What Vytenis Povilas spoke about.

8 Jul

2025

LT Speech

Preparation for the 2025 EU–China Summit - Tackling China's critical raw materials export restrictions

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Mr President, I would like to support the position put forward by the Commission and indeed call for the relaunched negotiations to raise issues that would be defined as upholding the priority of international law in all relations. In this case, it is particularly important to draw China's attention to the fact that the war that Russia is continuing against Ukraine must be stopped, as this undermi…

7 Jul

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, the Union is facing the urgency of change. The Danish EU Presidency is just beginning. Denmark has named its programme 'A strong Europe in a changing world'. This programme extensively discusses strengthening EU security, increasing competitiveness, emphasising the need to help Ukraine in political, economic and military terms. However, the EU stands at an obvious crossroads. Can …

19 Jun

2025

LT Answer

Institutional and political implications of the EU enlargement process and global challenges (debate)

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My answer is very clear: The Ukrainian people want to be in the European Union. I was there two weeks ago. And I believe that if I came to your country, I would convince your people, too, because they also joined the European Union with all sorts of corruption in your country. Corruption is worldwide. Stop speculating about it. It's just bigger or smaller. We will also overcome it, but we will ove…

19 Jun

2025

LT Speech

Institutional and political implications of the EU enlargement process and global challenges (debate)

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner, colleagues. The European Union is jerking up on the ground. Global challenges and the citizens of the European Union demand a stronger and more effective Europe and action. As early as 2023, the European Parliament submitted concrete proposals to the European Council with recommendations, taking into account the proposals of both citizens and the Conference o…

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Electricity grids: the backbone of the EU energy system (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, may I remind you all of the joint declaration by Jacques Delors and Jerzy Buzek for a new European energy community. It was declared on 5 May 2010 – and still we are debating a European energy union. Can you imagine? 15 years – we are very slow! An energy union that delivers competitiveness, security, decarbonisation and a just transition will provide end users with …

18 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Upcoming NATO summit on 24-26 June 2025 (debate)

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Mr President, I would like to wish the Commissioner a happy birthday. In the run-up to the upcoming NATO summit, the building of the European defence union is at the top of the European Union policy agenda and is essential to shielding European Union citizens' security and wellbeing from current geopolitical threats. This is a part of the EU Member States' solidarity – those who are also in NATO. …

17 Jun

2025

LT Speech

Situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner Kallas, I feel very bad this time as a former Commissioner. For the first time, I am unhappy with the Commission's position. You have been doing well with Putin – great. You've slipped in relation to Trump many times. You stumbled against Netanyahu. Moral death is a terrible thing. It is a pity that you did not hear the speech of the King of Jordan today. She …

17 Jun

2025

LT Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Moldova (debate)

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Mr President, the special feature of Moldova is that it is a very clear ally of the European Union, both in the former Eastern Neighbourhood policy and now in its accession to the European Union. The more the European Union in Moldova, the less Putin's propaganda there. And in the autumn elections, we particularly need the voice of the European Parliament today, sending a clear message that Moldov…

17 Jun

2025

LT Speech

2023 and 2024 reports on Montenegro (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, there is indeed a wide range of arguments that have been put forward with regard to some or other work that Montenegro may or may not have done, or that is being done, but not so quickly. However, I am generally well aware and well aware of the many efforts that have been made to adopt Croatia. I am well aware that I have been involved in discussions with North Macedoni…

17 Jun

2025

LT Speech

Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast) (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, rapporteur. Indeed, congratulations to both the rapporteur and all shadow rapporteurs are an excellent document. The directive makes it possible, when it is transposed in the Member States, to strengthen it even more and to draw attention to those areas where it is actually still necessary for the Member States to decide for themselves on the direction of reinforcement …

16 Jun

2025

LT Speech

Strengthening rural areas in the EU through cohesion policy (debate)

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Mr President, thank you to the rapporteur. A really good report and, honourable Commissioner, you have listened to a lot of good proposals. There is no doubt that cohesion policy needs horizontal programmes covering the complexity of education, health, digital infrastructure and conditionality (conditionality) so that no one, not even a Member State, can change, because big cities, big regions and…

16 Jun

2025

LT Speech

The human cost of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the urgent need to end Russian aggression: the situation of illegally detained civilians and prisoners of war, and the continued bombing of civilians (debate)

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner, colleagues. There are many right words here about what, what crimes Putin and his aggressive and criminal regime are committing. But my question is different. My question is to the European Council of countries, states and governments. Can we really continue to behave the way we do? There are many countries that are helping Ukraine. But there are a large numb…

