What Željana spoke about.

18

May

2022

EN Speech

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2021 Report on Albania (debate)

Mr President, I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Ms Santos, for an excellent report, and also the shadow rapporteurs, to have this really good and comprehensive report on Albania. We are going as the Foreign Affairs Committee next week, and I will have the pleasure that we convey the messages that we are having today here. But the one message that we should convey to the Western Balkans,…

18

May

2022

EN Speech

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2021 Report on North Macedonia (debate)

Mr President, today we heard Maia Sandu, who asked for membership of Moldova to the European Union. I fully support that. I support the candidacy and the opening of Moldova, of Ukraine, of Eastern Partnership countries. This is a peace and stability issue. Ilhan Kyuchyuk, I congratulate you on your report. You know what ‘minority’ means, being of a minority in Bulgaria. But some people here don’t …

4

May

2022

EN Speech

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Threats to stability, security and democracy in Western and Sahelian Africa (debate)

Mr President, Madam Commissioner, in recent years, the security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel and Western Africa has declined sharply. Terrorist groups have increased their presence. Democratic principles are being further undermined. People are suffering from food insecurity and inter—community violence, and over land and resources, is rising. The severity of the situation was highlight…

3

May

2022

EN Speech

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EU preparedness against cyber-attacks following Russia invasion on Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, cyberattacks are a fast—growing criminal activity. While the Russian invasion in Ukraine is mostly an offensive on the ground, experts warn for increasing cyberattacks as a countermeasure against our sanctions. The EU has to be prepared. We cannot allow a reactive approach. We need a proactive cyber—defence. I regret to learn that the Court of Auditors recently concluded that the Eur…

6

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Human rights situation in North Korea, including the persecution of religious minorities

Mr President, the latest publication of Open Doors on North Korea is a highly worrisome one. The organisation reports that in North Korea, an underground church has been discovered and all of its members killed. This is another sad example of how the authorities in the DPRK treat believers in their country. North Korea imposes a full restriction of freedom of expression and access to information. …

5

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights (debate)

Madam President, dear High Representative, on 24 February, the day the Russian war against Ukraine started, we were returning from an AFET mission to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The aim of the mission was to learn about security consequences of the chaotic departure of the international community from Afghanistan. We were explained about the imminent danger of Islamic State spreading further and th…

5

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

The follow-up question regards Operation Althea. In Compass, Croatia insisted on putting three constituent people as a balance for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future, on the basis of the Dayton Agreement. You know very well that Althea has to be approved by the end of the year by the Security Council. What are you going to do in order to maintain this necessary balance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and t…

5

Apr

2022

EN Speech

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Question Time with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Security and the EU's strategic compass

High Representative, I will ask you a simple question that I’ve been asking many times here. I congratulate you on Strategic Compass and the big achievement that has been done. But what are we going to do with the key point that we put on the Western Balkans and situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the electoral law? How are you going to resolve this issue? Because the elections are coming and the…

10

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh

Madam President, cultural heritage, national or religious, is a representation of people’s identity. These artefacts, buildings and monuments are built with the greatest care and devotion. It is something that people are proud of. Respect and protection of cultural heritage is not only part of our European values and European neighbourhood policy, it is also enshrined in several international conv…

9

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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Debate with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas - The EU's role in a changing world and the security situation of Europe following the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine (continuation of debate)

Madam President, the events in Ukraine have struck us all. The violence is a threat to our European peace and it is still unclear what consequences the war will have on our lives. I lived through war. I know what war means. One thing is certain: the world has changed and the EU has changed with it. Within days, even hours, European Member States have shown their unity by condemning the aggression …

8

Mar

2022

EN Speech

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The situation in Bosnia Herzegovina (continuation of debate)

Mr President, today once again we are discussing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This time it is the security context. For me, this discussion should be a public appeal to the politicians responsible to negotiate a solution to the real problem that the country is facing on the eve of its elections. The people, and not the international community, should be able to sanction politicians wit…

17

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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Political crisis in Burkina Faso

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, in less than two years West Africa has known four coup d'état. This reflects the political challenges the countries in the region are coping with. Next to the effect on the local economy, the life of citizens and the institutional stability, this deteriorating situation creates a breeding ground for terrorists and extremist organisations that ar…

16

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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EU-Russia relations, European security and Russia’s military threat against Ukraine (continuation of debate)

Madam President, it was only yesterday that we had the debate on our common security and defence policy. This morning, we are talking about a prime example of a threat to European security. The military tensions at our eastern borders show once again the need to develop a strong European strategic sovereignty. We need to increase our common capacity. We need to develop a decisive and assertive for…

