What Biljana spoke about.

10 Mar

2026

HR Speech

Single Market: how to move from an incomplete single market to one market for one Europe (debate)

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The European single market is one of the greatest achievements of the European Union, but it must work equally for all our citizens: in both the West and the East of Europe. Unfortunately, today we see a paradox that citizens feel very much in their wallets. In many Eastern European countries, the prices of basic food products are often the same or even higher than in the wealthier Western Europea…

25 Nov

2025

HR Speech

Protection of minors online (debate)

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Dear President, how do young people live today? Research shows a large increase in young people who describe themselves as unhappy. Statistics show an increase in self-harm among young people. Suicide is more common cause of death than car accidents. We are in a social crisis. Almost half of young people are constantly online, and just half an hour less online already has a positive impact on ment…

8 May

2025

HR Speech

Old challenges and new commercial practices in the internal market (debate)

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Dear Chairman, while the word deregulation is ubiquitous, we must not forget why the European Union has the highest standards of safety and quality of products and services, as well as the highest consumer rights. These are achievements that we are proud of and on which we need to build the future. The problem of high food prices will not disappear on its own, they will not be solved by the invisi…

7 May

2025

EN Speech

Democratic legitimacy and the Commission’s continued authorisation of genetically modified organisms despite Parliament’s objections (debate)

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Madam President, how many times does this Parliament have to say no before the Commission listens? Nearly 50 times we have opposed GMO authorisations, backed by science, by citizens, by the precautionary principle – and yet the Commission continues ahead, bypassing both political will and democratic legitimacy. This is not just a policy dispute; it is a democratic crisis. The Commission justifies …

7 May

2025

HR Speech

High levels of retail food prices and their consequences for European consumers (debate)

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Dear Chairman, price increases are happening everywhere, but in the last four years prices have jumped the most in the countries of Eastern Europe. So the jump in Ireland is 20 percent, in France 25 percent, but that's why in Poland 55 percent, Bulgaria 63 percent, Latvia 62 percent, Hungary 87 percent, Croatia 45 percent. Are these price increases in the east of the EU because foreign retailers m…

12 Mar

2025

HR Speech

EU Consumers Day: filling the gaps in protecting 440 million consumers in the EU (debate)

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Dear Chairman, Happy Consumer Day to all our citizens! Or maybe not everything? Because it is better to be a consumer in one part of the European Union than in another. Somewhere sales are real, and others are just a marketing trick. Some are easy to buy online and there may be no delivery for your country. Somewhere the price of a phone call is reasonable, and it is too expensive for you because …

21 Oct

2024

HR Speech

A stronger Europe for safer products to better protect consumers and tackle unfair competition: boosting EU oversight in e-commerce and imports (debate)

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Mr. Chairman, consumer organizations of as many as 17 countries have applied to the European Commission the latest Chinese giant Tema. It questions the safety of products, harm to health and even the sales chain in terms of selling illegal products. People continue to sell, people continue to buy. A few years ago, 18 consumer organisations reported Tik Tok to European authorities for harmful effec…

21 Oct

2024

HR Speech

Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

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The Common Market is one of Europe's greatest achievements. Every crisis deepens market inequalities, the rich get even richer, the poor get even poorer. The cost of living is the biggest problem across the European Union, and inequalities between and within Member States in prices, wages, pensions and poverty rates are only increasing. The report highlights consumer protection as one of the condi…

16 Jan

2024

HR Speech

Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

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Dear Chairman, I would like to thank all those who participated in today's debate. I thank you for your words of support, this process was not easy or simple, but as the Commissioner said, we had an ambitious approach and in the end we enabled citizens to live better lives. Responsibility for a fair market must not be on the backs of citizens, on the backs of individual consumers, but responsibili…

16 Jan

2024

HR Speech

Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

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Dear Chairman, colleagues, dear citizens. We have great news from the European Parliament. We have a new law that will bring positive changes to our daily lives. We stop accumulating waste. We bring order to the business of the industry and most importantly, we protect citizens from dishonesty in the common market. I am always proud when we stand up for the weaker ones in the market - our citizens…

13 Dec

2023

HR Speech

EU strategy to assist young people facing the housing and cost of living crisis (topical debate)

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Dear Chairman, I think we can all agree that youth crises affect young people in a specific way. Some important life steps that we have all gone through in life have been taken away from them. Home is a feeling, not a place. However, the young people will tell you and the place is. Even before the crises, as many as 30% of young people aged 15-29 were in overcrowded accommodation, and most cannot …

21 Nov

2023

HR Speech

Packaging and packaging waste (debate)

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Dear Chairman, each of us consumes 188 kg of packaging and packaging per year, and packaging waste has increased by 20% in the last ten years. It is high time that we start to spend resources smarter to protect the environment. In times of high inflation, packaging is often used to mislead consumers. Bags, boxes and even bottles remain the same, and the amount is reduced. We prohibit packaging tha…

