Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner Brown, it is a great pleasure to welcome and a very, very good idea and in the right direction. Here one colleague talked about God's blessing, so I will remind him that God not only blessed, but gave the Decalogue and gave over three hundred commandments and ordinances. Thus, the regulation began with God. I wish everyone not to forget that. Secondly, I want to point out that, yes, greed, speculation, money laundering, all these problems are huge. Remember what happened to the financial crisis when the big banks collapsed. Then they went on private planes to get to where they were? to the governments. When the big crises happened, it was the same with crypto banks again. Therefore, really, those who talk too much about freedom, remember one thing when there are painful consequences, then you have to seek help not elsewhere, but in states and regulated banks.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner Petra Serafin, honourable colleagues, as former Commissioner for Food Safety and Public Health, I have worked on the European Public Health Platform with eleven thousand non-governmental organisations that have registered there. Eleven thousand. How Animal Welfare I have worked on the platform with many organisations that have also registered in hundreds. And I can assure you that I also work with environmental organisations. I was attacked both for glyphosate and for Animal Welfare standards, and alcohol strategy, for many others. Let us not confuse two things: lobbyists and non-governmental organisations. But if you burden non-governmental organizations with these bureaucratic demands, hundreds and thousands of them will disappear. And so there is little funding for non-governmental organizations, no matter what they are, they are weak and obviously don't like that they attack me, but let them attack me. And there's no lobbying. Lobbying is industry because they are profit-seeking, they are market-seeking, they want to distort competition. There is a problem here, and NGOs do not, so Mr Gerbrandy's proposal is indeed logical. Let's expand the context and then talk.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner, as you can see, you have listened to such passionate speeches here after President Trump, perhaps inspired by the many little Trumps here in the Chamber by the little Trumps group. But I must certainly defend the Commission's proposals and, nevertheless, campaign for a detailed proposal for the establishment of a legal migration road infrastructure as soon as possible by prioritizing the issues. And all the Member States, the embassies of the Member States and the representations of the European Union, as well as the capacities of the United Nations, should be involved, because those legal migration routes could certainly facilitate those people who have the hope and the right to migrate. Do not deal with these speculators and organised crime. And all the other offers are really unspokenly needed and we look forward to your package of offers.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, population ageing, a shrinking working population and labour shortages are the most pressing demographic challenges now in Europe. The shrinking birth rate depends on the decision of the young population. But there is another aspect that is reducing our population and workforce that we can better affect. This is the high number of premature deaths in the EU. Every year in the EU, 1.3 million persons aged less than 75 years die per year from non-communicable diseases that are treatable and preventable. Four hundred thousand of them could have been avoided with effective preventive strategies and with healthcare systems offering timely treatment and effective care. More than 600 000 deaths could have been prevented by public health intervention, focusing on behavioural issues, lifestyle factors, socioeconomic status and environment. Preventive strategy must be part of demographic policy, dear Commissioner. To ensure better treatment and public health, we need to be more active, including prevention in demographic policy, saving 500 000 lives.

Mr President, Mr Costa, honourable Commissioners. It is a pity that Ursula von der Leyen is not among us. But I would like to pay close attention right away. Donald Trump's decision to leave the World Health Organization is shameful. This will be a tremendous blow to many things, starting with the terrible threats in the regulation of pandemics, the high number of deaths around, and it must undoubtedly become the European Union's urgent response to what we need to do to ensure the robustness of the World Health Organization. Donald Trump's withdrawal from the climate, from Paris climate change, is also embarrassing. Again, there will be pollution problems, there will be huge catastrophes, and we will lose many lives again. Letta's report, Draghi's report, drew attention to investment and innovation. But investing in innovation, in the health sector, in strengthening health people is one of the most important challenges now. We have too many premature deaths. Health policy must also be on the work tables of the Council and the Commission.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner, colleagues, all those who have spoken, to a lesser extent, are in fact underlining infinitely clearly that a large part of Georgian society is ready to demand repeated and fair elections. And it is clear that we must clearly answer ourselves the question: What has the Commission done or failed to do in five years? When that was five years ago, it was called the Eastern Partnership or the Eastern Neighbourhood Policy. And what the European Union has not done is that this is the situation in Georgia, where we have so much hope that there will be ten candidate countries joining the European Union. The issue of Georgia is now frozen and complicated from every point of view. I would therefore really urge the Commission to be much more active in addressing Georgia's problems.

