Peter Felser, December 15, 2022, Origin Labeling

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/76, pp. 9041-9042.

Right honorable Frau President. Herr Minister. Dear colleagues. Dear farmers.

That the animal husbandry labeling planned by you would be counter-productive for all participants, my colleague Protschka has already stated. You rightly receive criticism from all sides of the branch.  I cite, with permission of the President, the association of the meat industry: The law will contribute nothing to the reconstruction of animal husbandry but to the deconstruction of the supply security of German production and also presumably to the deconstruction of the already achieved progress in animal husbandry. – All here present need to give consideration to that. We simply cannot permit that in the present crisis, dear colleagues.

What on the other hand would be a strong support for the branch and all participants, and which is already long overdue, is the obligatory origin labeling [Herkunftskennzeichung] of all foodstuffs. We have repeatedly demanded it and today renew this demand with our motion [Drucksache 20/4889].

The reality however so appears that German agriculture finds itself in a hard displacement competition. Against foreign dumping of foodstuffs, the home farmers effectively have scarcely a chance. Environmental and animal protection play scarcely any role in foreign production. That is also in truth known to everyone here.

A transparent labeling of origin could nevertheless decisively change that. It cannot be, dear colleagues, that there are foodstuffs which contain additives from Poland, from China, from Brazil, which the consumer however simply does not see in a food market. What then is it for a label when thereon is: “Honey from EU and non-EU Countries”? Hello? From non-EU countries? Thus from all the world, from every planet? That is not consumer information, that is a spoof of the consumer, nothing else.

In my Allgäu, Allgäu milk is marketed which in part does not come from Allgäu. Where it says Allgäu milk, in the future it needs therein be Allgäu milk, dear colleagues. Period! All else would be deception of the consumer.

With origin labeling, domestic agricultural products would be visible at a glance to everyone. Producers and consumers could thus themselves decide for home products and thereby for very high animal protection and environmental standards. From all relevant surveys we know that, out there, this is explicitly desired by the consumers.

That this important decision is ever again postponed is irresponsible. Austria, France and Sweden have here already successfully gone ahead. There is thus no substantial or factual reason why we here could not also immediately introduce this in Germany. With our motion, we give to you the opportunity to finally introduce exactly this origin labeling for us in Germany.

Many thanks and a blessed Christmas.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

 

Rüdiger Lucassen, November 23, 2022, Defense Procurement

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/69, p. 8092.

Frau President. Frau Defense Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen.

Nine months Zeitenwende [change of times] Bundeswehr. Here, I want to open with a question: Where is it, the Zeitenwende of Chancellor Olaf Scholz? In the Defense Committee it so far has not arrived. The press in any case seeks it. It has not arrived in the industry and our soldiers after nine months have seen nothing of the Zeitenwende in their barracks.

            Marianne Schieder (SPD): That is not right! Go there for once!

Scholz’s Zeitenwende, there is none, and not after your just heard attempt at clarification, Frau Minister. The truth is: For defense of our country, the Federal government has made 100 billion euros in debts, yet it has done nothing to expend the money for our armed forces. What the Federal government is doing to the Bundeswehr is sabotage, sabotage by incompetence.   

Dear colleagues, what could a willing and competent Federal government do with all of 100 billion euros?  Much of the damage which was inflicted on the Bundeswehr in the last decades could thereby be repaired. This prospect of a material change in the Bundeswehr is besides why a majority voted for the special fund. Yet now it appears that 100 billion in debt money melts away like snow in the sun, and the reasons are all homemade.

First. By means of galloping inflation, the purchasing power of the special fund decreases in the coming five years to 69 billion. That means 31 billion in purchasing power has been burnt.

Second. The increased interest rates for the borrowed money in any case hits the special fund full in the account. In the six months of this year alone, 308 million euros therein goes just for interest. For this sum, the Defense Ministry could buy 20 new armored howitzers. Yet the Defense Ministry buys no armored howitzers, exactly as few heavy transport helicopters, Boxers for the medium forces, or the enormously important air defense.

            Andreas Schwarz (SPD): Nevertheless, everything runs!

Instead, the Defense Ministry pays interest. With interest, our soldiers cannot fight.

State Secretary Möller drew our attention in a friendly way to the third point in the last committee meeting: The weakness of the euro. Every arms purchase in the U.S.A., like the purchase of the F-35 or the heavy transport helicopters, will obviously be figured in U.S. dollars. As a result of the weak euro, there is ever less armament for the money in the U.S.A. Your catastrophic financial policy not only weakens our prosperity but also our defense readiness.

The fourth and last reason for the melting of the special fund is the totally overcharged procurement system of the Bundeswehr. All of the Defense Ministers of the last nine years attempted a reform, all have failed. Frau Lambrecht herself has given up the attempt of a reform.