15

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2021 - Implementation of the common security and defence policy – annual report 2021 (debate)

Madam President, first I want to congratulate David McAllister, Nathalie Loiseau and Arnaud Danjean on this excellent report and everything that we should do in foreign affairs policy, security, stability and the global role of a European Union. Dear High Representative, I will not spend this minute giving lectures. I would just like to thank you for calling three leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina…

15

Feb

2022

EN Speech

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EU-Africa relations (debate)

Madam President, dear High Representative, this week’s summit is an important opportunity for EU-Africa relations. We can lay the foundation for a renewed and deeper partnership. We should move away from the old donor-recipient mentality and head towards a partnership on equal footing. More and more external actors find their way to Africa. We require an EU strategy that will increase our visibili…

15

Dec

2021

EN Speech

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Preparation of the European Council meeting of 16-17 December 2021 - The EU's response to the global resurgence of Covid-19 and the new emerging Covid variants (debate)

Mr President, personal histories have been rewritten by the consequences of this disease. We still don’t know how and when this terrible episode will be over. I had my speech prepared, but listening to this intervention, I just wanted to say one thing on Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2002, on Christmas night, a Croatian family in Herzegovina – because it’s not just Bosnia – was slaughtered by a Musli…

14

Dec

2021

EN Speech

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Cooperation on the fight against organised crime in the Western Balkans (debate)

Mr President, organised crime remains a major obstacle for the countries in the Western Balkans to create economic growth and to provide a safe environment for its citizens. Criminal organisations abuse the region’s vulnerabilities, political instability and the lack of employment opportunities. Even the pandemic has been exploited through misuse of public procurement for medical equipment. As the…

21

Oct

2021

HR Speech

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The outcome of the Western Balkans summit (continuation of debate)

With the Declaration of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brdo pri Kranju, the Honourable Chair, the Honourable Commissioners, the Member States of the European Union underlined their commitment to further increase their joint engagement with the Western Balkan countries, as well as to advance their political, economic and social transformation. I congratulate the Government of Mr. Janša and you he…

20

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UK (COP26) (continuation of debate)

Mr President, the ambitious Paris climate accord has committed almost the entire world to reduce the increase of global temperatures in the next decades. With the recent earthquakes, fires and floods, we have experienced how unpredictable our planet can be. These are warning signals that we must change something. We are not the masters of nature. These catastrophes will only increase if we don’t s…

19

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Situation in Tunisia (debate)

Madam President, Tunisia is a close partner of the European Union. We have close and long-standing relations in a matter of trade and security. The EU has reaffirmed its commitment to the country and the wider region with the recent renewed agenda for cooperation with our Southern Neighbourhood. However, I am deeply concerned about the latest political developments in Tunisia. The situation endang…

5

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The Arctic: opportunities, concerns and security challenges (debate)

Madam President, the recent Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) mission to the Arctic in which I took part showed us how important and sensitive this region is. Our Chair already underlined the importance of our mission and the great success that we had in meeting local people and having a clear knowledge of what the Arctic really means, also for the European Union. The Arctic is also a region whe…

5

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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Humanitarian situation in Tigray (debate)

Madam President, the civil war in Ethiopia is ongoing for almost a year. While the Ethiopian Government’s forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front continue to fight each other, the people of Ethiopia are suffering. The United Nations have recently rung the alarm bell by stating that more than 400 000 people are living in famine at the moment. Humanitarian aid workers are unable to reach the…

5

Oct

2021

EN Speech

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The future of EU-US relations (debate)

Mr President, the European Union and the United States share a unique bond based on common values, principles and interests. At the EU—US summit in June this year, the leadership of the two blocks called for a strong transatlantic partnership – a message that we welcome and support in our report that we will vote on this week. However, over the last weeks, we have seen some reality checks that hav…

14

Sep

2021

EN Speech

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Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA III) 2021–2027 (debate)

Mr President, dear Commissioner, this week is an important moment for the European enlargement policy. The adoption and signing of the new Regulation on the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), is a clear confirmation of the EU’s support to the European integration of our partners in south-east Europe. Over the last three years we have been preparing this new generation of funds and …

8

Jul

2021

EN Speech

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The death penalty in Saudi Arabia, notably the cases of Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish and Abdullah al-Howaiti

Mr President, the death penalty is an inhuman punishment, disregarding the crime committed or the fairness of the trial, the deliberate execution of human beings should not ever be allowed. It is ineffective, has no deterrent effect, and it is often used as a political tool. I strongly oppose capital punishment and support the European Union’s call for its worldwide abolition, especially in the ca…