siksi me tarvitsemme niin sosiaalisen asuntotuotannon lisäämistä, työehtosopimusneuvotteluiden vahvistamista kuin energian hinnan laskemista uusiutuvan energian investoinneilla. Vielä on aikaa muuttaa suuntaa. 3-0028-0000”
“And this is why we must put more pressure on Russia, sanctions on the shadow fleet, support for energy infrastructure, financial and military support – because only when Putin feels pressure will he ever have a real reason to negotiate. And that is why our support for Ukraine is so needed right now. 2-0237-0000”
“Mr President, blackouts are a part of the everyday life of Ukrainians. In Kyiv, thousands of homes are without heating or water, while temperatures outside are even -20 degrees. This is a result of Putin's relentless, systematic and targeted attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with the explicit purpose of freezing the Ukrainians into submission, breaking their resistance and forcing them to accept concessions in negotiations. And for those on the extreme right that were talking about diplomacy: this shows that diplomacy never takes place in isolation. Putin is attacking harder than ever to get a deal that is favourable to him, with the help of his ideological ally, Donald Trump.”
“Faktantarkistusmedian toimintaedellytysten tukeminen, viranomaisyhteistyön vahvistaminen, kaikki tämä on tietenkin tärkeää, mutta se ei riitä, jos eurooppalaiset päättäjät tai komissio taipuvat Trumpin tai isojen teknologiayhtiöiden painostuksen edessä, haluavat purkaa ihmisten yksityisyydensuojaa digitaalisilla omnibus-paketeilla tai jos esimerkiksi jäsenvaltiot kaventavat julkisten yleisradioyhtiöiden toimintaedellytyksiä. Demokratiaa joko vahvistetaan tai murennetaan omalla toiminnallamme, ja siksi sen suojelemiseksi tarvitaan vahvempia toimia ja päätöksiä niin EU:ssa kuin jäsenvaltioissa. 4-0061-0000”
“Siksi on myös tärkeää ymmärtää, mikä on Elon Muskin, Trumpin ja myös Putinin suhde moniin laita- ja äärioikeistolaisiin liikkeisiin Euroopassa. He jakavat samanlaisen ideologian, samanlaisen narratiivin, jossa nähdään, että Eurooppa on romahtamassa oikeusvaltioperiaatteen tai ihmisoikeuksien vuoksi. Näillä liikkeillä on yhteinen projekti, joka ylittää valtioiden rajat. Siksi meidän tehtävämme on vahvistaa demokratiaa ja oikeusvaltiota, vahvistaa mahdollisuuksiamme ohjata ja asettaa rajoja ja sääntöjä näille isoille teknologiayhtiöille, puuttua tämän vaikuttamistoiminnan rahoitukseen ja ennen kaikkea vahvistaa hyvinvointirakenteitamme ja koulutustamme. Siksi demokratian kilven lähestymistapa ja komission toimenpiteet eivät myöskään ole riittäviä.”
“This needs to change as soon as possible, as we should be removing barriers for affordable housing instead of creating them. 2-0307-0000”
“Madam President, Commissioner, the financialisation of the housing market has been one of the key drivers of the housing crisis, and therefore it is also one of the key problems that must be addressed. We must regulate short-term rentals and we also need more financing instruments for non-profit housing. For a long time, Finland ensured that a sufficient share of all new rental flats were not-for-profit, through state-guaranteed loans. However, this model is now threatened by lots of different causes, but one of them is that in 2022, Eurostat started counting state guarantees for these loans as public debt, even though they are not. This increased Finland's debt-to-GDP ratio by over six percentage points overnight, making support for non-profit housing less attractive to the government.”
“As right‑wing forces push for less, we are seeing fewer and fewer results, and it's high time for Europe and the EU to step up our game. 4-0090-0000”
“Mr President, 'it could have been worse' – this is a phrase that I hear more and more now every time we talk about climate and environmental policies. But let's be honest: even if – and it's a big 'if' – all countries complete their current pledges, we would still be heading for a planet that is 2.5 degrees warmer. That means we are failing, big time. The COP in Belém failed to deliver clear, sufficiently ambitious decisions on adaptation financing and emission cuts. Above all, countries failed to agree on a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. What we are seeing and what we saw there is how the EU used to be the driver of international climate action. Now we are fighting internally. We are watering down our own legislation instead of preparing and building strong negotiating positions.”
