Mr President, our Union has done more than any other international organisation in the last seven decades. The Union insists on and has indeed achieved peaceful coexistence between its Member States. The Union has significantly increased the quality of life of its citizens, helping in disasters, helping to resolve conflicts, supporting science, innovation, young people like no other international
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Cohesion policy 2014-2020 – implementation and outcomes in the Member States (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, let me begin by saying that this report by my colleague Novakov is, in my opinion, of very high quality. Cohesion policy should remain part of the backbone policies of the European Union. And let me make one more introductory remark. In my view, EU cohesion policy is at a turning point. It must cope with other, competitive EU instruments and, in my view, must be main
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Substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims (Green Claims Directive) (A9-0056/2024 - Cyrus Engerer, Andrus Ansip)
Mr President, last March, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on environmental claims to ensure that consumers receive reliable, serious, comparable and verifiable environmental information on different products. According to a study carried out by the European Commission in 2020, more than half of environmental claims in the internal market are provided in a vague, misleading way or
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Horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (A9-0253/2023 - Nicola Danti)
Mr President, for me, this proposal falls within the broader concept of cybersecurity as such. We have done much in this field. I will recall the approval of the NIS 2 Directive last year. Also in the Czech Republic, but of course in a number of Member States, I think that we would not find almost any Member State of the European Union that has not faced massive cyber-attacks in recent years, we h
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Energy performance of buildings (recast) (A9-0033/2023 - Ciarán Cuffe)
Mr President, I supported this proposal, although I have some reservations about it, but at the same time I also think that it is better to have a proposal than to have no proposal at all. The reason is quite clear. We have buildings that add one-third to the growth of greenhouse gases. Buildings are responsible for one third of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. 40% of our energy is used in build
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Compulsory licensing for crisis management and amending Regulation (EC) 816/2006 (debate)
Mr President, a compulsory licence is a possibility where the government, under certain conditions, allows the use of a patent, in fact, without the consent of the right holder. A compulsory licence is undoubtedly a last resort, but it is known in intellectual property law and is not an instrument of expropriation. Forced licences can therefore complement the EU’s current efforts to increase its r
Mr President, Commissioner, tomorrow's adoption of this report will conclude several years of work on tackling the cross-border activities of non-profit organisations. I think that the work of my colleagues in the JURI Committee has resulted in high-quality material that will be a so-called thrown glove for the Member States. The proposal for a directive is a clear benefit, because it improves the
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Report on the Commission’s 2023 Rule of Law report (A9-0025/2024 - Sophia in 't Veld)
Madam President, I will explain this point. I supported this proposal. I believe that the rule of law is a fundamental value of the European Union. It is a value on which we must be able to rely, both for the Member States and for individual citizens. And we have a number of examples from the past where this value of the rule of law has been violated, even by a Member State of the European Union.
Madam President, I did not support this proposal. I understand the need to improve safety as well as to increase the protection of road users. Of course, protecting lives, health and property is undoubtedly an important value. However, I consider that this proposal has led to a very significant tightening of a number of controls. I even believe that older drivers are being bullied, and I believe t
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The extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange and implications on freedom of the press (debate)
Madam President, I have respect for what Mr Julian Assange has done. I also understand that being in prison for 12 years is really despicable. I think this is already the high level of punishment that Mr Assange has had to face. I also understand the initiative of my colleagues. On the other hand, I want to express a certain degree of restraint here, because we are talking about British justice, w
Madam President, I welcome the establishment of a European digital identity. In my view, this initiative is going in the right direction. It undoubtedly contributes to the digitalisation of our economy and is a voluntary activity of our citizens. It is therefore important to make this tool available to them. However, they will still have sufficient control over their privacy and sufficient control
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Improving the Union’s protection against market manipulation on the wholesale energy market (debate)
Madam President, it is a fact that two years ago, European consumers experienced a really huge price jump and also a price shock. We have promised them, and we continue to promise, that an effective Energy Union will be created. And time flies, and this Energy Union still doesn't work. What have we seen in recent years? Manipulating prices, lack of transparency and, in fact, undermining the energy
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Need for an urgent Council decision in favour of amending the protection status of wolves in the Bern Convention (debate)
Madam President, we have been talking about the wolf repeatedly. I feel like we can't talk about a large population of the European wolf. Twenty thousand pieces, that's not really a large population. Let's be glad we got into these situations. Let us be honest, please, if it were not for the European elections, we would not be discussing this activity of the European Commission at all. I am really
