What Ilhan spoke about.

5 May

2025

EN Speech

Announcement by the President (Rule 138(2))

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Madam President, dear colleagues, on 19 March this year, the Commission put forward the SAFE regulation proposal and based it on Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, JURI considered the use of Article 122 of TFEU as the basis of the SAFE regulation proposal under Rule 138(2) of the Rules of Procedure. On 23 April, the committee unanimously decided that Article 122 wa…

12 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Adoption of the proposal for a Parenthood Regulation (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear representatives of the Council – they are not present yet. 'If you are a parent in one country, you are parent in every country', said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union speech. This gave a political impulse for the European Commission to prepare rules on the cross-border recognition of parenthood. Two years after, on 7…

12 Mar

2025

BG Speech

100 days of the new Commission – Delivering on defence, competitiveness, simplification and migration as our priorities (topical debate)

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Mr President, today we are taking into account the 100 days since the beginning of the mandate of this European Commission and we cannot but note with satisfaction the many legislative proposals that have been made by the European Commission itself. Of course, we expect results, not just legislative proposals. The message of European citizens is clear, we cannot continue in the same way with our e…

11 Feb

2025

BG Speech

Political crisis in Serbia (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, honourable Minister, fellow Members, I think that today we are witnessing a very solid position on the part of the European Commission, something that we have been missing for the last few years. Serbia must choose its own path. It can't be both in one place and in the other. And the road, if it wants to be European, has to comply with several things: the common fore…

18 Dec

2024

BG Speech

Preparation of the EU-Western Balkans Summit (debate)

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Madam President, it is of course important that we discuss the future of the Western Balkans, especially in the context of the Council, at the forum that is taking place - the EU-Western Balkans Summit. But don't let this forum become another filming. Let this forum also not be another single transferrable speech when it is spoken and nothing is said. I hope that the beginning of this mandate of t…

16 Dec

2024

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, these days mark 40 years of the so-called revival process, a cynical name for the attempt at total assimilation of the Bulgarian Turks in Bulgaria. Of course, these 40 years also have their backstory – what happened in the 1960s and 1970s with the story of our Pomaks brothers and sisters. What does a revival process mean? It's hard to explain in 30 seconds, but let me try. You are bo…

26 Nov

2024

BG Speech

Full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area: the urgent need to lift controls at internal land borders (debate)

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7 Oct

2024

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, Atamana, Galata, Sharana, Diapers, Three Hicks - these are not the names of cartoon characters, nor are they superstars from the Hollywood industry, but voice buyers who are ready to do the largest vote-buying action in my country, Bulgaria. Of course, the action is followed by other things, and there are its prehistory as dismissals of people, as punishment for those who define t…

16 Sep

2024

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Member of the Commission. - Mr President, I am, of course, taking the floor in the presence of the European Commission to ask a fundamental question - how are the rules being respected in the EU? When there is a regulation or directive, does it apply to all countries and is subject to equal treatment, or can each country choose which to apply and which not to apply? My main question relates to the…

10 Apr

2024

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Member of the Commission. - Mr President, I would like to draw the attention of the honourable plenary to a case that took place two weeks ago in Zollingen, Germany. Four Bulgarian citizens were set on fire. You're probably asking yourself why I'm talking about this. Is there a need because the European Parliament is neither a prosecutor's office nor a court? I put it in order that there may be ju…

28 Feb

2024

BG Speech

Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement (debate)

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Madam President, I am pleased that this report will be voted on tomorrow, because it is very clear, with concrete proposals that give two-way messages. The first message is that whoever fulfils the conditions can be part of the European Union. The second message is that enlargement policy can go hand in hand with the policy of deepening reforms within the European Union. And perhaps most important…

7 Feb

2024

BG Speech

Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

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Madam President, of course this debate is very important, but it seems to me that it is very late. We look at it in the context of what happened four months ago, and it has deep roots. And the mistake we are once again making in the European institutions is that we are looking at the consequences, not so much the reasons for what happened. However, I agree with the general finding. We can only tal…

15 Jan

2024

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area by air and water was received with different feelings. Some Bulgarian citizens and politicians mostly described it as a great success, others as a huge failure. I was among those who say that this is a step forward, clearly realizing that this is not what we have worked for and that this is not the fair solution for the Bulga…

22 Nov

2023

BG Speech

30 years of Copenhagen criteria - giving further impetus to EU enlargement policy (debate)

