Speeches

Mr President, dear colleagues, I would like to ask how many more Ukrainian athletes must die for the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russia and Belarus from the Olympic Games. The recent delay in the final decision only creates a way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to go through the qualification. Moreover, Ukraine’s sport ministry has banned its athletes from competing in international competitions involving Russia and Belarus. This is a win for Russia: no Ukrainians in Paris in 2024, only Russians waving their so-called neutral flag. I raise this issue again and I will do so until the President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, finally understands that the only flag Russia should use is the white one on the battlefield.

Mr President, I consider it very important that we have managed to find an agreement on this regulation on deforestation, and I also want to acknowledge the work of the Czech Presidency, which has contributed to allowing us to vote on this agreement in order to support the fight against deforestation. Finally, it will not only combat deforestation on the territory of the European Union, but it is important that countries outside the European Union are also involved. This means that we will protect forests and old-growth forests outside the European Union and the goods that should be grown in and imported from these territories will be prohibited from being placed on the European market. It has already been listed here – palm oil, soy, cocoa, rubber, wood, cattle. In short, we are aware of the great impact that this deforestation has on the fight against climate change, and that is why I welcome this agreement.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, reducing emissions from fluorinated gases in Europe is the right step. Some fluorinated gases can persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years, and their global warming potential is higher than that of carbon oxides. In my vote, I followed the opinion of the Government of the Czech Republic, which had a positive position on the Commission's original proposal. Unfortunately, the ENVI Committee adopted some amendments which went significantly further in their ambition than the original Commission text. At the same time, maintaining the European Union's climate and energy security objectives is possible, but should go hand in hand with a realistic and effective reduction of fluorinated gases. In this sense, I supported the amendments that have been tabled. Unfortunately, not all of them were adopted and I therefore doubt the realistic outcome of today's vote, which is why I abstained in the final vote.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, today the European Parliament adopted a directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work between men and women through pay transparency and an enforcement mechanism. In 2021, the gender pay gap stood at more than 12.7% in the European Union, to the detriment of women. I therefore voted in favour of the outcome of the interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. I consider it necessary to strengthen transparency, which is why, overall, I supported this directive. I appreciate that the final text of the Directive seeks to minimise the administrative burden for employers by gradually adapting these measures. This should give them sufficient time, both for large and especially for small employers, to prepare for reporting obligations and I want to thank the Czech Presidency, which led the negotiations to a successful conclusion.

Mr President, the Olympic Games 2024 are in real danger. The danger is the ongoing support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Russia and Belarus to participate. This is unacceptable for the whole democratic world. Hiding behind a neutral flag and non-discrimination principle is not an answer to Russia’s war crimes. Russia is killing civilians, abducting children and destroying Ukrainian infrastructure. Moreover, at least 260 athletes have already been killed by Russia. In February, the European Parliament clearly expressed its position when we condemned the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris under a neutral flag. The only flag is the vile one on the battlefield. I urgently call on the IOC Executive Board, sitting in Lausanne this week, to reflect on this reality and exclude Russia and Belarus from participation in the Olympic Games.

Mr President, animal welfare in the European Union, that is to say, livestock, is not optimal and, in some cases, is really sad. For example, I personally consider the cage breeding of laying hens to be a form of abuse. This is an unsustainable situation, and therefore also citizens, consumers who are aware of this, have called for an end to cage farming. The high number was mentioned here, more than 1 400 000 EU citizens have signed up to this call. The European Parliament has responded to it and we support these demands. You yourself mentioned that the European Commission is envisaging new legislation. We called for it to be on our table by the end of 2023. And the ban on cages for farmed animals should apply from 2027. It is not only about animals, but also about a fair internal market. The point is that animals that are reared to different standards are imported from third countries. And we also need financial investment to support our farmers.

Mr President, I also very much appreciate this initiative and I am glad that citizens from the Czech Republic are also involved in it. The Czech Republic has made great progress in reducing pesticides over the past period. Between 2011 and 2020, farmers reduced their use of pesticides by 38%. And that, I think, is great progress. I take this challenge very seriously because the goals it represents are common. They are important for bees, for farmers, for us – for citizens and for life on this planet in general. These goals can be simply listed as: reducing pesticides, using pesticides, increasing biodiversity and supporting farmers. We have a revision of the regulation on the use of pesticides on the table. And I believe that this regulation can be finalised, but certain conditions need to be met. In particular, the Commission must complete an impact assessment, including on production. Especially at this critical time, this is an essential requirement. We need to provide farmers with alternatives: biopesticides and the use of new genomic techniques. I take advantage of the fact that the Commissioner is here. We expect the Commission to present new legislation that opens up opportunities for the use of new genomic techniques. Finally, the Regulation should set different national targets according to national developments. Colleagues, food safety, self-sufficiency and the competitiveness of European farmers must not be an empty slogan for us. Let's prove it.

