What Robert spoke about.

The approval of the agreement on changes to the functioning of the Connecting Europe Facility must give new impetus to a more efficient use of the EU budget for infrastructure projects across Europe, including in Slovakia. Of the more than 30 billion envelopes, it will go most to transport, less to energy and something also to digitalisation, i.e. to areas where huge investments are needed all ove

Madam President, I am very pleased that at least Mr Šefčovič is here when President von der Leyen did not have the courage to stay with us. Growing protests by farmers even in front of the seats of the European Parliament are perfectly understandable. The June elections are approaching, and therefore when, if not now, it would be necessary to push politicians at European Union level too if they wa

Mr President, in December we approved the European Parliament's position on the European Hydrogen Bank mechanism, where I was the rapporteur-general. Priority has been given to supporting domestic European hydrogen production so that we are as least dependent on imports, especially from non-democratic countries. We must also take a similar approach in the case of solar panels, where the world mark

Mr President, dear colleagues, hydrogen will play an important role in the decarbonisation process. As rapporteur, I am very pleased that we are going to adopt Parliament’s position on the importance of domestic production, design of auctions, the role of imports, sustainability and geographical balance. I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs for their constructive cooperation in the neg

Madam President, "Slovakia is in danger of freezing EU funds," the opposition is shouting in Slovakia and rousing people into the streets. In this case, however, it is more like a power struggle in the state than a real effort to defend the rule of law. It is as if some parties fail to respect the fact that government entities are fulfilling their electoral programme. The intention to amend the Cr

Madam President, Commissioner, the coordinated exit from the Energy Charter Treaty is good news for the sovereignty of the European Union and for the green transition as the Energy charter is protecting oil, coal and gas, it also contradicts the objectives of the green transition. But what is worse, the treaty creates a risk that large companies can ask for the financial compensations and sued the

Madam President, dear Commissioner, I am very concerned about the current worrying humanitarian situation after the attack of Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh. We have to recognise that EU has failed and was not able to prevent this to happen. It is another significant setback in the effort to build sustainable peace in the region. Maintaining ceasefire is our key priority. Both sides should refrain

Madam President, ‘strategic autonomy, less dependencies’ – many declarations, but it’s time to act. The Chips Act aims to double the EU share in global production capacity. Without chips, we cannot produce vehicles or develop critical infrastructures. Factories will stop running and many workers will lose their jobs. But for now, there is a bottleneck, with the production concentrated in Taiwan an

Madam President, renewable energies, decent jobs, sustainable industry, reducing inequalities and fighting climate change, these sustainable development goals are key topics for the EU. Sustainability is also about changing the EU economy and initiatives such as Fit for 55. On this aspect, ambitions and objectives are good, maybe, but implementation is even more important. But we need to accelerat

Madam President, batteries are essential components of the green transition. We need them for electronic devices, electric vehicles and balancing of renewable energy sources. Without batteries and necessary storage capacities, renewable technology will still have to be backed by fossil fuels that ensure stability of grid if there is a lack of sun, wind or water. EU is a leader in batteries, with m

on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. - (DE) Madam President, Commissioner, we have had a winter that, thanks to the weather, we managed well above expectations. Gas reservoirs are still more than 50 percent full, and the price is below 50 euros per megawatt hour. We seem to be out of the worst, but it's a misconception. Just a stiffer winter, drought and windlessness, and the prices of gas and electrici

Mr President, dear colleagues, the green transition will massively impact Europe’s labour markets and some regions will be exposed to job losses, and new job opportunities will arise in the other regions. Smaller Member States cannot stand alone in this and we need more Europe to come up with alternative solutions for those that will be affected the most. Green transition is not only about high-sk

Madam President, dear Commissioner, several times already we have strongly condemned large-scale military aggression by Azerbaijan against Armenian people. Now we have to urge both sides of the conflict, especially Azerbaijani authorities, to respect the principle of territorial integrity and to refrain from any hostile rhetoric. We call on both sides to proceed without any further delay with the

Mr President, Commissioner. I was wondering if you would mention, in addition to these savings in gas consumption and, of course, in the future production of biomethane and hydrogen, the possibility of resuming the extraction of our own gas on our behalf. We have the largest reserves in Europe, of course in the Netherlands, but we also have, for example, in Slovakia, where gas was once also extrac

Mr President, Commissioner. Yes, in the year since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the energy map of Europe has been completely rewritten. It is certainly positive that Europe has sought and, to some extent, managed to find alternative gas suppliers. Here I mainly want to ask and continue with the logic of the previous question, since we really know that this winter has been considerate to us

Madam President, strategic minerals are a geopolitical tool and will soon be more important than gas or oil. In Europe, we need to reduce dependence on imports of key raw materials from third countries, as the United States or Japan have long been doing. Europe must strengthen its autonomy and resilience and, if it wants to become a global leader in green technologies, it must also be a leader in

Mr President, (inaudible words) that emissions from transport have increased by almost a fifth since 1990, according to Eurostat. The automotive industry today depends on imports of chips from Taiwan, batteries from China, cobalt and lithium from other third countries. If we want to be a real leader in the transition to electromobility, we need to strengthen our resilience and strategic autonomy.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is the only way to connect Armenian people from Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, is deeply worrying. The EU has to call on Azerbaijan to take all measures to allow the free movement of people and humanitarian goods through this corridor. The humanitarian situation in the region, already aggravated by

Mr President, dear Commissioner, colleagues, digital platforms significantly contribute to an increased competition. However, the legislation that should define fair rules for all employees, consumers and businesses is lagging behind. We need to set clearer rules that would secure adequate working conditions with clear employment status, social protection, and prevent practices such as false self-

Madam President, as a result of the current energy crisis and high inflation, the WHO predicts that more than 120,000 people in Europe may lose their lives this winter. Hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs and millions of people will have the choice of eating healthy or heating enough. We therefore need to help people, as they did not come into this situation through their fault, but because

Madam President, Slovakia is certainly an inspiring example for all the countries of the Western Balkans that want to become members of the European Union, how to proceed on this path and what reforms need to be implemented. It is good that you are devoting so much energy to this region. It's also close to my country and me personally, because I'm Slovak. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ch

Madam President, we are in the midst of a major energy crisis caused mainly, but not only, by the Russian aggression in Ukraine, and we must all the more accelerate the transformation of our energy. In other words, it is about strengthening our strategic autonomy, i.e. energy self-sufficiency, and thus, in particular, reducing our dependence on third countries, be it Russia or Qatar or Azerbaijan.

Madam President, I appreciate the Commission's efforts to come up with proposals to reduce high energy prices, which many businesses and households cannot bear. Proposals are going in the right direction, but today they are not enough. It should be borne in mind that the main reason for the high prices today is the lack of supply, which is linked to the loss of a number of stable nuclear sources,

Mr President, even in the context of the current dramatic situation, we must continue to support our ambitious climate goals. This will also reduce dependence on third countries and strengthen our autonomy. The European Union must remain a global leader in reducing emissions. But it's not just up to us to keep warming to just one and a half degrees, and that's why in Sharm el Sheikh, too, we have

Mr President, the largest fertiliser producer in Slovakia and, at the same time, one of the largest in Europe, Duslo Šaľa shut down its operations in August. The official reason was revision and possible repairs, but production has not yet resumed. Indeed, high gas and electricity prices, but above all the lack of assistance from the Union and our government, as well as bad laws, make it really di