What Tonino spoke about.

18 May

2022

EN Speech

EU Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova (debate)

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Mr President, Mr Commissioner, I want to thank the rapporteur on this valuable reflection on the state of play of our relations with Moldova. We acknowledge many of reforms undertaken, and specify the ones that should remain a priority in the upcoming months and, most notably, the strengthening of the state institutions and justice reform. The European Parliament will remain a strong supporter of …

5 May

2022

EN Speech

State of play of the EU-Moldova cooperation (debate)

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Mr President, Mr Commissioner, given the highly worrying security situation after the Russian aggression on Ukraine, it’s very much timely to discuss the state of cooperation between the European Union and Moldova. Security incidents in the Transnistria region and mandatory military mobilisations clearly show how fragile the security situation in this area is. It’s worth praising the reaction of M…

3 May

2022

EN Speech

EU preparedness against cyber-attacks following Russia invasion on Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, we are all aware that wars are not limited to traditional types of warfare. The Russian invasion on Ukraine is just an evident example. The Kremlin started testing its tactics in Ukraine many years ago, targeting even a power grid. Disinformation examples are well—known, and particularly Russia disseminated 70% of all disinformation and fake news lately. Russian state—sponsored hacke…

6 Apr

2022

HR Speech

Cooperation and similarities between the Putin regime and extreme right and separatist movements in Europe (topical debate)

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Dear Chairman, more than twenty years after his coming to power, Putin and his forces are trampling the weaker: journalists and opposition politicians, national and sexual minorities, all who dare to be free and different. It ranges from murders and beatings to abolishing the representativeness and autonomy of regions. However, none of this was enough for the European far right to open its eyes. A…

6 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 24-25 March 2022: including the latest developments of the war against Ukraine and the EU sanctions against Russia and their implementation (debate)

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Madam President, the situation has deteriorated since the Versailles summit. In this debate and our resolution, we welcome the conclusions but we move beyond them. We also welcomed the proposed package of sanctions yesterday, but we need to be stronger and move beyond it. To support their heroic resistance, we need to bolster our military equipment production and delivery to Ukraine. Furthermore, …

5 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Outcome of the EU-China Summit (1 April 2022) (debate)

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Mr President, the EU-China Summit happened last week, and that’s probably the only good news. Members of this House are still sanctioned for speaking out the truth about the evident human rights violations. However, it’s essential to talk, open up difficult questions and stand firm in defending our stances. Russian aggression in Ukraine is a medium to test our challenging – and in many ways proble…

5 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

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Thank you, Mr High Representative, for your answer. Now, I would like to focus more directly on Ukraine. The European Peace Facility is the most prominent instrument of our support to the Ukrainian armed forces. How do you envisage additional and continuous delivery on adequate military equipment to Ukraine? Does this open the way for equipping other third partner countries’ armed forces in the ca…

5 Apr

2022

EN Speech

Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

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Honourable High Representative, our security does not stop at our borders. That’s why we need to be proactive throughout our neighbourhood. I welcome that the document contains a goal to develop a tailored partnership with Western Balkan countries – moreover, to provide well-intentioned messages to foster stability and address political reality and constitutional obligations, particularly regardin…

9 Mar

2022

HR Speech

Debate with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas - The EU's role in a changing world and the security situation of Europe following the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine (debate)

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Dear President, Madam Prime Minister, High Representative, Russia's President Putin's war against Ukraine is a turning point in recent European history. The Russian aggression has triggered tectonic changes in the European Union. This is the only positive outcome of the tragic events of the past two weeks. We see that the 27 members can unite positions, can act together as a geopolitical actor on …

8 Mar

2022

HR Speech

The situation in Bosnia Herzegovina (debate)

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The increasingly uncertain political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become even more complicated by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. In a country where there is no consensus on fundamental social, economic and political issues, parts of which officially deny both genocide and Putin's aggression, there remains too much room for politicisation and the use of dysfunctional regulation …

8 Mar

2022

EN Speech

The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, each new day of the Russian invasion brings more suffering to Ukrainians. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating. Almost two million people, mostly women and children, have left the country, but expectations are even more grim. I would like, from the Croatian war experience, to point out that internally displaced people within Ukraine, who are not included in these statistics…

8 Mar

2022

HR Speech

Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the EU (debate)

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The Honourable Chairman, Madam Commissioner, currently connects about half of the world's population to the Internet. The internet has long been central to international communication and commerce. However, only 58% of European citizens have basic digital skills, although they are increasingly important for action in modern societies. 2017. fake news have been declared the term of the year. Two ye…

