Speeches

Mr. President! There is no need to think twice about who is behind the title of this debate on the Commission's alleged interference in democracy. Patriots, of course. Patriots only in the name, but in fact defenders of foreign interests, European not under any other way. We are already accustomed to these perverse games of blaming someone for your actions, but in this debate, this propaganda is perhaps the most obvious. The Commission has quite rightly frozen the assets of the Orban regime. European taxpayers cannot and will not finance the corruption of those who are now fleeing the country in fear. Now for the actual interference. Interference is when the U.S. Vice President is involved in the campaign for Orban. Interference is when Israelis seem to get involved in a campaign in Slovenia for Janša, Orban's lacquer, of course. Therefore, the title of this debate is completely wrong. The problem is not that the Commission is working too hard and interfering. The problem is that he works too little against foreign interference. And to say that is patriotic, you know, but this title is a nice experiment, a bad game, an even worse scenario. It is very clear who really defends Europe and their home in this Chamber. It is also clear who is selling it. Patriot, nothing.

Madam President, many believe that politics and integrity don't go together. I believe they do – if one dares, of course. Our responses to the Middle East situation are predictable, too slow and, above all, ineffective and selective. So when Merz speaks about Trump in a way that normalises dangerous escalation in Iran, that's not even Realpolitik. It's irresponsible. The EU must not follow the imposed rules of escalation, even less legitimise it. This is no distant geopolitical game. This is a crisis created by the genocidal Israeli Prime Minister and his puppets. And while they wage war, European citizens foot the bill. One bill at a time, all Europeans are being punished for a war we did not start. But we can help end it – diplomacy is powerful, if one dares. Through a clear, united foreign policy stance, that's the fastest way to ease the energy crisis. And we must, of course, stop our dependence on others because we are vulnerable with that. It is time we dare to be firm and credible, have integrity, dare to think for ourselves and stand for international law, peace and protection of our EU citizens. It is possible to do all three. I promise.

Mr. President! Consent. Basically a very simple concept, colleagues, even if you want to turn it around, there on the right above all. There can be no different interpretations, never and nowhere. This concept follows questions with only one of two possible answers: "Yes" or "No"? That's it. And as a child, you are not always happy when, say, your mother says ‘no’. Ask my five-year-old daughter, I'd like to confirm. I'm not a perfect parent, but I don't want him to ask me: ‘Mom, can you?’, because it has to. I want him to understand, even as an adult. That's why I'm asking those adults today, what exactly isn't clear here? Under the Istanbul Convention, rape is any sexual act without free and clear consent and has been signed by all Member States. Beware of this hypocrisy now – these same countries would not have it in actual legislation, because it is a national competence. Please, please. This is purely a matter of political will. Is it or isn't it? That is to say, the will of those who have clearly forgotten that without a clear ‘yes’ there is nothing. And today we do not decide on complex legal nuances, we decide on the basis. If we understand ‘yes’ or ‘no’, that is it. We'll protect the victims...

Madam President! Historically, politics have been a tool of social division, often by race or religion, always following the same logic: We are against them, rich or poor, we are against you. Today, the unimaginably rich in many places dictate state, even world politics. You know, Musk-Trump, for example. The motive is clear: Protecting your own interests and money at your expense. This is why this anti-poverty strategy is crucial. It clearly outlines the guidelines for reducing child poverty, requires adequate social protection. Unfortunately, it must even demand access to basic goods such as food and water. I welcome the demand for a directive on a decent minimum income, but the key fair taxation of high wealth is missing. The richest would not live worse, and the most vulnerable would have their lives incomparably improved. I am looking at you, Commission, and I will pay attention to the action plan, which will show whether you really want equality. Because there's enough politics for you, it's time to start working for us, too.

Madam President, colleagues, it's no secret that we are watching a dangerous contagion spread across Europe – from Orbán in Hungary to Janša in Slovenia, from the shadows of PiS in Poland to Fico in Slovakia. Fico's style is not just authoritarian, it is deeply paranoid. As we see elsewhere, illiberal politics turns opponents into traitors and critics into enemies. This paranoia has a purpose: if every opposition member, journalist or judge who checks your power is part of an evil plot, then crushing democracy becomes necessary. Fico is using this narrative not to save Slovakia, but to save his own skin. He is dismantling justice to protect a corrupt inner circle. While his friends enrich themselves, the economy stagnates and the people suffer. This destruction of democracy is the price of his power: a price he is happy for Slovak citizens to pay. But let me be clear: Fico is not Slovakia, just as Orbán is not Hungary. The Commission must stand with the people who refuse to pay that price.

