What Petri spoke about.

13 Mar

2024

EN Question

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo (debate)

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First of all, I have to remind the honourable Members that when we had a socialist Prime Minister, our instruction to the EPP was not to make this a discussion about domestic politics. Min fråga till er ärade Europaparlamentariker Fritzon är, varför gjorde ni exakt tvärtom här i dag?…

17 Jan

2024

EN Answer

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the Special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 - Situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds (joint debate - European Council meetings)

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I’ll answer the question with pleasure. I surely don’t think that this is a leftist plot – and I have a very good argument to answer you about the Polish situation, because in my previous life I worked with a lot of Polish friends. I was in Warsaw, I knew the TVP, Telewizja Polska back then, and it was a free media. But over the last few years something awful happened in Poland and these people we…

17 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the Special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 - Situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds (joint debate - European Council meetings)

Watch

Mr President, let’s start with a fact: European Union decision-making is paralysed. The Council should face that fact and start doing something about it. Article 7.2 was not put in the Treaty for nothing. it is there for a reason. So please roll up your sleeves and start the work to save this European Union. Another fact: the Commission would have had time to make the decision on those EUR 10.2 bi…

21 Nov

2023

FI Speech

Recent developments at the EU’s external border between Finland and Russia and the need to uphold EU law (debate)

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Mr President, this is a deliberate and deliberate Russian operation, and there is nothing new about it. Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and now Finland, Finland was prepared for this for a long time and was able to accept the situation. Russia is trying to destabilise Finland, and it is doing so at the longest border of the European Union. That is why it is a matter for the European Union as a w…

21 Nov

2023

EN Speech

Continuing threat to the rule of law, the independence of justice and the non-fulfilment of conditionality for EU funding in Hungary (debate)

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Madam President, honourable Commissioners, dear colleagues, I’m not that sick and tired of having this discussion, as Sophia in ‘t Veld is, simply because, unfortunately, it is our job. It is our role to make sure that the laws are abided by and the rule of law is being respected. It’s also our role to make sure that the Commission does what it’s supposed to do. I have to say that I have to give i…

18 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Presentation of the Court of Auditors' annual report 2022 (debate)

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Mr President, honourable President of the European Court of Auditors, Commissioner, dear colleagues, first of all, I would like to thank President Murphy for presenting the results on behalf of the European Court of Auditors. As we know, each year the auditors examine the EU revenue and expenditure to see whether the annual accounts are reliable, and whether income and expenditure transactions com…

16 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Establishing the Ukraine Facility (debate)

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner, dear colleagues, almost 600 days ago, Russia launched a brutal and murderous attack against the sovereign state of Ukraine. Since the very first day of this cold-hearted attack, the European Union has stood by the side of Ukraine, providing EUR 30 billion from the EU budget in support so far. The Ukraine Facility will continue this support. It will ensure con…

11 Jul

2023

EN Speech

Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2022 (joint debate - European Investment Bank)

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Mr President, President Hoyer, dear colleagues, first, just a few words about the EIB’s financial operations and performance. At the end of last year, arguably the world’s largest public bank, the total EIB group balance sheet stood at EUR 547.3 billion. The bank borrows money on capital markets and lends it on favourable terms to projects that support EU objectives. And here, of course, it has to…

11 Jul

2023

FI Speech

Nature restoration (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, restoration is one of the worst-prepared proposals and initiatives the Commission has come up with. Insufficient impact assessments. The cost-benefit calculations are based on ambiguous conclusions. The form of the Regulation deprives Member States of flexibility. You can't pull the same sock on every foot without tearing it. Too detailed regulation in too many …

31 May

2023

EN Speech

Breaches of the Rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary and frozen EU funds (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioners, , colleagues. It is important to note that the primary purpose of the conditionality regulation and this resolution is not to bully any Member State. The existing conditionality regulation serves actually as the best preventive measure in place. Two weeks ago, the Budgetary Control Committee of this House conducted a fact—finding mission in Hungary. The message of…

9 May

2023

EN Speech

Discharge 2021 (continuation of debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, Members, the most important thing I think has already been said about the importance of the Commission and RRF discharge, so I will concentrate on the agencies. I am really hopeful that in the future we can further enhance the effectiveness of the discharge and make it an even more binding tool. This applies, of course, for all discharges. Ultimately, it always …

8 May

2023

FI Speech

Establishing the Act in support of ammunition production (debate)

Watch

Mr President, it is great that the Commission has taken swift action on the sufficiency of ammunition in European production. At the same time, however, the question arises as to why the Commission is pushing for a new ban on lead gunshot, which would have an impact on both the number of ammunition and the training of reservists? The Commission received the final opinion of ECHA and its committees…

