Arrival and doorstep by Terry REINTKE, Lead Candidate of the European Greens prior to the Eurovision debate between the lead candidates for the Commission presidency. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

REINTKE, Terry (Greens/EFA, DE)

Eurovision debate between candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission (T)

2024 European elections (T)

Eurovision debate 2024 - Arrivals and doorsteps: Terry REINTKE, Lead Candidate of the European Greens

Arrival of Terry REINTKE, Lead Candidate of the European Greens

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We see that right-wing extremists, like the AfD, are Putin's extended arm in the European Union. This is a major security risk for the European Union. One thing is clear to us: These European elections are really about the future of European democracy.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Not least because there is a risk of a shift to the right. And for us Greens, the conservatives and liberals must be clear and guarantee that there will not be majorities formed with right-wing extremists or right-wing authoritarians following these European elections.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Well, the rules were very clear. Leading candidates must be nominated by European party families so that they can be part of this debate. The rules have been set even tighter. For example, the European Free Alliance, which has nominated a leading candidate, is also not there today because we are sitting together in a political group.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, That is why these rules were made with sense and reason and they are being implemented accordingly today.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, I feel very positive. It's my first time as leading candidate to go into such a debate. I think we are at a crucial moment for Europe. The citizens feel this and we need to do everything we can to mobilize for these elections. To mobilize people to vote for democratic parties. And of course today I want to convince voters to vote for the greens.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We see that we live in uncertain times, that many people are afraid of the future. Populists in various EU countries are trying to profit from this. However, we have also seen in recent weeks that it is increasingly apparent that what right-wing extremists are doing is actually contrary to the interests of citizens within the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We are currently seeing this with the AfD in Germany. We are seeing this in other European countries, and that is why I am optimistic that we will still be fighting for the next few weeks so that we can prevent a shift to the right in the European elections.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We want to fight against this, of course with a tough announcement, that right-wing extremists here in the European Parliament will be excluded from coalitions of power with a cordon sanitaire.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, But also to provide answers to what concerns people. The question of how we can combat inflation, how we can do more for social justice in the European Union. We will be promoting this again in the next few weeks. And then I hope to see a strong green result.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We will set this as a topic again in the next few weeks. We need clarity: we clearly want pro-European, democratic majorities after this election.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, So we see that there are parties which are not only drumming against the European Union, but also want to question fundamental rights, fundamental values of the European Union. Accordingly, this is now a very cheap maneuver.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, We see the far-right not only want to destroy the European Union, but our democracy. That is why we will not build majorities together with them and will also try everything we can to have as weak a far-right presence as possible in the next European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, The rules were the same for all European parties. If you nominate leading candidates, then you can be part of such debates. If you don't do that, then that is simply not possible. The relevant parties have decided to handle this as they handle it. They did not nominate any lead candidates and therefore they are not taking part in the debate today.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, You know, I'm not the one who is making the rules. It's the Eurovision that has been making the rules. And they have been clear from the beginning. And again, there was a chance for all parties to put forward leading candidates. There is a reason why we have a leading candidate system.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, It is to Europeanize the elections, to make it possible for people to also follow what is happening in other European countries. We want to build a more European democracy, and for that, nominating leading candidates would be a very important step for all political parties.