Mr President, dear colleagues, first of all, I would like to thank all the co-rapporteurs for your cooperation on this urgent case of political persecution. The three decades of Hun Sen’s rule have placed Cambodia on the list of repressive regimes. The recent imprisonment of the opposition leader, Kem Sokha, for 27 years only strengthened the one-party government and worsened the human rights in Cambodia. Moreover, at least 39 political opposition members are currently in Cambodian prisons. This all happens just before the upcoming elections in July. Therefore, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of Kem Sokha and all opposition officials and activists convicted or held in custody in politically motivated charges. Further, we urge the Cambodian authorities to ensure free and fair elections in July 2023. The government’s systematic repression against independent media, civil society and political opposition must end. The recent shutdown of one of the last remaining independent media outlets, Voice of Democracy, is one more step for Hun Sen to seize power completely. The EU is Cambodia’s largest export market, accounting for 45% of the country’s exports and, as such, it is the duty of the EU to be an active advocate for human rights and use this vital position to promote them. Cambodia benefits from access to the EU market under the ‘everything but arms’ (EBA) scheme. However, respecting human rights and fundamental freedom is an essential part of the EU trade policy. Therefore, we call for the further suspension of the EBA status if the violations of human rights and freedom continue. This is a strong and efficient tool for the EU, and we should not hesitate to use it. Thank you for your support.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament adopted today a revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and I would like to explain why I did not vote in favour of this proposal. Of course, I am in favour of energy savings, but I am convinced that the Member States are able to address this requirement in their own right in the interests of their citizens, because we all want savings. I would therefore expect standards at European level, for example, that would be recommended. Besides, there is already legislation outside the Directive dealing with energy efficiency improvements, including the carbon price or the approved Energy Efficiency Directive. It must be ensured that this directive is not just another regulation for Member States, but in any case we already know that it will create a new administrative burden for both civil servants and builders. It sets new requirements for homeowners, which will be reflected in the total price. Renovation of buildings can also be expected to increase. The European Union is supposed to help Member States cope with challenging emission reductions and improve their functioning. But he should not do them for them.

Madam President, let me also explain why I supported the final compromise proposal on the revision of the Land Use and Forestry Regulation, abbreviated to LULUCF. This is an important area with great potential to contribute to mitigating emissions production in the EU. The revision of the Regulation aims at promoting the management of forests and soils so that they absorb the maximum of greenhouse gases. At the same time, the natural functions of landscape, forests and agriculture must be preserved. I welcome that a realistic pan-European absorption capacity target of 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by the end of 2030 has been maintained, with a binding four-year budget for 2026 to 2029 for each Member State. The values for the years 2026 to 2029 will be indicative only. The implementation of the budget over the whole period will be crucial. A compromise was also reached on monitoring and reporting requirements, which should not increase the administrative burden for Member States.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I supported this final compromise proposal on the revision of the Effort Sharing Regulation, which was negotiated during the trilogue during the Czech Presidency. This Effort Sharing Regulation applies to greenhouse gas emissions in sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, such as petrol and diesel used in road transport or heating fuels or fertilisers. In order to reduce emissions in these sectors for the period 2021 to 2030, the Regulation sets binding national targets and sets annual emission allocations for each Member State. I think these goals are realistic. The common European emissions target is a 40% reduction by 2030 and a 14% reduction for the Czech Republic. The target will be progressively reduced by 2030. I consider it important that the annual emission allocations for 2026 to 2030 are updated in 2025 on the basis of a comprehensive review. They consider this regulation to be realistic, which is why I voted in favour of it.

