Speeches

The European Union is founded on values such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality. The principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, are reflected in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and enshrined in international human rights treaties. The European Parliament needs guarantees that Hungary is really serious about corrective measures. Corruption and dubious public procurement of European funds cannot be tolerated in any Member State of the European Union. This is also related to the state of the judiciary and the rule of law in the country. Hungary’s decision not to participate in enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is also not a positive signal. The measures put forward by the Hungarian government are not sufficient to address the existing systemic risk to the financial interests of the EU. Transparency must be the basis for redistributing European financial resources.

Since February 2022, the EU has been horrified by the atrocities of Russia’s command and army in Ukraine. Russia relentlessly destroys infrastructure, including non-military buildings such as schools and hospitals; conducts ecocide and nuclear terrorism; uses hunger to control the population and mass-exports agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukrainian military personnel and civilians face daily threats to their lives and dignity. Russia has committed all possible categories of international crimes, which the world has banned since World War II, and has crossed boundaries of humanity by actions that are essentially genocide of Ukrainians and aimed at annihilation of Ukraine’s sovereign state. The EU, as an entity established to maintain peace on the European continent, must act promptly. Parliament urges the EU to lead global efforts and assist Ukrainians in bringing all those engaged in the crimes to justice using every legal means available. We will continue to support the courageous Ukrainian people, as well as the political, economic and legal pressure on Russia and its war criminals.

Mr President, the amendment is as follows: ‘Highlights that SMEs make up 99 % of European businesses in the EU and that the setup of the SME Envoy post is key in providing a strong voice to hundreds of thousands of SMEs across the EU; underlines that a high level of expertise and specialisation are needed for an SME Envoy and that this was the case in the selection of the successful candidate; welcomes that the Commission has followed a formal, fair and multi-step recruitment process in the hiring of the SME Envoy and stresses that the multiple assessment criteria were followed during the recruitment process; highlights that at the moment of the announcement of the recruitment of the SME Envoy no objections were made by any of the Commissioners and that questions were raised only after one-sided information were leaked to the media, therefore transforming this issue into a political one; notes that double standards should not be applied by the Greens Group in the European Parliament particularly since, in certain cases, Greens Ministers from EU Member States hired several staff members without a formal recruitment process; underlines that the assessment procedures for posts such as the SME Envoy should not be used for party or personal campaigning goals;’

Madam President, the proposal for political domination of public radio and television in Bratislava would have been envied by the government by the communists before 1989. It is crying out that this is happening at the very time when we approved the Media Freedom Act in this House, based on the protection of freedom of speech, pluralism of opinion and of the media, and on their better transparency. Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy and attacks on it are attacks on the essence of democratic functioning. Fico's proposals are only a copy of the Hungarian path, which led to the restriction of freedom of speech and the preference for only one opinion, that of the government. It is no coincidence that Orbán and Fico understand each other. After witnessing Hungarian interference in the Slovak parliamentary elections six months ago, this situation was repeated in the presidential elections, when the Hungarian public television commissioned one candidate at the time of the Slovak moratorium with the aim of influencing voters of Hungarian nationality in Slovakia. This is a dangerous precedent and this aspect must also be taken into account in the implementation of the Media Freedom Act. I thank all those who care about freedom of speech and protect democracy.

Thank you for this question. My answer is ‘no, I’m afraid not’. We are not simplifying the regulatory environment. We are not cutting our legislative, regulatory burden; we are just achieving the opposite. We are putting more and more additional regulatory burdens. Unfortunately, you are right that in some countries we have already such rules, but in many, many countries we do not have them, and we create more administrative burdens in more Member States. I am absolutely sure that we have to minimise the regulatory burden, and we cannot fight for human rights. I think we can agree that we have to fight for human rights, but we cannot fight for human rights with additional bureaucracy. I think this is not the right approach, and we have to fight for bureaucracy not to put an additional regulatory burden.

Madam President, our way of life is based on its protection, respect for human dignity and respect for and enforcement of the law. Based on these principles, we have also built a democratic society in Europe, achieved economic growth that can be a model for the rest of the world. I'm sure he's an inspiration today. It is also essential that, despite growing global competition, we regain our leadership in innovation and not only maintain but also create new jobs in our regions. And today, the main barrier to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe, mentioned in almost every survey, is excessive bureaucracy. Our goal is less bureaucracy. We need to reduce the regulatory burden by at least a third, introduce and respect honestly the “no” rule.one in, one out’, but “one in, two out’ and strictly follow the competitiveness test for any new European policy. This is the way we can really help our entrepreneurs to innovate freely and responsibly and create new jobs. Let's not regulate while our competitors innovate. Let us focus on achieving our goals, trust our entrepreneurs, consumers and comply with current legislation in the field of labour law. If necessary, make it simpler and clearer, but do not create a new, complicated and unnecessary one. Let us put pressure on those who choose to do business dishonestly or act against the rules on which our society is based, but let us not burden ourselves with the new bureaucracy of our entrepreneurs. Respect for human rights will not be solved by a new bureaucracy, but only by respecting and adhering to the current legislation in force. (The speaker agrees to answer the question raised by raising the "blue card")