Mr President, Mr Kubilius, my friend, I am pleased to welcome you. I sincerely wish you great, great success. Belarus has been governed by the autocratic, Soviet-style regime of Alexander Lukashenko for over 30 years. If before the 2020 elections many people believed that the winds of change would finally come in Belarus, then this year's demonstration elections on 26 January unfortunately promise nothing new. By completely suppressing any opposition and any independent thought, the regime is trying to convince itself and legitimize itself again. I do not think that the Lukashenka regime is as strong as it might seem from the outside. Only with the help of Russian subsidies. It is like a giant with clay legs that can collapse at any time. In fact, Belarus has transferred its sovereignty to Russia, so the mechanisms that we are now adopting, the sanctions, everything else, I think, will work at one time or another. However, I believe that the most direct and quickest way to help Belarus is to increase its full influence over Belarusian society, to support and support the non-governmental sector and opposition, and to work towards the release of Belarusian political prisoners. I would not rule out a diplomatic change of prisoners, as was done with Putin's regime. Such a version would be... (The Chair takes the floor from the speaker)

Mr President, honourable Commissioner, I certainly do not think that the incident of damage to the underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea at the end of 2024 is a coincidence. This is all the more so since the Baltic States are currently testing the possibility of disconnecting from the ring of the Soviet BRELL system, which is currently in Russia. Such a violation of this infrastructure severely disrupts the desire of the Baltic States to disconnect from the Soviet system. Putin is trying to provoke and see how seriously the European Union and NATO will respond to this. Therefore, NATO's increased patrols on 10 January are timely and welcome, but the number of sanctions in the EU is clearly too low. 79 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet have been sanctioned and the International Maritime Organisation has been under-exploited for denying access to European Union waters to vessels without insurance, safety and other requirements.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, 16 times in his inauguration speech, Trump used the word 'great', but not one word about the EU or Ukraine. Well, if he says it enough, it must be true, right? I don't think all this greatness will actually make the US stronger, but it might leave the EU weaker. Trump's plan to overhaul US trade policies to benefit America's economy – or rather oligarchs – could disrupt EU trade relations, as it was during his first presidency. His rejection of initiatives like the Green Deal on climate change will create frictions with the EU, which is committed to green energy and climate actions. Trump's emphasis on US supremacy could reduce multilateral cooperation, something the European Union relies on heavily. His shameful decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement and withdraw from WHO creates a lot of challenges to our efforts to address issues of climate change and global pandemics. His previous statements about taking over Greenland and Panama are completely unacceptable in all respects. A shift towards protectionism, including tariffs, could damage EU trade ties, especially given that the EU is one of America's largest trading partners. Our answer should be clear: in front of those, European Union should stay united, more socially oriented and stronger.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner, I am pleased that we now have the opportunity to exchange views on an unspokenly difficult situation. Jean-Claude Juncker's Commission represented the European Union in 2015 when we welcomed the Paris climate agreement. And now, ten years later, we are in an absolutely blatant crisis again, that the agreement unfortunately does not reach its effectiveness, because even in the Member States of the European Union, it is obvious that the climate change commitments are being sluggishly implemented. Honourable Commissioner, I appeal to you. You are talking now, but I want to ask you. We heard a report from the Court of Auditors in the ENVI Committee, in which we noted that Member States’ efforts to manage climate change were insufficient. In four hundred of the municipalities audited, it was found that there was no adequate attention. I want to point out... (The Chair takes the floor from the speaker)

Dear Chairman, Dear colleague Commissioner, Dear colleague. Having listened to such hot and very radical speeches, I can say that, as Commissioner responsible also for animal welfare, I have made great efforts to set up an animal welfare platform, to set up animal welfare centres – scientific, clinical, to provide answers from EFSA and many other professionals, and those who have painted terrible images here, I would invite you to visit farms together with veterinarians, with me, to visit Salon de l'Agriculture, visit Grüne Woche, to see how European farmers, scientists and veterinarians really love and care about animal welfare standards. Commissioner, I really believe that a balanced, evidence-based, science-based and ethically acceptable assessment of the animal welfare strategy is the only rational way to protect against ultra Radical slogans.

