What Katalin spoke about.

11

Jul

2023

EN Speech

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2023 Annual Rule of law report (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, as we are discussing the results of yet another rule—of—law monitoring cycle, Viktor Orbán’s abusive regime has reached yet another milestone. Last Tuesday, they adopted the so-called revenge law, a piece of legislation that has absolutely zero place in the European Union. For a better part of a year now, teachers and students have been organising major demonstrat…

10

Jul

2023

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Madame President, dear colleagues, it is often hard to imagine what Viktor Orban’s abusive regime looks like from the ground, especially for those of you who are fortunate enough to live in democracies. So imagine you are a 17-year-old student. You wrote a slam poetry piece criticising the unbearable crisis of public education. You recite it at a rally. And as a punishment, you are forced out of s…

14

Jun

2023

EN Speech

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Investigation of the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware - Investigation of the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (draft recommendation) (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, well, the Pegasus scandal broke two years ago, and unfortunately this parliament is still among the very, very few political voices who refuse to let it be swept under the rug. But we have to confront the reality. EU governments are using military-grade spyware against journalists and critics. Just imagine a reporter trying to work to hold the governmen…

31

May

2023

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, Viktor Orban’s oppressive regime has revealed its true colours yet another time: none of us can forget this image of a 17-year-old student in the suffocating ring of riot police being directly shot in the face with teargas. All he did was protest the unbearable crisis of public education. Hungarians are taking to the streets because of the so-called revenge law designed to oppress an…

31

May

2023

EN Speech

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Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, our smartphones, the devices we carry in our pockets, often contain minerals that finance bloody civil wars. Some 20% of global wool production originates from Xinjiang Province, where evidence clearly shows that Uyghur forced labour fuels the industry. Soybeans used in industrial cattle farming are directly linked to the destruction of the Amazon. You know, over the…

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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The risk of death penalty and execution of singer Yahaya Sharif Aminu for blasphemy in Nigeria

Madam President, dear colleagues. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu is a young artist from Nigeria. He composed a song and circulated it on WhatsApp. Some found it blasphemous and an angry mob burned his house down. Instead of protecting him, authorities put him in jail and a Sharia court sentenced him to death in a matter of months. It is so unconscionable it’s very, very hard to find words for it. The very fa…

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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Repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny

Madam President, dear colleagues, the Kremlin has sentenced Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in jail. He is a journalist, a filmmaker and an activist, husband of Yevgeniya, father of three. And for us, he is the embodiment of courage. And what was his crime? He dared to speak the truth about the invasion of Ukraine and the unspeakable war crimes committed by Russia and its proxies. This is one more…

19

Apr

2023

EN Speech

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Children forcibly deported from Ukraine and the ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, as we speak, thousands of Ukrainian children are held hostage in camps, have been kidnapped and taken to foster care homes against their will. Thousands of parents are in unimaginable despair. So I really hope that no part of this House would like to look the other way. Sadly, many of our own EU citizens are oblivious to this fact because all they hear is Russian propagan…

29

Mar

2023

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023 (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, this Parliament welcomes the strong and unanimous Council conclusions, making it crystal clear that the European Union’s support for Ukraine is unwavering and that we condemn Russian aggression. But colleagues, do you think this message also gets to our citizens? Because right now in Hungary, just like in the past weeks and months, billboards are spread across the…

15

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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The EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, I would like to thank the rapporteur and all the shadows for the set of bold proposals that we can be really proud of, because human rights defenders are facing increased pressure around the world and it is our responsibility to protect them. We need to defend the defenders. These brave individuals often put their lives on the line to fight for justice, freedom an…

14

Mar

2023

EN Speech

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Situation in Georgia (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, the foreign agent law cooked up in Vladimir Putin’s Russia is malicious, cynical and oppressive. Its sole purpose is to discredit civil society and to crush dissent. So, no wonder that autocrats all around the world can’t seem to have enough of it. It is copied in Nicaragua, Belarus and Egypt and, sadly, also in the EU. Viktor Orbán’s government passed an ex…

15

Feb

2023

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The recent deterioration of the inhuman imprisonment conditions of Alexey Navalny and other political prisoners in Russia

Madam President, dear colleagues, the whole world knows that Alexey Navalny sits in a prison cell for one reason, and one reason only: Vladimir Putin is a coward. He is afraid of real opposition voices – he doesn’t even have the courage to play hockey games against real opponents. So put this in contrast with Alexey Navalny, the embodiment of courage, who returned to Russia after the regime tried …

15

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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The situation of human rights defenders in Eswatini, notably the murder of Thulani Maseko