Mr President, thanks to European cooperation, we are experiencing almost eighty years of peaceful coexistence and half a century of economic prosperity on our continent. We must realise that this is mainly due to the development of small businesses, which make up half of the European product and create 100 million jobs. The development of a small business is directly proportional to the development of our competitiveness. And here I want to draw attention to one fundamental thing that small entrepreneurs are struggling with, and that is bureaucracy. The fight against bureaucracy can fundamentally improve our position in global competitiveness. I appreciate, on the one hand, the Commission's actions in terms of a 25% reduction in regulatory burdens or a "one in, two out" activity, but for each new regulatory burden we have to look at whether this simplifies the environment or whether it worsens the position of entrepreneurs. If we successfully fight red tape, together with the diversification of energy sources, the development of education and the development of digital skills, we will be able to regain our competitive advantage. So I believe we can do it.

Mr President, social networks are the primary source of information, especially for young people, who have seen an overall increase in media coverage of 11% in the last year alone. It is therefore essential that, as there are control mechanisms and penalties for spreading hate and fake news in the physical and public space, this is also the case online. It is good that after large platforms, the Digital Services Act will finally enter into force for all platforms. It will affect many areas of the online world, such as online marketplaces, web hosting services, cloud services, search engines and social media platforms. In particular, this will give citizens and internet users more control over the content they watch or protect children from illegal content online. Companies benefit from legal certainty, a single set of rules across the Union and easier start-ups and scale-ups in Europe. This will give our society greater protection of democracy by mitigating systemic risks such as manipulation or disinformation. Let us not allow undemocratic elements to infest the free decision-making of citizens in the upcoming elections. Fighting disinformation will become increasingly important for democracy.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the European Union has been created on the basis of close cooperation between countries, with the goal of lasting peace on our continent. For this reason, we share common values of prosperity, democracy and peace. Our shared values are now being defended by the blood of the Ukrainian people, who have chosen their path for democracy. With this in mind, allow me to appreciate the opening of the accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. However, we must not let ourselves lose focus and stop the work on crucial topics such as the continuous support for Ukraine and the revision of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. I do believe it is extremely clear that the absolute majority of Member States are also clear about this topic. Now, more than ever before, every European citizen can see and can understand who is committed to find common solutions to our shared challenges, and who is not. I do support the European Commission in this work, and I do believe in an early effective solution.

Madam President, our European area will be as safe as our countries in our neighbourhood. With a package of more than €50 billion a year, the European Union is today the largest financial promoter of stability and democracy in the world. We are also active in humanitarian and diplomatic assistance. It is important that we remain on this path at a time of increasing tension. However, it is essential to strengthen control and carefully analyse the efficient use of these resources and their impact on change in individual countries. It is often the case that, despite our investments, the influence of undemocratic powers prevails in these countries. I believe that one way to prevent conflicts in the world is through interreligious dialogue. I am pleased that it is the European People's Party that is active in this area. He has held regular inter-religious meetings for 25 years. Mutual dialogue and understanding will play an increasingly important role in preventing conflicts in the world. Our Parliament also has a special role in conflict prevention in countries with which we do not have official diplomatic ties, such as Taiwan. There is still a great prospect of mutual development. Last but not least, it is important to use the economic dimension and trade agreements to prevent conflicts, because an economy and trade without morality do not work. All these actions, humanitarian aid, interreligious dialogue, but also trade agreements, are important and can make a European contribution to conflict prevention and to stability and peace in the world.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the deal reached on the new F-Gas Regulation sets us on the path towards the ambitious goal of reducing emissions by the equivalent of 40 million tonnes CO2 in the next six years, and achieving a full phase-out by 2050. Standing here on behalf of Sara Skyttedal, rapporteur for the ITRE opinion, I have to say that this path is not only ambitious, but also realistic. Thanks to the balanced phase-down in the first decade, in a way that will not jeopardise neither the repair of existing equipment nor the REPowerEU goals of a much-needed heat-pump deployment. The groups to the left in this House tend to view climate legislation in an astonishingly naive and short-sighted way, where the highest bidder has the most climate-friendly policy. I'm really happy that the new F-Gas Regulation instead follows the long-term balanced prescription of the centre-right: a climate policy that sets ambitious targets, but also delivers on them on account of securing the competitiveness of European industry. I'd like to thank Sara for her great work.