Madam President, relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan are marked by how the Azerbaijani Government treats Armenia and its own citizens. We strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s latest military aggression on the sovereign territory of Armenia in September 2022. Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for the European Union's independence from energy sources. But it is about the interest of both partners, that is, both Azerbaijan and the European Union. Azerbaijani authorities systematically violate fundamental human rights and freedoms, persecute journalists and spread disinformation against the West. For the partnership to work, Azerbaijan must also start respecting human rights. We will not achieve lasting peace by force or military means. We therefore call on Azerbaijan to work for reconciliation in the interests of its citizens. The EU plays a key role in this.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, at this moment in Kiev, representatives of the Commission and Ukraine are meeting at the EU-Ukraine Summit, and it is therefore very important that the European Parliament has adopted its resolution with such a massive number of votes. It was supported by 489 of the 574 Members present. Of course, I supported him too. The European Parliament calls on the European Union institutions, the Member States and all partners to continue to provide maximum political, military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. In this context, we also stress the need to dedicate ourselves to the return of deported children and adults from Ukraine to Russia, to the return of these children to Ukrainian families. The European Parliament calls on the Summit participants to work together to successfully launch accession negotiations, and the European Parliament also supported President Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I abstained in the vote on the report with recommendations to the Commission on the revision of the European Works Council Directive. I believe that much greater emphasis should be placed, above all, on the effective enforcement and implementation of the existing directive on European Works Councils in the Member States. Emphasis should be placed on educating employees and companies to use their rights and obligations. It is a big mistake that in some Member States penalties for non-compliance are not effective, dissuasive and proportionate, as required by the current Directives. On the contrary, I supported those amendments calling on the European Commission to monitor more closely the transposition of this directive and, if necessary, to launch infringement proceedings.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, after some hesitation, I supported the resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. Political campaigns are increasingly taking place online and it is increasingly difficult for citizens to determine whether it is a political message. Political advertising can be used to spread disinformation, especially if it is not clear that it is political in nature. The resolution seeks to make it clearly recognisable both online and offline, especially when it comes from a contracting authority from third countries, i.e. outside the EU. In particular, the new regulation should bring transparency. Political advertising should include a clear indication of the identity of the sponsor, transparency notice. With this position, the European Parliament will therefore negotiate with the Council. I expect further refinement so that the proposal can already apply to the European elections.

Madam President, the 2022 annual report on human rights and democracy in the world should objectively assess the human rights situation and the European Union’s activities in this area. Unfortunately, the report we voted on today does not contain the essential information it should contain, and it is, among other things, information that Christians are still the most persecuted religious group in the world. We voted on an amendment to include this in the report, but unfortunately this proposal was not adopted. This means that this report does not mention Christians at all as a persecuted religious group. On the contrary, the report maintained the requirement to include the right to a safe, legal abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, an unacceptable requirement for me that is contrary to the right of subsidiarity. That is why I could not vote in favour of this report.

Madam President, I also supported this 2022 report on the implementation of security and defence policy because it speaks very clearly about what steps have been taken over the past year and what needs to be done. He calls the aggression in Ukraine Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine and clearly describes the genocide perpetrated against Ukrainians. The European Parliament calls on the European Union to accelerate its efforts to help Ukraine, including financial, humanitarian and military assistance. In this context, it is important that the report includes a call to German Chancellor Scholz to initiate a European consortium of relevant European countries to supply Ukraine with the main Leopard 2 battle tanks. At the same time, we also call on EU Member States to meet their NATO commitments and increase their defence budgets to at least 2% of GDP.

Madam President, let me explain why I supported today the European Parliament's report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy. These are, of course, very important, crucial areas that are a task for the European Union. And the report contains a number of statements as well as the tasks that the European Union is fulfilling. The European Parliament confirmed the European Union’s determination to respond swiftly and strongly to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and calls on the Member States to maintain the level of support. The European Parliament supports the Council's decision to increase the budget European Peace Facility by €2 billion and proposes the creation of a separate envelope for Ukraine to guarantee adequate support. Parliament stresses the need to make full use of available EU resources and calls on the Member States to make full use of PESCO. These are all important reasons that led me to support it.

Madam President, Vice-President, dear colleagues, we have heard many solid arguments for the establishment of the special tribunal to prosecute the crimes of aggression against Ukraine perpetrated by the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation. One of these perpetrators is, without any doubt the so-called Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. There are almost 14 000 confirmed cases of forced deportation of Ukrainian children, and this woman oversees the whole process. These actions further contribute to Putin’s systematic attempts to eradicate the Ukrainian nation. Those crimes of aggression against Ukrainian children should be among many others to be investigated by the special tribunal. Let me quote the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and campaigner for creating a special international tribunal, Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Centre of Civil Liberties, ‘We have to prove that the rule of law does work, and justice does exist, even if they are delayed’. So I have hope that we will move forward.

Thank you for your reply, I have a supplementary question. It is not clear from your reply whether, for 2023, you envisage taking into account the impact of inflation on the financing of the common agricultural policy and whether it is also possible to envisage extending the simplification of the conditions for the application of the common agricultural policy, which would of course also help farmers to cope with these conditions. Can you answer me?