“Siksi EU:n digilainsäädännön avaaminen ja heikentäminen yhdysvaltalaisten teknologiajättien ja hallinnon painostuksesta olisi täysin väärä valinta EU:lta, ja se olisi myös ristiriidassa demokratiakilven idean kanssa. Meidän pitää luoda reilu ja tasapuolinen digitaalinen maailma, joka tukee moniäänistä, demokraattista ja myös luottamusta vahvistavaa keskustelua. 2-0096-0000”
“Arvoisa puhemies, luottamuksen vähentyminen on yksi vaarallisimmista kehityksistä demokratialle. YK:n uusimpien tietojen mukaan alle puolet maailman ihmisistä luottaa oman maansa hallitukseen, ja vain alle kolmannes ajattelee luottavansa muihin ihmisiin. Samalla voimakkaisiin tunteisiin perustuva vastakkainasettelu voimistuu. Siksi me tarvitsemme toimia luottamuksen vahvistamiseksi niin Euroopassa kuin muualla. Metan ja X:n kaltaiset alustat muokkaavat maailmankuvaamme ja yhteiskuntaamme. Esimerkiksi X:n suhteen epäillään, että se suosii äärioikeistolaista sisältöä. Elon Musk ja Yhdysvaltain uusi hallinto ovat muun muassa täysin avoimesti tukeneet Euroopan äärioikeistoa.”
“To prevent this, we need a clear message from this Parliament, and to get that we need to vote for the EMPL amendments. 1-0161-0000”
“Mr President, would you spend more than EUR 2 trillion annually to buy from companies that disrespect workers? I certainly hope not. The rules on public procurement affect the wages, the working conditions and the working life of millions of European workers. The EMPL Committee adopted an opinion to this report with a broad political majority, including possibilities to exclude companies that do not respect workers' rights and also to strengthen collective bargaining. I was very disappointed to notice that the EMPL opinion was not included in the IMCO report to the extent that we would have expected, even though the amendments were clearly under EMPL competence. The revision of the rules on public procurement cannot turn into yet another missed opportunity to strengthen workers' rights in Europe.”
“Our job here now is to make sure that this does not go to waste and I think the Commission really needs to step up and use all of the tools it has. Interim measures must be requested by the Court and new legal proceedings initiated regarding the Pride ban and the 'starve and strangle' laws that have been proposed, and Hungary must be stripped of its voting rights in the Council. 3-0231-0000”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, Viktor Orbán is at risk of losing political power, and I think he is showing his desperation and his weakness by attacking the Pride and by trying to push through legislation that would shut down many NGOs and many independent media outlets in Hungary. But at the Pride in Budapest in June, the people really showed their strength and power. And I have to say to the extreme right that, yes, many of us were there, but that is not the story. The real story is the fact that hundreds of thousands of Hungarians were there at the Pride, many of them participating and marching in a Pride for the first time ever to oppose this ban and to show that they protest against Viktor Orbán.”
“Me tarvitsemme avointa keskustelua laajentumisen tuomista muutoksista unionin päätöksentekoon ja budjettiin. Mutta aiempien laajentumisprosessien virheistä pitää myös oppia. Tarvitsemme parempia välineitä ja yhteisiä digitaalisia järjestelmiä rajatylittävän työvoiman hyväksikäytön torjumiseksi. Kun otetaan huomioon, kuinka kauan sisämarkkinoilla on ollut vapaata liikkuvuutta, on käsittämätöntä, ettemme ole edistyneet tämän pidemmälle tämän ongelman ratkaisussa. 4-0027-0000”
“As parliamentarians, our most important, job is to support the people in Hungary who are protesting against this, who are organising the Pride march despite the repression, and I, for one, am proud to be joining them. 3-0243-0000”
“Mr President, Viktor Orbán has been attacking freedoms and fundamental rights by restricting freedom of opinion and by weakening the rights of minorities and workers for years. And now he is doing exactly what authoritarian leaders always do when they are not stopped – he is going further, by giving authorities broad powers to monitor, sanction or even ban activities of civil society, trade unions and media by withdrawing Hungary from the ICC and by attacking diversity and democracy through banning the Pride event. Enough is enough. The EU must be able to act to protect fundamental rights and freedoms of all Europeans, and this is a legitimacy question for the whole Union.”