22 May

2025

EN Speech

Choose Europe for Science (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, you know very well Manuel Heitor's report – align, act, accelerate. The report is based on the Letta Report proposing a fifth freedom, but a fifth freedom for research and development requires infrastructure and an ecosystem at pan-European, supranational level. And of course, Draghi mentioned the necessity to build a research and innovation union. A union requires a…

21 May

2025

EN Speech

Improving mental health at work (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, among people of working age, half of all illnesses are mental health disorders. They account for half of all disability benefits and absenteeism. According to a systemic review covering 65 economic evaluations, investments in mental health services can yield greater economic growth and national well-being than investments in new road infrastructure. Can you imagine? A s…

21 May

2025

LT Speech

Russian energy phase-out, Nord Stream and the EU's energy sovereignty (debate)

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner. Indeed, I welcome the long-awaited REPowerEU implementation plan and believe that the political direction is very right. I understand that you should also suggest how to monitor how member countries will stop importing Russian gas. That's what you need. Lithuania refused in the twenty-second year, completely stopped importing energy resources from Russia. I t…

21 May

2025

LT Speech

Amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism (debate)

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President, Commissioner. It is certainly clear that, when it comes to the CBAM mechanism, we need to understand that the European Union has been a leader in forcing and achieving results in the Paris Climate Agreement. And today, those who are trying to scare CBAM here to end the industry and so on, let's turn to one simple thing: Know how many premature deaths are caused by air pollution each yea…

21 May

2025

EN Speech

Single Market Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, I fully agree with your proposal related to the single market strategy. But may I repeat once again: we need to complete the digital union, energy union, banking union, capital market union. Without those unions, we have no chance to move forward, for sure. We also need a railways union, and also – a very important dimension – the social dimension. A social union s…

8 May

2025

EN Speech

EU action on treating and preventing diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular neurological diseases and measles (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, colleagues, the rise of certain non‑communicable diseases in the European Union is increasingly concerning. If we fail to act and learn from past experiences, like the COVID‑19 pandemic, we risk facing new outbreaks and epidemics. Twenty years ago, the European Union made a commitment to eliminate measles – to be measles‑free. Yet we are still far from that goal…

8 May

2025

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, you rightly mentioned that we are still 20 years speaking about the same problems. But now the digital union is not completed. The energy union is not completed. I know our railway infrastructure is in difficulties, and when we are speaking about the necessity to do something more, first of all, we need to stress very much that we need to develop pan‑European infra…

8 May

2025

LT Speech

80 years after the end of World War II - freedom, democracy and security as the heritage of Europe (debate)

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Thank you very much, Mr President of the sitting, honourable Commissioner, colleagues, I will indeed speak as a participant in the struggle for freedom, a dissident who was interrogated seven times by the KGB, who was arrested twice, who signed the Declaration of Independence on 11 March of the 90s, Petra Gražuli. Thus, on the 14th of June of the forty-first year, Hitler occupied Paris. On the sam…

7 May

2025

LT Speech

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

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Mr President, honourable Commissioner, colleagues. I want to say that I was in these positions as Commissioner responsible for public health and food safety, and I was involved in the authorisation of genetically modified organisms or, in this case, genetically modified seeds and imported feed. I want to say firmly that I am now elected by the Lithuanian electorate and, as I did then, I am now fir…

7 May

2025

LT Speech

Violations of religious freedom in Tibet

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Mr President, dear colleagues. In Lithuania, when the Supreme Council of Lithuania published the March 11 documents, we listened with great attention to the Dalai Lama who visited us. At that time, the adoption of the Dalai Lama by the Supreme Council, or the Lithuanian Parliament, was unspeakably difficult. On the other hand, he risked everything. And in this case, we can say once again that, yes…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

A revamped long-term budget for the Union in a changing world (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, as in the previous European Parliament Jutta Haug, Alain Lamassoure and Guy Verhofstadt stated, gross national income-based contributions from Member States are complicated, full of various rebates, compensations, exemptions and full of indigestible calculations. Lack of transparency is clear, and I fully agree with this position. Member States conceive of it as transferr…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear Maroš, I welcome your statement today. The predictable unpredictability of Trump's policies is a challenge, and Trump's brutal tariff war and nationalist protectionism are a real threat. We must stay united and determined in promoting and defending rule‑based global trade and multilateralism, and, of course, we need to intensify trade with other markets like M…

5 May

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, we stand at a pivotal moment. The SANT Committee has heard a clear call to forge a competitive, knowledge‑based European Union, and where better to ignite this ambition than the urgent realm of rare diseases? We have about 35 million patients, but only 5 % of identified rare diseases have a therapy. No country can treat those patients alone. Rare diseases can be our pan‑European p…