What Viola spoke about.

23 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (debate)

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Mr President, for the 20 years since the Thessaloniki summit, the EU has pretended that it wants to enlarge to the Western Balkans, while the Western Balkan countries have pretended that they are conducting a reform to join the Union. That has to stop. We need a fundamentally different Balkan policy. In 2024, Europe and the world are so different. We need a new approach. Kosovo visa liberalisation…

23 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Attempts to reintroduce a foreign agent law in Georgia and its restrictions on civil society (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, dear guests from Georgia, every time I think the Georgian Dream has hit rock bottom, they surprise me by falling even lower because the Georgian Dream is actually a Russian dream. When 83 MPs unanimously vote for the Russian law, it is no longer a democracy, it is a puppet show. And the puppet master of these 83 button pushers is Ivanishvil. And the puppe…

11 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Attempts to dismantle Rule of Law and media freedom in Slovakia (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, it took us years to come up with legal action and fund-freezing for Hungary after Orban destroyed democracy and the judiciary. Yet what took Orban a decade, Fico might achieve in less than a year. It is essential that we wake up and take a strong and unified stance in the face of Fico’s autocratic grip: the special anti-corruption office, the public broadcaster, crimin…

13 Mar

2024

DE Speech

Need to address the urgent concerns surrounding Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, Council representatives, Valerija, Natalija, Andrij and Olha! Ilya was only nine years old when a Russian grenade killed his mother in front of his eyes. Ilya herself was severely wounded on her leg. Russian soldiers took him to a hospital, operated on him without anesthesia. His doctors forced him to praise Russia, not Ukraine. Sasha, eleven, begged the Russian sold…

12 Mar

2024

EN Speech

Need to impose sanctions on the import of Russian and Belarusian food and agricultural products to the EU and to ensure stability of EU agricultural production (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues. Picture this: a freight train in the middle of nowhere, its cars smashed and 160 tonnes of grain dumped in the mud. The train is in Poland; the grain is Ukrainian. This is the result of a month—long blockade of Ukraine by European farmers. At the same time, Russian trains, trucks and ships loaded with subsidised grain were met not with protests, but …

12 Mar

2024

DE Speech

Question Time with Commissioners - Preparedness of EU governments to combat foreign interference, including from Russia

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Madam President, You have just mentioned it, Commissioner: Russian disinformation is everywhere – on TV, in newspapers, but especially on social media. Russia also has an army of bots, which is actually much larger than the military. They post very specifically in Africa, South America, the Middle East, but also out of Russia. And there are collaborators everywhere, from Elon Musk to other useful …

29 Feb

2024

EN Speech

EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement - EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement (Resolution) - Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile (joint debate - EU-Chile agreements)

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Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, in the era of geopolitical instability, it is of crucial importance to strengthen the links with like-minded partners. And indeed, Chile is Europe’s most important partner in Latin America. The framework agreement is a stepping stone in our relations as we work on the renewable strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, we need to make sure that this…

28 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement (debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, Europe’s best export products are not German cars or French wine; it is the EU enlargement. It is our peace, democracy and the prosperity that we manage to spread from Lisbon to Bucharest. The European Union again stands at a crossroads. The call of history that came with Russia’s tanks is a wake-up call across Europe. In this era of geopolitical shifts, we must r…

27 Feb

2024

EN Speech

Closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union says that any European state which respects our values may become a member of the Union. And Armenia is European through and through, with its values, its culture and, I’m sure, with its future. Wedged between brutal autocracy, Armenia is a beacon of democracy that we must cherish and protect. Unfortunatel…

27 Feb

2024

DE Speech

Multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Establishing the Ukraine Facility - Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) (joint debate - multiannual financial framework revision)

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Mr President, Commissioner, representatives of the Council, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to thank everyone who made this facility and the outcome possible. It is vital for Ukraine to survive. It's a lifebuoy. We really must not forget that the people of Ukraine, the people who are fighting at the border, at the front, that they are betting on us. The people of Ukraine know very…

7 Feb

2024

DE Speech

New wave of mass arrests in Belarus of opposition activists and their family members

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! The Belarusians were the first to resist Putin by demonstrating peacefully against Lukashenko by the thousands. Equipped only with courage and love of freedom, they marched through the streets, distributing flowers and white-red flags. They were brutally crushed by Lukashenko's militia, and oppression continues to this day. We are currently seei…

7 Feb

2024

DE Speech

The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Nazi slut, warmonger, criminal – this is only a small selection, as we as politicians are often portrayed on the net. At the individual level, these struggles cannot be won. But on the larger scale, if hatred, hate speech and disinformation directly attack our democracy and our elections, then we must defend ourselves. And the platforms used agains…

6 Feb

2024

DE Speech

The need for unwavering EU support for Ukraine, after two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

