Madam President, the October European Council conclusions act as a list of issues we have known about for years. Expensive energies, weakening competitiveness, jobs at risk and an unmanaged migration policy. So I wonder, for example, where is an effective price cap that will protect European industry? Where is the extraordinary taxation of excess profits of energy giants? Because those would be co
Mr President, affordable housing today is not just a problem for people on low incomes. It is also an existential challenge for young families and for people who, despite working, cannot afford their own housing or rental housing. I welcome the fact that, after years of speculation and manipulation of housing prices by private companies and various speculators around rental housing, the Commission
Madam President, energy is a question of security, competitiveness, but also of social stability in the European Union. In Europe, we have slowly destroyed an industry in which we have excelled for decades and which has benefited us. We have replaced it with an industry for which we cannot produce technology. We don't have a raw material base, but most importantly, we lack electricity infrastructu
ENSpeech
Restoring control of migration: returns, visa policy and third-country cooperation (topical debate)
Mr President, dear colleagues, we are debating migration for 10 years now and we need to finally address the root causes. To manage migration effectively, we have to look at the wider geopolitical situation in the relevant regions. For example, the United Arab Emirates stands as a vital responsible actor, stabilising a key region for migration flows. Partnering with them on security, dismantling s
SKSpeech
Presentation of the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan (debate)
Madam President, I welcome the European Union's cardiovascular health plan. Let me highlight the impact of cardiovascular disease on women and mothers. It is time to adopt a clear direction for helping women in the strategy to combat cardiovascular disease. Both prevention and diagnosis in women are often underestimated, and atypical symptoms, which are often different from those in men, unfortuna
SKSpeech
The new 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework: architecture and governance (debate)
I support the European Commission's proposal that large corporations with a turnover above EUR 100 million should pay a one-off contribution of EUR 100 000 to the common budget of the European Union. I am disappointed with the attitude of Germany and the Netherlands, because 100,000 is no threat to corporations. We are talking about companies that are already optimizing their taxes to the last cen
SKSpeech
Europe’s automotive future – reversing the ban on the sale of combustion cars in the EU (topical debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, you know, at a time when we are going to import fossil fuels from the United States of America, we will be dependent on the United States of America for 70% of their imports. If we still use the argument that we are going to protect the environment by not taking measures that change our original goals, then this whole debate is about nothing. In fact, in '23
SKQuestion
Rule of law and EU funds management in Slovakia (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to thank you for your intervention and I am very pleased that you have stressed to our Slovak opposition that the dialogue between the European Commission and the Government of the Slovak Republic is going very well, that the Government of the Slovak Republic is not making any complications at all and that we are looking for solutions to the problems tha
SKSpeech
Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast) (debate)
Madam President, colleagues, as in the case of real-world sexual offences, also in the digital space, law enforcement authorities need adequate tools to identify and apprehend the perpetrators. Today, the Internet is also a tool for predators who manipulate and abuse children. We can't hesitate anymore. We have had years of discussion on this subject. The risks are proven. Hundreds of thousands of
Madam President, I understand the reasons why Europe's military capabilities need to be restored, and especially after the political decision to make all key military equipment available to Ukraine. However, recent Eurobarometer data show a worrying reality. More than one third of our citizens expect the quality of life to deteriorate as a result of the growing cost-of-living crisis. How long can
SKSpeech
Presentation of the proposal on a new common approach on returns (debate)
Madam President, colleagues, Commissioner, the European Union's current migration policy has long been ineffective. And what we are talking about now or what you are proposing now, such proposals we already had here in 2015, later in 2018. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this time. Although Member States issue return decisions on a regular basis, only around 25% of migrants actually return, and
Commissioner, I am glad to have heard the greater part of the debate, because I see that your biggest critics are those who have given their support to the European Commission. It is so interesting that, despite your support for the European Commission, you are now the biggest critic of this proposal. I did not vote for the European Commission. I have also said for what reasons, and yet I think th
SKSpeech
Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, do you know why European voters are inclined towards radical parties? Because they feel that we have betrayed them and betrayed them in favor of the illusion that we are on a par with the United States. win win, which has not been the case for ten years. But we in Europe are responsible for our decline. European passivity, servility. And in the last eight months, zero a
SKSpeech