Dear President, Dear Commissioner Lahbib. Indeed, the list of all disability issues is very long and this debate is extremely valuable. However, I would like to draw particular attention, as a doctor and former Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, to the issue of the health of people with disabilities, to primary health care and integrated medical care, to screening accessibility of programmes for persons with disabilities and, in particular, access to dental care for persons with disabilities. This support is extremely problematic in all Member States of the European Union. It requires not only doctors, but also the establishment of infrastructure for dental prosthetics, operations, interventions, etc. for people with disabilities. Therefore, it would be very good for this to happen in the strategy. And I want to campaign for the introduction of mandatory minimum health and social standards across the European Union for people with disabilities, just as we have a minimum wage.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner. Before you in the Commission was Nicolas Schmit, another Luxembourgish, who was responsible for labour and social issues and, of course, the problems of the work of the agricultural sector, the problems of low wages, are very well known. However, I also want to point out that when it comes to health, one major problem is the remoteness of the health system from rural people. We call it Medical Deserts (Medical Desserts), where there is no primary care, no pharmacies or doctors, and those doctors are usually of a very high age. Therefore, my proposal for dealing with mental health, accidents (questions) Let us agree on the need for a separate programme not only for rural development, but also for improving the infrastructure for protecting human health in agriculture.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner, the subcontracting chain is, in fact, infinitely troublesome, as the exploitation of workers is by far the largest here. And, of course, it would be good for us to enshrine in the legislation the principle that the very first subcontractor in the subcontracting chain is responsible. He must be in charge of the whole chain until the end, no matter how many there sixteen ... (Word you can't hear). But the legal liability must be directed specifically at the first subcontractor. And I want to draw your attention to the shadow market and shadow mediators, especially in my health care sector, in long-term care, usually nurses with high qualifications are suddenly employed in lower qualifications and in really terrible conditions. This is a huge problem in the health sector.

Mr President, Mrs Roxana Mînzatu, you are from Romania and I am from Lithuania. And we are well aware that in the central and central part of the European Union, the right to strike, collective agreements and collective agreements are unfortunately very weakly implemented. And thus, we are well aware that the Pillar of Social Rights cannot be implemented without collective agreements, collective agreements and the right to strike. Mano pasiūlymas būtų, kad šalia Komisijos dabar iškeltos minties apie konkurencingumą ir investicijas lygiaverčiai būtų iškeltos sąlygos (conditionalities) structural support, public procurement, other European Union instruments. It is precisely to require Member States to implement 100% of the directives, to transpose and implement collective agreements and the right to strike in all 27 countries. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to talk about social Europe.

Dear Speaker, Dear Commissioner, I am probably the only one born in this room in Stalin's Gulag in 1951. My parents were arrested and deported to Stalin's gulags in 1941 for seventeen years. As a professional historian, I can certainly say that Putin's doctrine of falsifying history corresponds to the origin and meaning of authoritarian regimes. And here it is correct to consider it as the same composite function as Mussolini's fascists or the Nazis. It is the same group of dictators who use the falsification of history to justify their ideology. Therefore, the European Commission should really take steps to assess Putin's fascist ideology against Italian fascism and Nazi chauvinism.

Commissioner McGrath, I welcome the fact that the Commission has launched a procedure against TikTok and now the Commission must truly show its full strength as guardian of the Lisbon Treaties, guardian of our values and guardian of our democracy. It is quite clear that the functioning of the digital service platform must now be thoroughly analysed and you should present as soon as possible the steps that you should take collectively and especially in the Member States when it comes to regulating and harmonising the use of digital platforms during the electoral period. Monopolies and the ability to dictate and manipulate people's consciousness is a very powerful weapon. And we need, now more than ever, a very active coordination of forces, both in the harmonisation of elections at the level of the Member States and at the level of the European Union. We therefore welcome all steps and wish you speedy answers.

Commissioner, congratulations on the good initiative that has been launched. Let me recall not only Draghi's report, but Enrico Letta's report, in which he made it clear that the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament need to add the fifth freedom, the freedom of research and innovation, to the four fundamental freedoms. When it comes to the ecosystem that should be exploited, I can offer you an excellent ecosystem, the European Reference Centres ecosystem, for the treatment of rare diseases, rare cancers and complicated diseases. 1,600 European centres in university hospitals connected by digital technologies. One million genomic initiatives, artificial intelligence and the ability to attract innovative industries would create a supranational ecosystem to fund innovations and discoveries in both treatments and medical devices. I would very much like to draw attention to European Reference centers.

I would like to point out, Commissioner, that when it comes to the issue of clean drinking water, it is indeed up to the Commission to implement a common strategy among the Commissioners. This is a matter of common strategy not only for you, but also for the Commissioner for Health, it is a matter of common strategy for the Commissioner for the Environment, for many others. It is clear that we need to address these problems among the 27 countries, also thinking about the need to build up drinking water supplies in times of drought and the need for rapid response and assistance. There can be no commercial interest here: drinking water is a human right, a health and a public good. Structural support and the possibility to set up water reserve funds with the help of those four or five countries facing drought and crisis must therefore be activated as a matter of extreme urgency. Of course, water pollution, hygienic conditions are the number one thing to implement immediately.