“Mr President, the US is ruled by an authoritarian president who is using trade policies as a means of coercion and political extortion. While it is clear that European workers will only lose in a full-fledged trade war, the EU should be much bolder and much more imaginative in its own response to Trump's actions. The EU should target the oligarchs that are close to Trump, through action directed at Tesla and Musk, and by digital tax aimed at the huge digital platforms. The EU should also signal its readiness to use the Anti-Coercion Instrument. But most importantly, we need to make the European economy less dependent on US exports. That means supporting internal demand in the European markets, and that means supporting real wage growth and also increasing investments.”
“Madam President, last week we in The Left Group gathered young Ukrainian leftists and trade unionists in Brussels to discuss how Ukrainian civil society can be supported during the fight against Russian imperialism. The message was crystal clear: in addition to arms support, Ukrainian society needs to address acute problems such as the severe lack of affordable housing, the lack of care services, and also proposed reforms to weaken workers' rights and trade unions. We need to find the legal basis to use frozen Russian assets and to direct these funds into a large investment programme for social housing in Ukraine. Now is also the time to finally put an end to Viktor Orbán trying to stop support to Ukraine and blocking Ukraine's EU accession process. We must remove Hungary's voting rights in the Council under Article 7. Enough is enough.”
“But it would be a historic mistake to finance this by cutting welfare, because that would only cement the rise to power of Putin's and Trump's allies in Europe: the extreme right. And for once, the EU needs to be smarter than this. 2-0062-0000”
“Madam President, as a leftist, I think that Putin and Trump form one of the most dangerous ideological alliances that the world has seen in a long time. Therefore, it is essential that the EU strengthens its support for Ukraine. In addition, the EU should set a strategic goal of reducing our dependencies on the US. This means: creating a European security architecture, redirecting all financing currently going to the US arms industry to Europe; reducing energy dependencies; and limiting the powers of the digital oligarchs. Changes to the fiscal rules must enable all of these investments. I do understand that the goal might also require more investment in European defence.”
“Jos huolellisuutta vaaditaan vain ensimmäisessä tuotantoportaassa, kuten komissio nyt esittää, valvotaan esimerkiksi ananasmehun tuotannon ihmisoikeusvaikutuksia jatkossa vain Suomen Kuopiossa, ei Thaimaassa, mistä alihankintaa tehdään. Tällaisessa sääntelyssä ei ole mitään järkeä, ja se myös tuhoaa tämän koko direktiivin alkuperäisen ajatuksen. 1-0099-0000”
“Madam President, not a good start indeed. This Work Programme, which is supposed to be about moving forward together, includes zero legal initiatives in the field of social fairness. Zero. Instead, we get a long list of initiatives aimed at watering down legislations from the last mandate to lower standards when it comes to corporate responsibility and sustainability. Commission – this is not what Europeans expect from you. The rising cost of living and personal economic situation were the two most common reasons for Europeans to vote in the last EP election. Now, it seems like the social agenda is forgotten altogether, and the Commission is focusing on deregulation in a way that, in the end, will not even benefit the companies. If we move along this policy line, we risk moving backwards, divided. 3-0085-0000”
“Toisin kuin mitä välillä kuulee väitettävän, pakotepolitiikka vaikuttaa ja on vaikuttanut merkittävällä tavalla Venäjän talouteen, ja siksi työtä varjolaivaston pysäyttämiseksi on jatkettava – niin Ukrainan kuin ympäristön puolesta. 2-0340-0000”
“Palestiinalaisten ihmisoikeuksien ja itsemääräämisoikeuden tulee toteutua täysimääräisesti, ja Israelin on lopetettava laiton miehitys palestiinalaisalueilla. Vain näiden periaatteiden toteutumisen kautta voidaan saada oikeudenmukainen ja kestävä rauha. 1-0084-0000”