Madam President! Rations, gunshots, murders, fear, division into ours and the problem. With a promise: We will restore order, dear ones, the problem will be removed. So, first you define a group of people as a problem, and then an apparatus that proves this problem every day, even when it is not. It's not security, it's control, it's power. This is a method that does not solve problems because it needs them. This is Minneapolis today. This is Donald Trump with logic, if you frighten society enough, she will accept everything: walls, deportations, agents, registries, offices. And watch him break, this is also today the Slovenian Democratic Party of the SDS with Janez Janša at the forefront. Dear Slovenians, our new deportation office will solve everything, just allow us to come to power. It's not a problem-solving method, it's a method. Demonstrate determination – artificial. Create a sense of emergency – artificial. Because a scared man doesn't ask much. As if history has never shown where such a classification of undesirables leads. A country that can't manage reality begins to manage people. And when a politician begins to look for problems that he can spectacularly remove, it usually means that he can't solve the real problems. Somewhere else, voters have already opted for such a policy, even under the influence of fear. The consequences are now being felt directly in Minneapolis. We have the freedom to choose freely and responsibly.

Madam President! We have been talking about the green and digital transitions in Europe for years. Undoubtedly important, but the transition that many feel the most today is the one from universal security to insecurity. Despite high levels of employment, we still have parents who are unable to pay their bills, young people without the opportunity to have their own roof over their heads, workers who are worried that the algorithm will replace them tomorrow. That is why we need a real, truly social Europe, and it starts in childhood. Almost a quarter of children are still at risk of poverty, while the Child Guarantee remains unimplemented and this must be the first step. Others: access to quality jobs for all. And the third: A social Europe without housing is not a social Europe. This Action Plan should be aligned with the European Affordable Housing Plan with clear objectives and obligations. And most importantly: We need the resources to do this, so we need to secure enough of them in the next budget. Social Europe is not a slogan, it is a choice and it is a necessity for the safety of people. That is why we need an action plan that is truly a plan and not just a list of some nice goals.

Mr President, the Baltic states have been a beacon of media freedom since their independence, rising from the shadows of repression to build some of the most resilient democracies in Europe. But today, that legacy is under threat in Lithuania. The governing coalition is moving with alarming speed to dismantle the independence of the national broadcaster. They are not 'reforming' – they are attempting a political takeover. This is a textbook violation of the European Media Freedom Act. Under that act, public service media are rightfully recognised as a public good and protected precisely for such cases. This is additional to the Charter, to the founding Treaties, everything the EU stands for and is built upon. All the red lights are blinking in Lithuania, while the Commission still hesitates to start the infringement procedures via the courts. After Hungary, after Slovakia, when will the EU learn that if you do not protect independent public media by enforcing your own laws, you are spitting and weakening the EU itself, the very same as the Lithuanian Government is doing right now to their own legacy of media freedom.

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, Council, as Mark Carney said yesterday, the power of the less powerful begins with honesty. So, let's be honest: Donald Trump will not change. Waiting him out is not a policy, even less a strategy. It is cowardice. All the flattery, all the appeasement brought exactly nothing except a spectacular failure. First, the EU Commission President accepted humiliating tariffs to protect the rules by bending. Then the humiliation came at the Alaska summit, then for the Trump‑Netanyahu so‑called peace where we traded our moral stance for less than nothing – a good time to remember now when all of you are shocked by this bizarre and cynical 'Board of Peace' proposal. Thierry Breton was denied a US visa, but is not the first one. ICC judges and the UN Special Rapporteur are also being sanctioned as drug lords for only doing their jobs. When will it be enough to understand that the rule of international law is falling apart under the whims of a crazy narcissist driven by the poisons of his own propaganda? Which, by the way, many of you so‑called patriots here openly admire and seek to replicate. To replicate what? Federal agents shooting people on the streets? Greenland must be the line in the sand to finally stand up. In all honesty, we are neither weak nor without power, just lacking the guts. That is a big difference. And while Washington is mocking us, deliver something real. Come on, hit back where it hurts! There is no other way with a bully like that. Call things what they are. Stop treating Trump as if he was rational. Fight back based on our values and rules, not only when it is convenient because to keep kneeling to an unstable egomaniac is not negotiating with a partner. It is obeying a madman.