I would like to be very clear to say that aerosol smoking evidence is that it is harmful. It is harmful! Doesn't matter you are using it in public space or indoor and outdoor. It's science. It's evidence in our hands. Of course, you can tell me, 'Please look into details, for example, how the metres in the room,' and so on. You can find that it is helpful to those who are staying in the room. But generally speaking, if you are not stopping situation now to use such terrible issue, we can lose a lot of lives. You know, Dr Liese, better than me, because we are both colleagues. We need to stay and need to defend our right to save lives of our people.

Mr President, Commissioner, welcome. I am very happy to listen to you. Of course, tobacco remains one of the greatest public health threats and greatest killers in the modern world. We are losing every year a lot of numbers of premature deaths, colleagues. When we are speaking about tobacco, we are speaking about every citizen. Doesn't matter where he is living. And of course, the science is clear: there is no safe level of exposure to smoke or aerosol emissions. The need for stronger measures to protect citizens in both indoor and outdoor spaces have never been more urgent like today. By extending smoke-free policies to outdoor areas such as public transport hubs, near healthcare and educational institutions and in hotels and catering sectors, we will ensure a healthier environment for all. The goal of tobacco-free generation by 2040, as outlined in the European Beating Cancer Plan, is ambitious, but it is achievable. We must act now to implement stronger measures, ban harmful products from public spaces and if they are needed for medical purposes, regulate them accordingly, including making them available for sale only in pharmacies. It was my old proposal in 2013. When I am listening now to those arguments, nothing new from the industry side, nothing new from those who are lobbying such strange products as tobacco. Let's act now.

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has turned, ironically, from a three-day Putin victory parade into a gruelling war that has been going on for almost three years. I admire all brave Ukrainians who are not afraid of the ruling Putin monster. Putin and Russia's constant request for help from almost all world rogue regimes, Iran and North Korea, first with ammunition and now with soldiers, only show that Putin's regime is weak. It is holding a clay neck that can crack at any moment. I have a question to all Putinophiles who are, unfortunately, still too many among Western politicians, but even more numerous among BRICS countries. Do you agree that in a modern world, one country can unilaterally redraw the borders by use of force? If you do agree with this, then a war will be on your shores and we can bury a modern international legal system, destroying cornerstones of peace and multilateralism. For me, answer is clear: we have to stand with Ukrainian people and do much more, and united for Ukrainian victory is only one right answer and our slogan.

Mr President, honourable colleague, Commissioner, today I think we can really assess that the G20 is a compromise, there is no doubt, because multilateralism unfortunately has to accept compromises. It is clear that the accents on war, on wars, on the Russian aggression against Ukraine are weak. The focus on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is also weak. However, it must be said that the emphasis is on taxing the rich, on introducing climate change taxes, on paying more attention to generating income, because those who talk about education need to understand that education needs public finances. In order to obtain public finance for third countries, we need to tax the wealthier today. And here it is also absolutely necessary to say that the European Union needs to be given more competences, to be much stronger in the context of climate change, to have more powers. Only we can do that.

Dear colleagues in this Chamber, nationalists. You don't understand that the Finns have set a good example. Thinking Globally and Acting Locally. In this room, nationalists think differently: Thinking Locally and acting locally. This is the biggest mistake that has cost these nationalisms dearly. It must therefore be made clear once again that both Mr Draghi's report, Mr Letta's report and Mr Niinistö's report set a very clear good example. acting globally, thinking globally, but acting united. And we need the European Defence Union, the European Health Union, the European Security Union now more than ever. What is needed is that in every local place, in every city and in every capital, Europe will be able to respond to these enormous and numerous challenges.

Mr President, honourable Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, first of all, I sincerely pay tribute to you for your excellent work, for the wonderful and great energy you have put into the achievements of this mandate. Undoubtedly, no one, not even the vast majority of speakers, all supported the proposal to add Russia to the list of high-risk third countries. But the question is obvious: why are we late? This work could have been done much earlier. He could then have stepped up our efforts to control all sanctions. Because bypassing sanctions, the shadow economy, all those shadow schemes that are used to circumvent sanctions, they undoubtedly also rely on money laundering. That is why, in this package of 14 proposals, it was certainly necessary to think about this earlier, but it is necessary to do so as soon as possible.