17 Apr

2023

FI Speech

Deforestation Regulation (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this regulation on deforestation is indeed an ambitious regulation with respectable objectives. Since my speaking time is very short, I will focus here on just one point, and I do not have very good things to say about that – unfortunately. A Member State – its ministry – in the European Union last week has issued an official call to farmers to put…

15 Mar

2023

EN Speech

Need for immediate reform of the internal rules of the Commission to ensure transparency and accountability in light of alleged conflicts of interests (debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, I think it goes without saying that zero tolerance for political corruption, of course, needs to be our main goal. This is even more pronounced at a time when citizens’ trust in the EU institutions is perhaps shaken a bit by previous corruption scandals that have been revealed. Under no circumstances should a situation arise in which our officials are exposed to a…

18 Jan

2023

EN Speech

Protection of the EU’s financial interests - combating fraud - annual report 2021 (debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, the report that we have at hand here is really a very important one. It’s a yearly exercise, of course, but guides our work in our fight against fraud and corruption as well, to some extent. It’s a huge task because as we know, the Member States manage more than 85% of EU expenditure and collect the EU’s traditional own resources. Therefore, it’s worth mentioning …

14 Dec

2022

EN Speech

Upscaling the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (debate)

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–Madam President, honourable Vice—President, Commissioner, over the past few years we have faced several crises to which we have had to react quickly with various financial instruments. This has indeed been necessary, but I would also like to use this opportunity to remind about the importance of economic balance in the long run. The Member States of the Union have significantly increased their bo…

21 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Assessment of Hungary's compliance with the rule of law conditions under the Conditionality Regulation and state of play of the Hungarian RRP (debate)

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Madam President, honourable Commissioner, dear colleagues, almost four and a half years ago, we began the work here in Parliament on the Commission proposal on the Conditionality Regulation. And now – I mean, really, this time – we can talk about historical days and weeks because now we are finally here. The timeline set by the regulation is running to its end and, as the Commissioner just explain…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Discharge 2020: European Border and Coast Guard Agency (A9-0235/2022 - Tomáš Zdechovský) (vote)

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So the oral amendment reads as follows: ‘Deplores the unbearable modus operandi by the Turkish authorities in supporting human trafficking and non-cooperation with the Greek authorities; strongly condemns the inhuman and cruel operations, which often lead to life-threatening situations and severe injuries of refugees; highlights in this regard the impactful work of the Agency and its personnel, wh…

17 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, just very, very briefly. It is not factual what you said. This has been discussed in a full committee, which is the Budgetary Control Committee. So it has not just been discussed in the Frontex working group.…

4 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Commission proposal for measures under the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation in the case of Hungary (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Council, this is going to look and sound pretty dramatic because I’m just about to lose my voice. The previous time I was here at a key point in this regulation, I had so terrible neck pain that I almost collapsed. Maybe this shows you how seriously I take, as the co—rapporteur, this historic occasion. It’s been a long time coming. The Commission’s work was, and is, not…

6 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Protection of the EU’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2020 (debate)

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Madam President, honourable Member of the European Commission, dear Members, budgetary control is based, at least mostly, on two principles: on the one hand, ensuring that the EU budget is properly spent according to the rules and regulations and, on the other hand, protecting the Union’s financial interests and combating fraud. And at the end, of course, our most important task is to protect taxp…

7 Jun

2022

EN Speech

The rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan (RRF) (debate)

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Madam President, Poland has been at the forefront of the European Union in helping Ukraine from day one. It has led by example and shown great European solidarity. It has received millions of women and children fleeing the war and provided Ukraine with financial and material support. But, Madam President of the Commission, but. This is another ball game that we are talking about. The fundamental p…

4 May

2022

EN Speech

Discharge 2020 (debate)

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Madam President, first on the agencies and on Frontex. I would just like to bring this to a conclusion. What we do know is that there were several administrative mishandlings, and I am confident that we will sort things out with the new Frontex leadership, which now has to be installed as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Commission has to make sure that the interim leadership will be solid a…

4 May

2022

EN Speech

Discharge 2020 (debate)

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Madam Vice-President, I thought that I’m supposed to speak here about the agencies’ discharge, but as I can see, other colleagues are also talking about discharges that were not their responsibility. So I think I will devote the latter half of my speech also to something else than agencies. But nevertheless, the agencies play a very crucial role, of course, in the European Union and Europe. 2020 w…

2 May

2022

EN Speech

Order of business

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Madam President, as the EPP Group spokesperson on budgetary control, and therefore the committee responsible for the discharge of agencies, I would like to underline that, first of all, partly on the same grounds that this was moved, namely that we simply have no way to discuss all of the investigation. There is no point in having this discussion. And, secondly, the discharge we are going to vote …