1 Mar

2022

HR Speech

Russian aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Dear Chairman, yes, Russia's aggression against Ukraine can be a prelude to the twilight of humanity, but also to a new, fairer international order. The main reason for the war is the authoritarian nature of the regime under the absolutism of the Russian president. It is not known what is worse, Putin's military aggression or his narrative justifying bullying. Putin was counting on the passivity o…

17 Feb

2022

HR Speech

Strengthening the system for protecting PDO and PGI denominations in the EU after the Prosecco/Prosek case (G-001003/2021 - B9-0004/2022)

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Dear Chairman, colleague and colleague, I come from Dalmatia where prošek has been traditionally produced for centuries. This old name was used long before it was protected in the European Union. The reputation of prosecco derives primarily from the quality that is the result of a specific local production technique. There are important differences between Prosecco and Prosecca they are not and ca…

16 Feb

2022

EN Speech

EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, Mr High Representative, Commissioner, our relations with Russia have been at a low point for a while. Most political challenges at our external borders have directly or indirectly Russia as a common denominator. The list of open issues is long: disinformation, hybrid threats, funding of anti-democratic forces in the EU, and foreign interference. But today, our primary focus should be…

15 Feb

2022

EN Speech

Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

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Madam President, 2022 was declared by Charles Michel as the year of European defence. I hope that it will advance our geopolitical ambitions with the adoption of the EU’s Strategic Compass and making a new cyber defence policy a reality. Another great step forward would be considering qualified-majority decision making for some aspects of our common foreign and security policy. This cannot remain …

16 Dec

2021

HR Speech

Forced labour in the Linglong factory and environmental protests in Serbia

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Dear Chairman, it is not often the case that we discuss a candidate country for membership of the European Union as a human rights emergency. However, the current situation with human and labour rights in Serbia fully justifies this precedent. In Serbia, there are no lone cases of external influences through dubious investments that are not in line with European standards and values. And such resu…

14 Dec

2021

HR Speech

Cooperation on the fight against organised crime in the Western Balkans (continuation of debate)

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Dear Chair, Mr Commissioner, I welcome this report as it addresses one of the key and most serious problems facing the Western Balkan countries on their path towards the European Union. The European Commission's recently presented reports explain in detail the importance of delivering tangible results in judicial reforms and the fight against organised crime, especially in those countries where th…

14 Dec

2021

EN Speech

Situation at the Ukrainian border and in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, it’s with great concern that we follow the increased military presence of Russia at the Ukrainian border. We can speculate about its reasons, whether they are economic, political or both. Possible interpretations that link Russia’s actions with the Nord Stream 2 approval reflect how complex the relation we, as the EU, have with Russia since the interests of our Member States are n…

23 Nov

2021

HR Speech

Situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (debate)

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Dear Chairman, the deep political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina is further aggravated by the increasingly provocative and openly separatist actions of Milorad Dodik. This time it threatens, among other things, the adoption of the budget and the appointment of ambassadors, even the donation of COVID vaccines. His direct violation of the Dayton Peace Treaty, the denial of genocide, the opening of…

23 Nov

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Belarus and at its border with the EU and the security and humanitarian consequences (debate)

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Madam President, it’s been 15 months that the Lukashenko and his regime has continued its systematic oppression towards their people. We must not lose sight of this fact while he’s extending illegal and anti—human matters to our borders. We should not fall into this trap by instrumentalising the precarious humanitarian situation there while addressing its security challenges. This crisis is yet an…

11 Nov

2021

EN Speech

The outcome of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) (debate)

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Mr President, it has been an exciting couple of weeks for transatlantic relations. After a turbulent summer we are picking up on the positive momentum – from lifting the travel ban, joint environment commitments in Glasgow, meetings on the highest level, suspension of the aluminium and steel trade dispute, the Pittsburgh meeting – to name a few. In my capacity as a standing rapporteur for relation…

21 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The outcome of the Western Balkans summit (debate)

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Mr President, we welcome that the Slovenian Presidency organised this summit as one of their priorities, but we cannot hide our dissatisfaction with the overall outcome. When there are no decisions on the dates for concrete actions and when even using the word ‘enlargement’ becomes an issue, we must react. It’s true that some significant steps were taken, such as adopting the IPA free pre-accessio…

19 Oct

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Tunisia (debate)

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Madam President, I welcome this debate as we all followed with great concern recent events when President Saied dismissed the prime minister and suspended the parliament in July. Even though he appointed a new prime minister and government, in practice his power abuse and subordination of the constitution should lead to political reaction from our side. Democracy, the rule of law and respect for h…

5 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The future of EU-US relations (debate)

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Mr President, first of all, I would like to say that I am grateful to the shadow rapporteurs for their truly constructive cooperation. I also want to thank the Committee on International Trade (INTA) for their opinion work that complemented this report very much. I have just returned from a fact—finding mission to the United States, where I gathered the last information to prepare a report for the…