Speeches

Madam President, I'm sorry. There were a lot of beautiful, beautiful words. This is what the President and you have said: about equality, about values, about mutual respect. But what values and what respect is it about? These values and this respect are only valid when they concern the worldview, the left-liberal ideologies. Conservative Europeans, in your opinion, do not have the right to vote. On what basis do you use the words ‘Orbán regime’, ‘a brown Europe built by conservatives’? What is it, anyway? Why is there no reaction? You are saying that every European is to be protected by the European Union, to have the same rights, that the Union is to take care of him. We have been advocating for a very long time that this House and the European Commission finally say stop building Nord Stream 2, because this threatens the security of Central and Eastern Europeans. And what? And nothing - because there is a big business that you support. Hypocrisy and lying.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, An alternative resolution has been prepared by us because we believe that this is an extremely important problem: an ageing Europe and a dignified old age. On the other hand, we cannot agree, I cannot agree, that the report on the elderly, on the elderly, should be subject to some ideological competition, as one of the political groups is trying to do. I cannot accept that the radical left in every document, regardless of whether it concerns this topic or not, postulates that topics concerning, for example, reproductive rights should be introduced. And no ideological gameplay or attempt to pressure me or my colleagues will force us to give up our values, the principles we profess and which we believe we owe to our constituents, to the citizens of Europe who have entrusted us with these mandates, to all of us, to take care of their affairs and not just ideological games.

Dear President, Dear Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen, At the outset, I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs very much for your work, comments, suggestions, for the amendments tabled to the report, and there were quite a few of them, almost 600, which confirms that the subject of the ageing of the Old Continent and demographic issues are at our heart and that we are aware of the importance of these challenges. But at the same time, there is such a reflection: After 600 amendments that significantly change the content of the report, is this report still what the authors intended it to be? Or is it a completely different text? Nevertheless, it seems that the topic is so important that it is worth to bend over it all the time. I would also like to thank very much the Secretariat of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, all the staff who have supported us. Thank you for your professionalism, for your help. Thank you for your commitment. But most of all, I want to thank my team, assistants, experts, advisors very, very warmly and sincerely. This is your hard work. This is a very good report that you have prepared in the belief that you are doing something very important for all the people of our continent. Thank you very much for this. Europe, the Old Continent, is ageing. This is one of the most important challenges we face today. Extending the average life expectancy, lower fertility are problems, challenges that we face today. We can say that these demographic changes are also exacerbating regional disparities and consequently depopulating areas in the European Union, especially rural areas. The report is very comprehensive and raises many important issues in the lives of older people, because it is the elderly who are the protagonists of this report. It is for them that this report is and I firmly believe in it, Ladies and Gentlemen, that together we will be able to introduce solutions that will support the elderly. The coronavirus pandemic has further highlighted the problems that require our special attention and underlined the need to include a specific strategy for older people in EU action. It is about highlighting the role of older people in the societies of the European Union and surrounding them with appropriate care, counteracting the loneliness of older people and using their vast knowledge and experience. Therefore, this report highlights how important it is for society to preserve intergenerational ties, including by promoting mentoring and volunteering, and how crucial it is to ensure adequate long-term health care for older people and to support initiatives based on the silver economy, mentoring and ways of activating senior citizens. The senior should have the right to decide whether he wants to work longer or can devote himself to other social roles, such as caring for his grandchildren or social activities. We also call for actions to improve the quality of life of our seniors adapted to the needs of these people in public spaces, apartments, transport. That is why the report calls for the European Union to encourage Member States to make greater use of EU funds, such as the European Social Fund Plus or the European Regional Development Fund, to adapt infrastructure for seniors. It is both safe and accessible public transport, as well as public buildings or apartments that are adapted to the needs of the elderly. I am very happy that in the report we are talking about efforts to maintain traditional craftsmanship, because we must not forget about its invaluable contribution to the achievements of material culture. Seniors are now the depositories of knowledge about traditional professions, which are a unique element of European heritage. It is also very important to support the construction of day care centres close to schools and kindergartens, which will foster the development of intergenerational ties and counteract the loneliness of the elderly, because intergenerational solidarity is one of the fundamental values of the European Union. And I cannot imagine a prosperous Europe without respect for the elderly. We also call for the establishment of a Year of Solidarity between Generations and Active Ageing. This is a reference to the 2012 initiative, when the European Union tried for the first time to tackle the problem of population ageing. Many of the tasks formulated at that time are still relevant, and the coronavirus pandemic has additionally posed new challenges for the European Union in this area. Hence the call to return to this initiative. All forms of discrimination, crime, exclusion and violence against older people must also be firmly opposed. These are problems that we also need to talk about and protect the elderly from. The coronavirus pandemic has also shown how important it is that older people are not digitally excluded. Ladies and Gentlemen, Many say that this report is not very progressive or conservative. There were different voices. We spent a lot of time on this report. As I said, there have been over 600 amendments, for which I would like to thank you very much. I believe that this report is worth looking beyond political divisions at the fate and situation of the elderly.