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Mr President, today we are reflecting on a classic dilemma: whether the enlargement policy is the product of geopolitical reasons or the product of Copenhagen criteria. The answer is clear. Geopolitics always has an advantage. This is what happened when my country Bulgaria joined the European Union. We were definitely not ready for all the criteria, but the leading base was the criterion. Yes, we …

22 Nov

2023

EN Speech

Threat to rule of law as a consequence of the governmental agreement in Spain (debate)

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Mr President, we come to a plenary today concerned again about the threats to the rule of law in the European Union. As the Liberals, we have spearheaded this cause and have led the defence of the rule of law each and every time anyone has attempted to confront it – just to name them, Poland, Hungary or today Spain. We are worried to see political concessions like an amnesty war or a parliamentary…

22 Nov

2023

BG Speech

This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nikolay Denkov (debate)

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Member of the Commission. - Madam President, Prime Minister, colleagues, I have participated in such debates many times and all have concluded with the same conclusion. Debate on the domestic policy of Bulgaria. Let us make sure that this debate is not about Bulgaria's domestic policy, but about the future of Europe, in which I want Bulgaria to participate very actively and to use this pro-Europea…

8 Nov

2023

BG Speech

EU enlargement policy 2023 (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, of course we must start by thanking you, because enlargement policy has not been the most popular in recent years in the European Union. And yet you managed to take it to a very serious level. Today, in addition to the traditional clichés in this room to talk about a plan, an economic plan that should be aimed at the social recovery of the countries of the Western Ba…

3 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Uzbekistan (debate)

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Mr President, I wish to thank the Commissioner again for his concluding remarks and to thank colleagues for their input. I fully agree with those saying that we need more diplomacy and cooperation with Uzbekistan, not less. Let me conclude by saying what is the most important part of the discussion and what is the way forward, actually. First, I think we should continue to carefully monitor the NG…

3 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Uzbekistan (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, this report tells us a lot about it. Firstly, the EU-Uzbekistan relationship as of 2023 and the important transformation which Uzbekistan has gone through. Secondly, the new geostrategic importance of the EU’s Central Asian relations, with Uzbekistan playing a central role. Thirdly, the very positive regional integration initiatives, which have bee…

3 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, including the situation in the northern municipalities in Kosovo (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, well, EULEX and KFOR are on the ground working closely with authorities to manage the situation. We cannot turn a blind eye to the troublesome military movements by Serbia along the Kosovo border. Stability in the region is hanging by a thread and the rhetoric and actions emerging from Serbia’s leadership, particularly in the context of the broader…

3 Oct

2023

BG Speech

Corrupt large-scale sale of Schengen visas (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, when we talk about the Schengen area, we cannot but mention the fact that two countries that want to be part of it are not yet. We are talking about Bulgaria and Romania. Of course, Schengen is a matter of trust. And the data on the sale of visas in the Schengen area is undeniably worrying. We have been repeating for years that in the territory of shared tru…

12 Sep

2023

EN Speech

2022 Report on Türkiye (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, we need to break the anchor/credibility dilemma in Türkiye-EU relations. Türkiye is a candidate country and the Turkish people overwhelmingly support EU membership. The more we are anchoring Türkiye, the more credible Türkiye will become and the more it will make the necessary steps towards European Union. Despite all the difficulties and complexit…

11 Sep

2023

BG Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Member of the Commission. - Mr President, many of our fellow Members have spoken about natural disasters, which unfortunately are on our territory. We had a few of them, not to list all the countries, but in any case I would like to highlight a few of the latter - the floods in Greece and in my country, Bulgaria. It seems to me that we need to look much more seriously at some of the structural cha…

11 Jul

2023

BG Speech

Accession to the Schengen area (short presentation)

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Mr President, this is not a debate about Bulgaria and Romania, this is a debate about the essence of the European Union. Do we want to leave two countries outside the Schengen area so many years after they made for European integration? This is not fair and no one should support it. It is a joy that we have the support of the European Parliament, the European Commission, but it is time for the Eur…

11 Jul

2023

EN Speech

2022 Report on Albania (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, Albania has come a long way on its European path and with continued determination to resolve undoubtedly difficult issues. Over the past years, the country has demonstrated steadfast, unwavering and strategic commitment to European Union integration. Its dedication reflects the consensus among political parties and garners overwhelming support a…