What Marina spoke about.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I am pleased today to intervene on behalf of the LIBE Committee to introduce the European Citizens' Initiative calling for a ban on conversion practices in the European Union. On 2 March, the LIBE Committee, together with the PETI and FEMM committees, hosted a public hearing on the Citizens' Initiative. We heard presentations by the association Against Co

Mr President, Commissioners, guests, colleagues. Today my country is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Estonia's independence. And yet, four years ago, that day took on a different meaning. I am proud of my country and how much Estonia has helped Ukraine. I am saddened by every victim that Ukraine has suffered. I can only imagine how it is to live under constant bombardment in the cold, dark, u

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Belarus has recently intensified hybrid operations against Lithuania. We express solidarity with Lithuania and fully support Lithuania's right to take proportionate measures to protect its sovereignty, public order and safety. But I would like to broaden the picture. Russia and Belarus are two sides of the same coin. Besides hybrid attacks originating from B

Dear President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, It is our duty to protect children both in the real world and online. Not with speeches and slogans, but with actions, listening to experts and representatives of children's organizations. That is why I do not consider a general age rating and a total ban on social media for minors to be correct. Age recognition leads to discrimination and social

Dear President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, As LIBE rapporteur, I am very pleased to see that most of our proposals are reflected in the strategy, including a multidisciplinary approach, legal gender recognition, the involvement of women in crisis resolution. The report also deserves recognition for its clear opposition to violence against women and its support for consent-based rape provi

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, colleagues, Ukraine is fighting against Russian aggression at the front, and with tens of thousands of civilian casualties, and two kids being killed in Kyiv last night. And Ukraine is under constant pressure to give up land and freedom under the so‑called 'peace treaty' orchestrated in the Kremlin. At the same time, the EU supports the Russian criminal regime

Madam President, Commissioner, missing Council, dear colleagues, child sexual abuse is an extremely cruel crime that leaves the victim to deal with decades of trauma. In order to protect our children, we need to make sure that there is no impunity for these crimes, and that victims get maximum help and support. Today, I have three messages. First, to the victims and survivors of child sexual abuse

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I deeply regret that so far there has not been a formal decision on the seizure of Russia's immobilised central bank assets. Repeatedly, we hear from the Council and Commission that they have not found a legally sound way to use the seized assets. My advice is very simple: try harder. Try harder to find a political willingness as well as a solution compatibl

Yesterday, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, spoke in this hall, welcoming him with a tumultuous applause and a promise to continue supporting Ukraine. I am proud that the European Union is the biggest supporter of Ukraine, but it would be better and fairer. Firstly, it is not fair that Member States contribute to helping Ukraine per capita The calculation is so different. On o

Mr President, Commissioner, President-in-Office. Russia’s hybrid attacks on the European Union have steadily increased in recent years. We know it, we repeat it. And yet we cannot prevent, stop or punish attacks. The European Union, the world's largest economic regions, cannot bring Russia's war economy, many times smaller, to its knees. It's embarrassing. Today, coastal states and NATO allies are

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, colleagues! Russia is attacking the security of Europe, i.e. all of us, more and more brutally and consistently. There are plenty of examples. The war in Ukraine, cyber-attacks, information wars, the use of illegal migrants as hybrid weapons, terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, etc. The actions of Russia and its criminal allies must

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, Zhala, I welcome the release of Dr Ibadoghlu from house arrest, but I also urge to lift a travel ban in order to allow him to travel and receive medical treatment abroad. Unfortunately, the overall situation with human rights in Azerbaijan has significantly worsened in the recent years. Repressions against civil society and activists, judicial harassment, attac

Madam President, Commissioner. Today is my last address to the plenary in my capacity as chair of the South Caucasus Delegation, co-chair of the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC) and a friend of Georgia. I have two messages: firstly, to the politicians of Georgia, and in particular to the governing Georgian Dream party. Please stop jeopardising Georgia’s European aspirations. It

Dear Mr President, There are two processes before the European Union today. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine made possible what we did not even dream of a few years ago: the enlargement of the European Union to the east. This is evidenced by the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia. At the same time, discussions have continued

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan was very clear when he spoke in this Hemicycle in October: Armenia has turned to Europe and looks for closer cooperation with the EU. This is not only a choice of economic convenience, but also a choice based on the country’s commitment to the key European values and the difficult security situation. I strongly welcome the r

The European Union made history by adopting the Digital Services Act. For the first time in the world, digital platforms were regulated in the fight against hate speech and disinformation. An important step was taken to ensure that anything that is illegal in the real world is also illegal in the digital world. This is an important promise to our people – consumers of digital services. You are equ

Dear Mr President, In 2007, I was the Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Moscow. This was the time when Russia portrayed my country as a Nazi state and me as an ambassador of a Nazi state. This was the time when Russia organised cyber-attacks against Estonia and instigated anti-Estonian demonstrations in Tallinn. I saw first-hand how the Kremlin's propaganda machine operates; what they are w

Dear Mr President, I have three messages today. Firstly: The war in Ukraine must end with Ukrainian victory and peace under Ukrainian conditions, that is, the prosecution of Putin and those around him, as well as all war criminals. This is the only way to stop a criminal aggressor and show the world that international law applies. Second: €50 billion for Ukraine is the right decision, but it is no

Dear Mr President, This digital transformation of cross-border judicial cooperation is one piece of legislation that we are trying to make life easier and procedures more accessible for our citizens. We are already seeing how cross-border our lives are and we can only think that this tendency will only get worse. This, in turn, means that there is an increasing need for cross-border services, incl

Dear Mr President, With this Digitalisation Package for judicial cooperation, we are making judicial cooperation and information exchange in cross-border judicial matters faster and easier, which in turn means that citizens will also benefit from faster and simpler judicial procedures and justice. As a digital country, we know very well in Estonia that digital communication must be reliable and se

Mr President, Council, Commissioner, colleagues. Today's situation on the Finnish-Russian border has led Russia to achieve its political goals, punish Finland for its critical positions and NATO membership. This is not the first time innocent people have been used for a migrant attack. Last year, Belarus did so at the border with Lithuania, and now Russia is repeating the same, transporting innoce

Madam President, Commissioner, Council, dear colleagues, once again we are discussing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We will vote on a resolution and I would like to make a couple of points. First, the EU should reconsider its relations with Azerbaijan and make them conditional. We have to stop with appeasement. There must be immediate consequences for the Aliyev regime. A year ago, Commission

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I join my voice to protest against the brutal arrest and continued detention of Dr Ibadoghlu based on highly dubious charges. I also join my voice to call for the immediate release of Dr Ibadoghlu. Regrettably, this is not the first time we discuss human rights situation in Azerbaijan. The European Court of Human Rights stated in 2018 that ‘there is a tro

Mr President, Commissioner, Council, colleagues, to start with, I would like to recognise, Commissioner, your efforts in negotiating with the United States and legal steps taken by Biden administration. But regrettably, this is not good enough for our citizens. There are still too many uncertainties. There is the overall legal uncertainty about the executive order that can be overturned at any tim

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues. First of all, I would like to thank our rapporteur and congratulate him for this report. As the Chair of the South Caucasus delegation, I would like to highlight some points. Firstly, the deployment of the European Union mission in Armenia is a very important step for the security of the region and a significant contribution to further engagement of the E