Strengthening children’s rights in the EU - 35th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (debate)
Madam President, children are one of the most important parts of our society and face many challenges that require our immediate attention. Let me dedicate my speech to our European children. The pandemic deeply affected their mental health, isolation and fear brought anxiety and depression. But we cannot make endless excuses for the pandemic and what came after the pandemic. We have to make some
SKSpeech
Managing migration in an effective and holistic way through fostering returns (debate)
Madam President, thank you very much, Madam President and Commissioner. I see colleagues from Fidesz here. They certainly remember when, in 2015 or 2016, at an extraordinary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, we were forced to take a decision on the mandatory redistribution of migrants. We're talking about nine years ago. For nine years, this has not worked and yet it has been brought
SKSpeech
Strengthening the security of Europe’s external borders: need for a comprehensive approach and enhanced Frontex support (debate)
Mr President, we set up Frontex in 2004 to secure and protect the external borders, and now it needs our political support, perhaps more than ever, because it was on Monday that we talked here about protecting and safeguarding the Schengen area. What is more relevant to the protection and safeguarding of the Schengen area than the protection of the external border? That is why we support, and our
SKSpeech
One year after the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas (debate)
Madam President, I will not repeat everything that has already been said here today. I am on the side of Israel and I support its fight against Islamic terrorism. And if we want to talk about why all this is, yes, Israel is waging a war against Islamic terrorism for us. That's a term that shouldn't have been used here for a long time. In the plenary of the European Parliament. Today, Israel is fig
SKSpeech
Organised crime, a major threat to the internal security of the European Union and European citizens (topical debate)
Madam President, organised crime is today one of the biggest threats to the internal security of the European Union. This is not just about drug trafficking, human trafficking or money laundering. This is a threat that directly affects the lives of our citizens. The most dangerous form of organised crime is terrorism, which threatens the foundations of our society. Just think of the brutal terrori
SKSpeech
Attempts to dismantle Rule of Law and media freedom in Slovakia (debate)
Madam President, Commissioner, I am very pleased that you have spoken about the protection of financial interests and the need for protection. It is only a pity that the Commission is not protecting financial interests from Ursula von der Leyen, you do not want to discuss this, but I respect that. That is what you decided six weeks before the European elections. I am glad that you mentioned that y
SKSpeech
Quality jobs in a competitive future-oriented social market economy (topical debate)
Mr President, a socially oriented economy and an economy brings a number of positive aspects, with an emphasis on the good and quality life of the individual, family, society, but also communities. The European economy must be competitive, but at the same time, as a social democrat, I call on the European Commission, but also on national governments, to strengthen social security and the associate
SKSpeech
Transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget (debate)
Mr President, transparency is the basic principle governing the use of European funds. This also applies to NGOs. The analyses carried out showed many shortcomings in the allocation of funds to non-profit organisations. We therefore need to set up strict regulation and effective control mechanisms to prevent fraud in the future. We must apply the same rules at both European and national level to c
SKSpeech
Planned dissolution of key anti-corruption structures in Slovakia and its implications on the Rule of Law (continuation of debate)
Commissioner, you have ignored breaches of the rule of law in Slovakia for three and a half years. You ignored 30 decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. You ignored five decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. You and I are well aware that the dismantling of the Special Prosecutor's Office is not contrary to the rule of law. Because it was not even a condition of ou
SKSpeech
EU strategy to assist young people facing the housing and cost of living crisis (topical debate)
Mr President, because of high inflation and the corresponding costs of meeting the basic necessities of life, families are left with less and less disposable income. Mortgage payments have reached unsustainable levels, and a large number of families are in an existential struggle when they are unable to pay high interest rates without resorting to their savings or lowering their quality of life. D
SKSpeech
Medicine shortages and strategic healthcare autonomy in the EU (debate)
Commissioner, I consider unrestricted access to affordable medicines for our citizens to be a priority for the end of this legislative term. It's a pity that we've only been doing this in the last few months. Access to medicines is an existential issue for the citizens of the Member States of the European Union and, as rapporteur for the revision of the general rules on medicines, I want to do eve
SKSpeech
Putting the European economy at the service of the middle class (debate)
Mr President, for many years it has been true that the middle class has a position in the European Union as a very vital part of society. But all this has changed. It has changed rapidly and is influenced by a number of factors. The most famous are high inflation, which directly pushes prices, which pushes people to not have the ability to pay mortgages, to pay leases, and these are all factors th