Mr President, 'whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government' was once said in a country that now seems to prove the opposite. Europe is squeezed from the revisionist east by trying to subvert democracy from within, while across the Atlantic we hear that our laws are anti‑democratic and anti‑freedom. Ironically, the one trying to lecture us on genuine democracy is the one spreading lies, suing the free press and playing with democratic institutions like a schoolyard bully, all while pressuring us to abandon the very tools that keep our elections fair and our press independent. The European Democracy Shield is an admirable and necessary initiative in a world hostile to Europe by alleged friends and foes alike. But Europe already has laws like the DSA and EMFA. All the Commission needs to do is have the guts to enforce them. Europe's strength is in the rule of law and the firm enforcement of the democratic standards it has built. Only then will we choose the future we want, not the one others draw for us.

Mr. President! More than 15 years of delay, inequality and the debt the European Union owes to its people. Such a long blockade of the horizontal directive is not a technical stalemate, it is a first-rate political absurdity and, in essence, a conscious decision that creates inequality as a legal fact. Millions of people across Europe remain unprotected in access to housing, education, goods, services simply because of who they are. And that's not a coincidence. This is due to our indecisions, in fact. This directive is not an ideological project, it is not protectionism of minorities, it is a minimum of equality. However, the Commission almost withdrew it in February. It is a great indicator of how quickly fundamental rights can disappear. And while the far right openly attacks equality and human rights, civil society is fighting for them, and they are the ones who have essentially stopped the withdrawal of this directive, not us or the fabulous political will. The hierarchy of discrimination must fall. The beginning is clear: adoption of this Directive. This will be a test of our values, after all, we have been learning about it for more than 15 years. That was enough.

Mr. President! I absolutely agree: We need to adapt the legislation to make it more coherent, to eliminate duplications and to make it easier for our companies to do business. It's in everyone's interest. But the way you approached it is not suitable and, above all, will not have the desired effect. Because you combine certain things where they are incompatible. Otherwise, I am glad that you took our Renew letter into account and removed from this digital package at least those really most controversial amendments. But the main problem remains. You loosen the fuses and widen the door for storing AI systems with Europeans’ personal data. And this will hardly help European startups who tried to comply with the rules, but it can be a gift to American giants. So it's like customs, but here as a currency, you're offering the data of our citizens. Apparently for free. Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce was direct. He said: "We only lower tariffs on steel and aluminium if you water down your laws for our tech companies". And that is why I would expect directness and sincerity from our side. The privacy and fundamental rights of Europeans are not traded. It's a dot.

(The speaker spoke in a non-official language) It's in Serbian, but something should sound familiar. That's what the regime in Serbia called the people on the streets: Nazis. Let that sink in. Do you know that Novi Sad literally means 'new now'? The protesters' wish is simple: a new future. Not tomorrow. Not after another round of no doings. Now. So now get this grotesque irony, this theatre of power: those ordering the beatings called the beaten 'Nazis'. They invent fake students, 'Ćacis', while the real students bleed for democracy. And here comes the truth: the real students are the ones teaching us all the real lesson of courage. It's our turn to teach one back. To the students: we stand with democracy, with you. To the autocrats in Belgrade, your time of impunity is ending. Targeted sanctions should come to every single one responsible. Oh, and don't rush with those textbooks you promised, because your lesson by force is over. History will grade you. (The speaker spoke in a non-official language). We will see soon enough. I choose justice, I choose Novi Sad, new and now.

