What Tonino spoke about.

5 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The future of EU-US relations (debate)

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Mr President, this debate could not be timelier. Last November, President Biden’s election provided much relief and optimism in the European Union. I firmly believe, then as well as today, that we need a renewed and strengthened transatlantic partnership to tackle common challenges. Some of them have been well known for decades, but some are part of the newer dynamics of the world. I appreciate th…

15 Sep

2021

HR Speech

State of the Union (continuation of debate)

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The Honourable Chairman, the Honourable President, has developed life-saving vaccines since your address last year, an agreement has been reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery Fund, and we are also recording better economic indicators. Today I would like to mention three topics that I believe are important for Europe, but also for Croatia. Unfortunately, Croatia was hit b…

14 Sep

2021

HR Speech

Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA III) 2021–2027 (debate)

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First of all, I would like to thank all those involved for their dedicated work over the past two and a half years. Today's discussion is the last formal step towards implementing a new, better financial instrument for pre-accession assistance IPA III. In short, the new generation of IPA will strengthen the democratic, normative and socio-economic transformation of candidate or potential candidate…

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Direction of EU-Russia political relations (debate)

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Mr President, it’s nothing new if we say that our relations with Russia are at a very low point, in short: energy over-dependence, divergent policies of the Member States’, direct interference in political processes and Russia’s very active role in disinformation campaigns. So we need to increase the resilience of the EU and its partners in the Eastern Neighbourhood against Russian disinformation …

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Lebanon (debate)

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Madam President, the catastrophic blast in the port of Beirut has only speeded up the deep and widespread crisis that has been crushing Lebanon’s political and economic life for years. During our visit last week, we witnessed dramatic images from across the country with thousands of people forced to live in dire conditions with shortages of fuel and energy supplies and terrible consequences for th…

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Afghanistan (debate)

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Madam President, the speedy collapse of the Afghan Government and seizure of power by the Taliban sent shockwaves throughout Europe. It prompted intense debates on the future of rules-based international order, transatlantic relations, European strategic autonomy and relations with adversarial states. Humanitarian assistance, human rights protection, especially of women and girls, assistance to NG…

6 Jul

2021

HR Speech

Annual Report on the functioning of the Schengen area (debate)

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Dear Chair, I thank the Rapporteur for her excellent report – this is a summary of the implementation of free movement in the Schengen area with recommendations on what needs to be improved. In recent years, the failure of Schengen has become one of the first consequences of current European political difficulties, starting from the migrant crisis to the pandemic crisis. We have also witnessed the…

6 Jul

2021

EN Speech

Situation in Tigray, Ethiopia (continuation of debate)

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Mr President, with great concern and sadness, we follow the ongoing tragic events in Tigray and elsewhere in Ethiopia. The situation in Tigray has seriously escalated, but the crimes against human rights are happening in other regions and towards different ethnicities. Our first and foremost priority is to help civilians who have no access to medical assistance, are dying of famine and are often v…