            Andreas Schwarz (SPD): Which nevertheless runs fine!

What the Federal government does with the special fund is a money demolition. And the Bundeswehr in the future will not be defense ready.

Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is off track, for every defense politician, regardless of which party. I say to you what I would do in this situation. I would set clear priorities and order weapons and munitions and indeed do it quickly. The German defense industry can deliver. It only waits on orders. I would run the risk of setting aside the procurement law, motivate the Armaments Office and let the complaints come [Ich würde ins Risiko gehen, mich über das Vergaberecht hinwegsetzen, dem Rüstungsamt Beine machen, es auf Klagen ankommen lassen]. Authentic political leadership presupposes the will to implement. It means having in view the welfare of the Bundeswehr and of our Federal Republic and taking personal responsibility for decisions in an emergency.

Thank you.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ulrike Schielke-Ziesing, November 22, 2022, Family Ministry and Lobbyists

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/68, p. 7940.

Herr President. Dear colleagues. Honorable citizens.

We stand at the beginning of a recession. While savings measures will be spoken of, the people called upon to save and millions of families are on the edge of despair, money for unnecessary prestige projects will be expended, lobby associations taken into consideration and spared for false purposes. The Family Ministry budget is exemplary of this. It sets false priorities and is thoroughly soaked in green ideology.

For false priorities, the “Language Day Care” program – cost factor: 250 million euros per year – is the best example. This program is the life’s blood of many day cares. Over 7,000 professionals are thereby financed nationwide so as to promote the language development of the children. The latest studies indicate to us how important this is, whereby early childhood language education fell to an unheard level thanks to the Corona preventive measures.

And what do you do as nearly the first official act? In the Family Ministry this program was eliminated. Following a great wave of protest, the Ministry now comes about and yet again 109 million euros is posited for use in the interval – that is, until June 2023 – money which otherwise was erroneously provided with a stop notation.

Two billion euros were grandiosely announced for the new Good Day Care Law which is now called the “Day Care Quality Law”. That however is a potent smoke screen. There has of course flowed just zero cents more so far by means of this Good Day Care Law.

Where you cut, once again completely lacking transparency, is for example in the investment programs for the child care financing. In the years 2020 and 2021, there was still foreseen one billion euros. Were thus a balance sum for the day care promotion reckoned, the account would appear as follows: Minus 230 million euros for the Federal programs, inclusive of the language day care, minus 500 million euros for the investment programs. For 2023, that makes a minus of 750 million euros which is omitted nationwide. That is inconceivable for a Family Minister.

Yet you plainly set your priorities differently; since, ja, there must be money for your lobbyist colleagues and for the green ideology agenda of your ministry. For the so-called measures for strengthening variety and tolerance, 200 million euros are again foreseen. That thereby organizations with a direct connection in the Moslem Brotherhood will also be promoted – all the same.

For your lobbyist colleagues there is an abundance of money. That is best seen in regards the anti-discrimination commissioner, Frau Ataman.

            Leni Breymaier (SPD): Good woman!

Her office, completely detached from any responsibility, next year receives 13.4 million euros. That is fully 250 percent more than in 2021. So as to raise the money for that moreover, the women’s homes were cut.

            Denise Loop (Greens): That is not right!

If I may then continue in the list: There are again 10 million euros for the political party youth organizations. In clear text: A gift of the taxpayers to the political organizations like Grüne Jugend, Jusos, Linkes Jugend and Co.. 10 million euros for welfare associations for the “Counseling of Refugees”. I can here will imagine that soon with this next motion, the citizens’ money is imparted for “counseling” – and, and, and.

The crowning of the whole was nevertheless seriously the coalition’s motion in the settlement sitting of two weeks ago. Without shame, you have actually explicitly given money to specified firms. There were the yearly payment to the PHINEO AG of 350,000 euros or the 1.34 million euros for LGBTQ projects – the most of which, 850,000 euros, explicitly for Pinkdot.

Normally, duties and goals for a ministry’s budget are defined, then money placed at disposal and the attendant guidelines written out, to which the firms can then apply. Yet it is thus very burdensome and costly. It is just much more convenient to name an actual firm and to write it in the budget.

            Stephan Brandner (AfD): Unbelievable!

The entire bureaucracy thus saves. It is only about a trifling 1.2 million euros. Who should be troubled by that? That is cronyism par excellence.

While the people will be called upon to save, while debts are made as if there was no tomorrow, here without shame money will be distributed to lobbyist associations. That is impudent. And it is incomprehensible why the FDP participates in all this nonsense.

            Stephan Brandner (AfD): I well understand it: Lust for positions.

 We of the AfD in any case will not share in this title and this budget – not as long as ideology and lobbyism are placed above the needs of the families in this country.

Many thanks.

 

[trans: tem]