20 Nov

2023

HR Speech

Common rules promoting the repair of goods

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Dear Chairman, thank you. Did it ever happen to you that you tried to repair the device, but repairing it was too expensive? According to my survey, as many as 81% of Croatian citizens have just such an experience. How and not when you need to allocate 430 euros for a replacement screen for a TV that costs 350 euros. 90% of people think spare parts are too expensive. In such conditions, services a…

5 Oct

2023

HR Speech

Financial services contracts concluded at a distance (debate)

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Dear Chairman, since 2002, when we last regulated this area to this day, the digital economy has experienced a huge boom. However, in such an environment, consumers often remain unprotected, concluding harmful contracts on the basis of erroneous or incomplete information. This proposal ensures quality and free of charge pre-contractual information on financial services. In the online world, we all…

13 Sep

2023

HR Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Dear Chairman, you said well, Madam President, four years ago none of us could have imagined that we would live in a world like this, in a Union like this. We live in a Union where 37 million people cannot afford a fair meal. In a Union where in some Member States two thirds of people cannot make ends meet. In a Union where one in five people live on the brink of poverty. On the other hand, we liv…

12 Jul

2023

HR Speech

Tax the rich (topical debate)

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, two-thirds of the wealth has gone into the hands of the richest 1%. Only the ten richest people have more than a third of humanity! In addition, for the first time in a long time, the wealth of the richest was accompanied by a huge increase in extreme poverty. Inflation ate wages for a large part of the workers. If the richest were taxed only a few percent, two…

11 May

2023

EN Speech

Empowering consumers for the green transition (A9-0099/2023 - Biljana Borzan) (vote)

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Madam President, in accordance with the Rule 59, I would like to request that the matter be referred back to committee for interinstitutional negotiations.

9 May

2023

EN Speech

Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

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Madam President, thank you all for your discussions and for the constructive work by you and your staff also on this document. We started from very different positions, but with the same goals, and in the end we found a good and workable compromise, I would say. European consumers will be empowered and environmental agenda advanced by these efforts. From what I saw of the Council’s position, our f…

9 May

2023

EN Speech

Empowering consumers for the green transition (debate)

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Madam President, dear citizens of the EU, I am speaking today directly to you as the purpose of this new law is to benefit each and every one of you on a daily basis. We are rewriting rules in order to make the industry more transparent, green and consumer-oriented, to make it easier for you to make informed choices and sustainable choices when you make purchase. You want products that last longer…

16 Jan

2023

HR Speech

30th Anniversary of the Single Market (debate)

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Mr. Chairman, the Common Market is one of the greatest achievements of the European Union, providing millions of people with a better life, a better job, better products and services, and creating over 56 million jobs. The European Union is a world leader in high standards of consumer protection and labour rights protection, as well as in the quality of products and services. More than ever, it is…

9 Nov

2022

HR Speech

Full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Croatia (debate)

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Dear Chairman, it is difficult to understand or communicate to someone who did not have to wait in line at the borders for a security or passport check, that there are actually two categories of European citizens. Those whose countries are in Schengen and those whose countries are not. It is also difficult to explain to the citizens of Croatia that they do not have the same rights, although we hav…

18 Oct

2022

HR Speech

Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

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Dear Chairman, citizens are breaking under the burden of bills, and greed is often the only reason for the increase in prices. Consumers get bills every day that they don't understand. We need to protect them when they enter into contracts with energy companies. We need to jointly procure energy, limit gas prices, decouple gas prices from electricity, stop speculation in the energy market. The ans…

4 Oct

2022

HR Speech

Radio Equipment Directive: common charger for electronic devices (debate)

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–The Honourable Chair, the Honourable Colleagues, first of all I would like to thank our Rapporteur Alex, who fought to make this proposal more responsive to citizens rather than producers. The fact is that after more than ten years we are introducing a common charger and that this is primarily due to MEPs who pushed this idea in the interest of citizens even when no one wanted to listen to it. My…

14 Sep

2022

HR Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Dear Chairman, no one can imagine the morality and strength of one who defends his like the Ukrainians today. Those of us who felt the war on our own know it best. Our citizens show solidarity with Ukraine, but we must make sure that this crisis is not broken over the backs of the citizens. We need to ensure a permanent European crisis mechanism. For some, the crisis is God-given. A system whereby…

6 Jul

2022

HR Speech

Taxing windfall profits of energy companies (debate)

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–The Honourable Chairman, thank you, enrichment when people die, enrichment when people do not have food and directing, this is war profiteering. Energy prices went to the sky and withdrew all other prices. To what extent these increases are justified, it is difficult to say. We only know that energy prices for citizens in some countries, despite the measures, have doubled and the earnings of ener…