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Mr President, Madam President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, it was said that Ukraine would fall in two days. After two years, the country is still standing. For too long we have taken peace on this continent for granted. This changed abruptly in February 2022. We have been reminded that peace is always based on military strength to defend ourselves and our allies. Since th…

17 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Tajikistan: state repression against the independent media

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– Madam President, colleagues, Tajikistan, like the rest of Central Asia, is a land of challenges and opportunity, both of which have increased dramatically since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Tajikistan plays an important role in connecting Europe to China and contributing to peace in Afghanistan and beyond. Strengthened ties with this country must therefore be in the EU’s interest. However, purs…

17 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Situation in Serbia following elections (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, I have seen many elections from Kazakhstan to Kosovo, Ukraine to Iraq. However, since I became an election observer 20 years ago, I have never witnessed something like this: mass migration of SNS voters to the city of Belgrade, busing hundreds of voters from Republika Srpska, pressuring voters, carousel voting, no access to international media for the opposition before…

16 Jan

2024

DE Speech

Keeping commitments and delivering military assistance to Ukraine (debate)

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Madam Minister, Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! For far too long, we have taken peace on this continent for granted. We have forgotten that security presupposes that we can defend ourselves and our allies. Instead, we have neglected military hardware and outsourced our security. The truth is now: The only thing that stands between us and the immediate military danger today is the…

14 Dec

2023

EN Speech

Ensuring proper functioning of EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, almost two years ago we kept the trade routes with Ukraine open to diminish global hunger. We called them solidarity lanes. And we also said that we would stand by Ukraine ‘with all it takes’. And we added ‘for as long as it takes’. But how long is this? Are we living up to the name of the roads that are blocked in Hungary, in Poland and Slovakia? Is…

13 Dec

2023

EN Speech

The unknown status of Mikalai Statkevich and the recent attacks on Belarusian politicians’ and activists’ family members

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, Belarusians were the first ones to stand up to Putin by standing up to Lukashenko, armed with nothing but courage and love for freedom. They marched in the streets distributing flowers and wide red flags. They were brutally crushed by Lukashenko’s militias. Today, 1500 Belarusians are political prisoners: Ales Bialiatski, Maria Kalesnikava, Siarhei T…

12 Dec

2023

EN Speech

Environmental consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the need for accountability (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Russia is a terrorist state and commits terrorist acts. The explosion of Kakhovka dam, destruction of chemical plants, deforestation, contamination of soil, water and air, areas filled with mines..., this is only a short list of ecological crimes which Russia did to Ukraine. Behind the damage done to nature, ordinary people are suffering. Ukrainians lost the…

22 Nov

2023

EN Speech

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

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Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, rule of law and democracy have always been the rock-solid foundations of our Union. That is our strength. These foundations have been made criteria to become an EU member in Copenhagen 30 years ago, to all those aspiring to join. It was true then as it is true now. Yet today we live in a world of clash between rule of law and rule of gun, between democr…

21 Nov

2023

DE Speech

Question Time with Commissioners - The state of implementation of the EU’s commitment to provide 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine until March 2024

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Well, then again very briefly: It is important to me that we become faster, better and more supportive, especially in those areas where Ukraine is currently inferior – in the electronic sector, in the communications sector. Is that possible?…

21 Nov

2023

DE Speech

Question Time with Commissioners - The state of implementation of the EU’s commitment to provide 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine until March 2024

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Madam President, Commissioner! Also from me the question, which goes a bit in the direction of my colleague Andrius Kubilius. In General Salushny's paper, we basically read everything that is needed for Ukraine to win this terrible war in the end. But we have also heard from the Ukrainian analysts and experts that you have to be flexible in many places. This is done on the Russian side. There are …

18 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Presentation of the Court of Auditors' annual report 2022 (debate)

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Mr President, President Murphy, Commissioner Hahn, dear colleagues, the RRF was originally designed as a temporary response to a crisis, providing swift aid with the attached strict conditionality. Yet we have to be honest, we have already many issues with the RRF implementation. First, the absorption issue. The progress is much slower than anticipated, as only 11 Member States received 13 grant p…

17 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Situation of Ukrainian women refugees, including access to SRHR support (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Council, the bar is on the floor, but somehow we are still reaching for it. I should not need to remind you about the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Last May, we here – 462 of us – voted in favour of a resolution strongly condemning sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war in Ukraine. Still, women refugees face extremely restrictive …

17 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Effectiveness of the EU sanctions on Russia (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, Putin, the Chinese and their proxies claim that sanctions do not work. Yet Putin also keeps calling for an end to sanctions. That means that sanctions work and that they hit where it hurts the most, right in Russia’s war chest. Need more evidence? The rouble has repeatedly broken the 100 cent mark, while Russia’s central bank has once again hiked interest ra…