Speeches

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 countries for membership of the European Union. It will provide more rational, better targeted, visible and sustainable support to partner countries on their path towards the European Union in addressing common challenges. Enlargement policy is inextricably linked to the convergence of the values of liberal democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, from which we as a Union must not depart. That is why it is good that the new IPA III will particularly insist on this. The new, upgraded instrument puts emphasis on strengthening conditionality related to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, even providing for the suspension of assistance in case of backsliding in these areas. IPA III will strengthen strategic communication, fight disinformation and contribute to cross-cutting climate, environmental, human rights and gender equality objectives. IPA III is a forward-looking instrument, taking into account European Union initiatives and objectives such as the Green Deal. The allocation of funds will be based on an effectiveness-based approach and the principle of fair distribution. This means that the aid will vary in scope and intensity according to the beneficiary’s performance, while applying the fair share principle to ensure that the scope and intensity of funding takes into account not only the beneficiary’s performance but also their actual needs and capacities. We want to avoid a disproportionately low level of help for only some. The progress of all users needs to be ensured. As a Parliament, I think we can be satisfied with what has been achieved, especially in the context of the thematic priorities as the institutional role of the European Parliament. During the negotiations, Parliament ensured improved governance of the instrument through an extended use of the delegated act procedure and an enhanced geopolitical dialogue with the European Commission. These mechanisms will enable Parliament to define the main strategic orientations and to responsibly examine the decisions taken under the instrument. Our goal was to apply the lessons learned from the previous IPA II instrument, and our motive was to provide assistance to those countries, i.e. their predominantly pro-European citizens. While the prospect of European Union membership has partly lost some of its power transformation, it is still the most effective stimulus for comprehensive political, economic and social reforms in the Western Balkans that the European Union has at its disposal. And for all those who are wondering why we allocate this much funding for preparation, I believe future members of the European Union, I would like to put forward a few arguments. Enlargement policy is important because it gives the Union the opportunity to promote and insist on important reforms in candidate countries. It is important because both sides benefit from this process. Data show that thanks to previous enlargements of the European Union, member states have also benefited in terms of economic growth and job creation. Enlargement policy promotes socio-economic cohesion already before accession, thus addressing some of the main concerns of European Union citizens regarding migration and social dumping. Similarly, enlargement guarantees a leading role for the European Union in the region. Currently, Russia, Turkey, Gulf countries as well as China are competing with each other and with the European Union for economic and political influence in the Western Balkans, too often with completely different interests from ours. It is important because it helps prevent and manage potential crises and conflicts, and perhaps the most important benefit is that it enhances the credibility of the European Union and sends a positive message for the prosperity and future of the Union itself. These days, the component of strengthening good neighbourly relations that we have highlighted in the Parliament as one of the priorities seems particularly important, for example recent events in Montenegro are the best indicator that slowing down reforms and, for example, politicising religious events with external support can have a negative effect on the division of society and the security situation in the country. What I want to emphasize is that we often record the highest support for the European Union in particularly polarized societies, since membership of the European Union as a common denominator can also have this cohesive factor. The IPA instrument is in fact financing the long-term interests and fundamental values of the Union. Our financial investments must match our ambitions to be geopolitically relevant in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Over €14 billion is a significant amount of economic aid. However, funding cannot fully replace a credible enlargement policy. I can replenish it, but I can't replace it. North Macedonia and Albania wait unjustifiably long for negotiations to begin, although they have done more than even some of the member states. Kosovo has also fulfilled all visa waiver criteria for a long time. It is time to finally verify their efforts with concrete decisions.

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 and interference; ensure that Russia is implementing the Minsk Agreement; engage with Russian civil society more strategically, despite the regime’s evermore determined efforts to undermine any such engagement; besides carefully used selective engagement on urgent global challenges to generate progress on the other objectives. But we also must be realistic in our ambitions of democratising Russia as implied in this document. We should rather not keep falling into a political trap, further narrowing space for our political actions. Instead, we need a new, comprehensive, more strategic EU joint strategy towards Russia that will finally enable us for a more proactive approach.

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 the national health care system. We need to reformulate the strategy and the recovery plan for Lebanon in the framework of the EU—Lebanon partnership priorities under the new Global Europe Instrument. We also still expect the new Government to address the macroeconomic and fiscal crisis and take credible anti-corruption actions for the immediate benefit of the Lebanese people. The measures implemented in recent years were not even close to matching the purpose. In this kind of social, economic and political meltdown, no one must be left behind, especially the most vulnerable in society.

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 NGOs on the ground, must be our absolute priority. This unfortunate situation should also be an impetus to finally agree on the new pact on migration and asylum. As the European Parliament, we should establish a formal mechanism in this House on the scrutiny of the EU policy on Afghanistan since 2001. The task at hand would be not just to establish what went wrong, but crucially to draw lessons for present and future EU missions. Following the recent events in Afghanistan, it became evident that EU strategic autonomy becomes a necessity, not a choice.

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 erection of barbed wires between the members. Despite the provisions of Article 3 of the Lisbon Agreement, some Member States are trying to nationalise freedom of movement by using this issue for day-to-day political purposes. The Commission should consistently initiate infringement procedures in such situations. In case of ambiguity over border control, political campaigns should step down before independent oversight mechanisms. Speaking about the future of Schengen, we need to preserve and strengthen it as one of Europe's greatest common achievements, and new enlargement is one of the best ways. The Commission has confirmed that Croatia fulfils the conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis. It welcomed the establishment of an independent border control mechanism. I hope that the Council will take these facts into account as soon as possible and approve our accession.

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 victims of sexual violence. Furthermore, the exclusion of Tigray from general elections and communication disruptions makes this horrible situation even worse. We need to do everything to support a ceasefire that all would respect. That way, they can ensure that the humanitarian aid is delivered on the ground to the ones in need urgently. We also need concrete EU measures, including an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against all perpetrators. Tigray is without doubt one of the urgent, if not the most pressing, humanitarian situations we should work on to the full extent of our capabilities and powers.