What Marjan spoke about.

Madam President, dear colleagues, Europe must be able to defend itself. For that, we need a strong, competitive and innovative European defence industry. The defence omnibus is an important step forward. Less bureaucracy, faster procedures and better conditions for our companies to invest and cooperate. We also are improving the European Defence Fund by supporting SMEs and strengthening cross‑bord

Madam President, honourable Commissioner, honourable colleagues, I am pleased to have been able to be a member of the committee negotiating air passenger rights. After more than thirteen years, MEPs have secured stronger and clearer protection for air passengers. We don't care how travellers travel around Europe. Travel should be simpler and fairer with less uncertainty. As already mentioned, the

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues! The enlargement of the European Union has been sidelined in recent years, and that was a mistake. It is therefore good that enlargement has once again become an important political topic in this mandate, to which Commissioner Marta Kos is also making an important contribution with her dedicated work and energy. The enlargement process must continue

Mr President, colleagues, Montenegro’s accession to the Judgments Convention is an important step. This convention, developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, establishes a modern global framework that makes it easier for court decisions in civil and commercial cases to be recognised and enforced across borders. This may sound technical, but it has real impact. It strengthens

Madam President! The events in the United States remind us how quickly a state power can cross the line of legality when control and accountability disappear. The actions of ICE with aggressive raids without basic respect for dignity are not only an internal matter of the US, they are a warning to all democracies. We could swing our hand and say: I don't care, the U.S. is far away. Unfortunately,

Of course I agree with you. I mentioned my country as an example of helping the country to build a system, i.e. also in formal law matters, and the way in which protection and rescue itself is organised as a system. Of course, I agree with you that Croatia has also helped and, of course, many other countries, and it is certainly never so good that it could not have been better.

Mr President. We had a discussion on the topic of wildfires in July and today on the threshold of autumn we find that nature showed us our teeth again. It is not always just about nature, but in every society there are individuals who also set fires. Regardless of the origin of the fires, the consequences are the same. Destroyed hectares of land, people's property and, irreparably, lost lives. How

Madam President, today it is crucial that we, as a society, become more resilient to any potential threats to our population. This includes preparedness for natural disasters. The EU crisis preparedness strategy also talks about this, which means that the Commissioner is well aware of the whole issue. As a former Minister of Defence, also responsible for this area, I am aware that the cooperation

Mr President, the enlargement of the European Union today is no longer just a bureaucratic process, it is a key geopolitical step, which means consolidating the stability, security and democratic values of the European Union. Countries that already demonstrate European commitment need clear messages and encouraging steps from Brussels. The promise of membership of the European Union must be true a

Mr President, dear colleagues, thank you for your words. It is clear from these words that we are all working towards Montenegro becoming a member of the European Union. Dear Commissioner, dear Marta, as you have finally said: our common task is to help Montenegro meet all the criteria and be mature to join the European Union and all the countries that have joined – Slovenia, our country in 2004 f

Madam President, Honourable Commissioner Marta Kos, Honourable Colleagues, you have before you the 2023-2024 Progress Report on Montenegro. The report concludes that Montenegro remains the leading candidate in the enlargement process and has managed to maintain high support from the population for joining the European Union, reaching up to 80% in some places. It is also important that both the par

Madam President. First of all, it is worth congratulating Montenegro on the closure of three chapters, which is a good success. Of course, the Western Balkans as a whole have been waiting too long and we have done too little in the past in this area. In the past mandate, enlargement did not happen, and if enlargement to the Western Balkans does not happen in this mandate, then we will cover the wh

Madam President! What the countries affected today are experiencing was last year’s largest flooding in the country’s history. I was Minister of Defence, also in charge of protection and rescue, and that is why I know first-hand how difficult it is to deal with such crises, how difficult it is to see the suffering of people who have lost everything on the ground. Some of their lives too. I have se