Mr President, Commissioner, we are aware of rising prices, rising energy prices, which are having an impact on rising food prices. When we look at inflation, what share of the increase in inflation is made by food, it is clear that it is actually the largest share after the price of energy. Of course, this has a huge impact. This has an impact on consumers. But let's look at the beginning, and these are the primary producers. It is the farmers who are actually benefiting almost nothing from this increase. They are dependent on the purchase of their products. I would like to ask the Commission, Commissioner: How will you support the farmers in this situation, the farmers who are most affected by this inflation?

Madam President, Prime Minister, as the representative of the Czech Republic in the European Parliament, I welcome the fact that you have subscribed to a number of priorities set by the Czech Presidency. In particular, there is unequivocal support for Ukraine. As you said, Ukraine is fighting for our security, for our way of life, for our values. That is why you, together with all the members of the European Union, want to support Ukraine from a military, humanitarian point of view. Here I would like to hear whether you will support a package of new sanctions that should respond to further Russian attacks against civilians. In addition, we must address the impact of the Russian aggression on our economy, on our citizens. Today, the European Parliament will discuss how to address the impact of inflation on food, and food security should remain at the centre of our attention. The Swedish Presidency should continue with this priority and also ensure food security and support for European farmers. New legislation on new genomic techniques is expected to be presented this semester. Here, too, I ask your attention. Let me ask you that the Swedish Presidency accelerate the creation of a special international tribunal to punish the crimes of aggression committed by the Russian army, President Putin and his government. I expect the Swedish Presidency to push for the creation of this tribunal. Finally, I would like to ask you to engage the Swedish Presidency in stopping the forced deportation of Ukrainian citizens, especially children, and their adoption by Russian citizens. This is part of the Russian genocide against the Ukrainian nation and an attempt at russification, especially unacceptable crimes against children and their rights. Mr President, I wish you a lot of strength, energy and the ability to maintain the unity of the European Union in all these areas.

Mr President, I would like to raise a question here, which is a major problem for the internal market. It is the spread of diseases of livestock and the conditions of their breeding. In the Czech Republic, the sixth outbreak of bird flu this year was confirmed last week. The incidence of avian influenza is the largest in the history of the European Union. Due to this outbreak in one of the large-scale rearing of laying hens in the Czech Republic, 750,000 laying hens had to be spent. These hens lay up to 600 000 eggs per day – 18.5 million eggs per month. It's not factory farming anymore, but it's just production. This example shows how risky mass animal husbandry is. In factory farms, of course, the flu immediately spreads. These chickens have lower immunity, higher resistance to antibiotics. I need not remind you that the living conditions in the cages of laying hens, where the spread of diseases is supposed to be more prevented, are unacceptable, but this is where these hens were slaughtered. That is why we are looking at the European Commission, which should put forward new EU-wide legislation to ban cage farming.

Mr President, I also want to thank all of you for having a united voice in support of Ukraine against the great Russian outnumber. We are all watching live the planned systematic destruction of infrastructure in order to humiliate the Ukrainian nation, and I am convinced that this is genocide, because it does not even shy away from abducting children, re-educating children, forcibly adopting these children into Russian families. Yesterday, the European Parliament voted by a large majority to support €18 billion for Ukraine. It's a lot, but it's still not enough. The President of Ukraine appreciates and thanks for this assistance, while begging and asking for others, including weapons, including humanitarian aid, but also asking us to set up a tribunal for the crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Nobel Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk is also asking us to do so. Justice must be established and those who organise this violence must be condemned. Finally, let me conclude with my personal appeal and request. We have here the Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament. I ask Parliament's leadership to consider saving money for heating the two large parliaments in Strasbourg and Brussels. I think for the winter months to May we could save millions of euros if we didn't have to cross over.

Madam President, the Czech Presidency has been repeatedly praised by various parties, and I would like to join in. It was sincere and I am pleased that the Czech Republic has helped to bear the burden of the European Union in these difficult times. It is clear that we are looking at all these negotiations today and tomorrow through the eyes of the impact of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. What we see daily, as the Russians continue to attack, confirms that we have made the right decision and that this is the only way for us, even though it costs us a lot today. But in the future, it would cost us much more if we did not react in this way unequivocally. Of the many tasks ahead of you tomorrow, you will only have to choose a few, the most important ones that citizens will understand. If we want to improve security, we need to take both Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen and help them defend the external borders, cap the prices of imported gas to improve the energy situation and support Ukraine not only with words but mainly with weapons. I wish you a lot of strength for the years to come.