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Financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2023 (debate)
Mr President, Madam President – I only have one minute – but first of all, I would like to congratulate you on winning the post of President of the European Investment Bank. On the institution’s annual report: First of all, I want to say what the European Investment Bank can be praised for. Firstly, it is providing long-term finance and expertise for promising projects and also helping to attract
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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance
Mr President, as one minute of my speech, I chose the topic of simplification, that is, simplification of cohesion policy instruments. In my view, this is indeed a crucial issue not only for cohesion policy and regional policy as a whole, but also for all EU policies, such as agricultural policy. This is important for the beneficiaries of our aid, be they farmers, be they municipalities, of course
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Protection of the environment through criminal law (short presentation)
Mr President, I welcome this draft report for a number of reasons. I think it is our duty to increase environmental protection, because every year we are witnessing a huge environmental disaster in different Member States with a cross-border impact. I will recall deforestation, fires, deliberate pollution of rivers that flow to many EU Member States. I think that the European Union must respond to
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Amending Decision (EU) 2017/1324: continuation of the Union’s participation in PRIMA under Horizon Europe (short presentation)
Mr President, I welcome this PRIMA initiative because cooperation on development, and in particular the principle of available water resources, is really crucial for our future. And I am also glad that we are working on developing our partnerships. Of course, the European Union must continue to participate in this initiative. Eleven EU Member States and eight non-EU countries are also represented.
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Rule of Law and media freedom in Greece (B9-0098/2024)
Mr President, I hope I can respond to the request for an explanation of vote. I supported this motion for a resolution despite some reservations. In my view, the rule of law is a key value for us, it brings together the EU Member States, and the Greek approach has seen some contradictions and a problematic approach to the value of the rule of law. Equality of treatment must be guaranteed to all ci
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Norway's recent decision to advance seabed mining in the Arctic (B9-0095/2024)
Mr President, I also supported this motion for a resolution because, first of all, I think it is necessary to insist on the validity of the international moratorium on the Arctic and the exploitation of this seabed. We must also fight to preserve and promote the development of biodiversity. We share practically the same values with Norway and its citizens. We share a very close partnership. We're
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Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques and their food and feed (A9-0014/2024 - Jessica Polfjärd)
Mr President, a lot of falsehoods are spreading around new genomic techniques and there is little rational debate. I supported the proposal of my colleague Jessica Polfjärd because a clear legal framework is established for these techniques. It is a cross-breeding and modification of genetic material in cruciferous species. The proposal aims to ensure the resilience of crops. This is particularly
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Recent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria
Mr President, the persecution of any minority is unacceptable, let alone the murder of 35 farmers and Christians. It is completely unacceptable what happened in Plateau State, and I must remind you that we are dealing with the situation in Nigeria on several occasions. The background to this attack is also important to mention – Christmas holidays, Islamic terrorism. I don't think it's possible to
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Increased number of executions in Iran, in particular the case of Mohammad Ghobadlou
Mr President, at least 360 prisoners have been executed since 7 October 2023 – the start of the war, which is clearly sponsored by the Iranian regime. The head of the snake, which is in Tehran, needs to create an external crisis because they cannot face the Iranian people’s uprising against the regime. Executions are their tactic to silence. Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Iranian opposition, has com
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New wave of mass arrests in Belarus of opposition activists and their family members
Mr President, once again we strongly support Belarusian citizens, persecuted members of the opposition, journalists, their families and, in fact, the whole of Belarusian civil society. We strongly condemn the next wave of mass arrests in Belarus. We urge the illegitimate Lukashenka regime to stop the repression. The regime must unequivocally release all unjustified prisoners, more than 1,400 polit
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The EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is the main global intergovernmental body dedicated to the status and promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment in particular. The upcoming meetings will focus on accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, tackling poverty and strengthening gender-sensitive institutions
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Automated data exchange for police cooperation (“Prüm II”) (debate)
Mr President, for more than 15 years, the Prüm framework has allowed EU law enforcement authorities to exchange information. The Prüm Decisions adopted in 2008 are intended to promote cross-border police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. And this Prüm framework successfully contributes to the fight against crime and terrorism in the EU. It is also an important part of cooperation in th