Mr. President! "There are crooks everywhere you look." This is a quote from Daphne Caruana Galizia and this quote gives a good description of the situation that still prevails in Malta years after her murder. She was telling the truth, exposing corruption, demanding accountability, everything that should be taken for granted in a democracy. And as her actions were resoundingly resounding, so is her murder, but yet justice is nowhere to be found. Those who pulled the trigger are in jail. Those who gave the order are at large and those who obstructed the investigation are still in their positions. And what does the government do? She's withdrawing the flower from her memorial site. The Commission's findings show that progress is not, which is completely, completely unacceptable. No corruption case has resulted in a final conviction, and journalists are still working in a hostile and dangerous environment. It is a European problem because the whole Union suffers without punishment. Therefore, it is high time for action, to change the situation that Daphne has warned us about, and not to let the thief be where our lives are decided.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, for years, many of you sat here watching Gaza burn, debating, condemning, expressing concern – doing absolutely nothing. You watched the genocide and didn't dare to call its name. You spoke of principles and delivered none. We failed the Palestinians. We failed the world. We failed humanity. 'Recent peace agreement' is the title of this debate – a peace for whom? Is there a ceasefire – or is there, as Francesca Albanese said, 'you cease, I fire'. The mutual hatred between the far-right and Israel, and Hamas feeds them both, while the innocent pay the price. 'The role of the EU' is also in the title – where is the EU, indeed? Just yesterday the Commission presented the new Pact for the Mediterranean, preaching stability and security while blatantly favouring the aggressor and just symbolically addressing Palestine. Is that the role we want to play: watching human rights – humans actually – being erased and the world burn? All violations of the agreement must mean sanctions, isolation, consequences. So just act. Better late than never, but never again this late.

Mr President. Mental health is not a luxury. It is a fundamental human right and, above all, dignity. In the past mandate, the Commission presented a European strategy for mental health, which is not bad, but – frankly – not enough. Mental health doesn't start in hospitals, you know. It starts in societies that give people security, stability and opportunities. So we need real action: stronger social safety nets, accessible housing, reducing poverty and inequality, protecting against burnout and integrating mental health into the European Pillar of Social Rights. Today more than ever, when our societies are increasingly dependent on algorithms and artificial intelligence shapes our lives and our emotions. Artificial intelligence has led to the end of a teenager's life due to incorrect counseling. A teenager. This is also why action at European level must set clear rules and mental health must become a measure of the success of our Union. Because only a Europe that cares about mental health is a Europe that really, really cares about people.

Madam President, now or never. Not tomorrow, not next week. Now or never. This is the moment for everyone who still defends the atrocities committed by the State of Israel in Palestine, to prove that there remains somewhere inside – I hope – a spark of humanity. Sure, I welcome Trump's ceasefire plan, but only barely and only because it is less grotesque than the so‑called Middle Eastern Riviera plan that he had. But where in this plan are the mechanisms for protection of Palestinian people and provisions safeguarding their further displacement? Instead of unification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, there is de facto separation of the two. Also, let's be honest, plans alone do not bring justice. Words do not stop bombs. Speeches do not feed starving children. The international community has failed to act when it mattered most, so it must not fail now with holding Israel accountable. So, I say again, colleagues, now or never. Let us prove that we are not just commentators or witnesses to tragedy, to a genocide. Now or never to stand on the side of humanity.

Thank you, I will do my best to speak in Croatian. I'm sorry, he's going to the other side, but I'll do my best. I never support nationalism. Never have. I do not support those who are ready for home, nor do I support any others who are so combative in their nationalism that they sometimes forget that in fact, this past is not the most important, but rather a more beautiful future for people. And that's not just for Serbia. You know what I mean? Thank you.

Madam President. "We are following the situation in Serbia very closely and we are really very concerned." This is the official line of the leadership, i.e. the President of the Commission and the Members. But they're blinking. Waiting for it to pass? Somebody else dies, maybe? I don't know. But I know that there is no understanding, no responsibility, not even the slightest gesture of solidarity with people on the streets. Because it is easier "up there" to ignore the brutality of the regime than to press on it. The protesters are persisting, but of course they are losing trust in the Union. And we are losing those who still believe in this Union in Serbia. Those who blink, therefore, tolerate violence and stifle hope for a better future. And not just theirs. Because, you know, that hope may one day be needed in your countries, too. Will you then remember the rotten compromises and even more rotten silence? I'll remind you. Even without deeds, words without deeds are betrayal. (Speaks in a language other than an official EU language)