Madam President, dear colleagues, with this resolution, the European Parliament pays tribute to Thulani Maseko. He was a courageous fighter for democracy, a human rights lawyer, and a beacon of hope for the people of Eswatini, who yearn for a free society. Last month, he was brutally assassinated. He was shot in his own living room in front of his wife and small children. This happened mere hours …

15

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Resumption of the sitting

Mr President, I would like to have a point of order according to Rule 195 of the Rules of Procedure based on Annex II’s Code of Appropriate Behaviour. It prohibits this disrespectful conduct in this House and, by analogy, it is also applicable to Commissioners when they address this plenary. Yesterday, Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi addressed our Chamber then took his seat and said, I quote, ‘How ma…

1

Feb

2023

EN Speech

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Transparency and targeting of political advertising (debate)

Madam President, dear colleagues, I am very glad that the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Brexit campaign, the Trump campaigns, finally served as a wake-up call for the European Union. Because social media platforms can give malign actors a powerful tool to undermine our democracies; they can open the door to foreign interference, they can amplify misinformation and propaganda, and they can be us…

19

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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The Global Gateway Initiative (debate)

Mr President, if there is one word to describe the moment we live in, I would go with ‘polycrisis’, because we need to fight simultaneous challenges like climate change, the pandemic, the war and democratic backsliding. What these crises have in common is that they require investment to reduce emissions, to build resilience for pandemics, to create access to education, not only in Europe, but glob…

18

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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The storming of the Brazilian democratic institutions

Mr President, the images of Bolsonaro supporters storming Brazil’s centre of power were absolutely shocking. This attack was deliberately modelled after the 6 January insurrection in the United States. It was also perpetrated by a far—right mob who refused to accept the results of a democratic election. This attack was also fuelled by unregulated media platforms working as a misinformation machine…

18

Jan

2023

EN Speech

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Protection of the EU’s financial interests - combating fraud - annual report 2021 (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, when it comes to matters of budget control, you very often hear me standing here delivering very impatient and very critical remarks. But this time, let me use this opportunity to not only thank the rapporteur for an excellent job, but also to take a much more positive approach, because the European Commission’s recent decision to reform the EU’s blacklis…

15

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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The humanitarian situation in Ukraine due to Russia’s attacks against critical infrastructure and civilian areas (debate)

Mr President, dear colleagues, on the EU’s doorstep over 17 000 innocent civilians have died in Vladimir Putin’s barbaric war. Ukraine is bracing for a winter without shelter, without power, without food. Russian armed forces are deliberately shelling schools and hospitals. The devastation and suffering is unimaginable. And how do Europe’s illiberal populists respond to that? They veto humanitaria…

14

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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The Commission’s reports on the situation of journalists and the implications of the rule of law (debate)

Madam President, good evening and welcome to the evening news: Viktor Orbán changed his profile picture. The photo got 60 000 likes in a few hours and thus only likes with comments also. Many think he looks more handsome than earlier. Others believe the photo depicts a confident and strong leader. So this is an actual quote from a news show on Hungary’s second largest TV station. It also happens t…

14

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Defending the European Union against the abuse of national vetoes (debate)

Mr President, allowing national vetoes to block European foreign policy decisions is a security threat. Full stop. Viktor Orbán’s vetoes have been a gift to the Kremlin, which has a vested interest in an EU that is divided and weak. Just remember that earlier this year a sanction package was halted because the Hungarian Government wanted Patriarch Kirill off the list. The EU looked just laughable,…

14

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Defending the European Union against the abuse of national vetoes (debate)

Just a very quick question to you, colleague. Do you know where Mr Verhofstadt is from? You said that he is a Dutch citizen and he is not a Dutch citizen.

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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Suspicions of corruption from Qatar and the broader need for transparency and accountability in the European institutions (debate) (debate)

Mr President, Qatar’s attempt to buy influence in the European Parliament is absolutely outrageous. But it also confronts us with a very grim reality. Authoritarian countries are actively trying to infiltrate European institutions and, let’s face it, our safeguards are just not up for the task right now. We knew this was the case in the European Council, where Viktor Orbán has been using his vetoe…

13

Dec

2022

EN Speech

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This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob (debate)

Mr President, dear Prime Minister Golob, dear colleagues, thank you very much, Prime Minister, for addressing this Chamber today and sharing your vision for the future of Europe, a vision that I was so pleased to hear in this Chamber. Protecting our European values, standing up for the rule of law, facing the climate emergency with courage and ambition: our group, Renew Europe, is wholeheartedly b…

21

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Situation of human rights in the context of the FIFA world cup in Qatar (debate)

Madam President, the Qatar football World Cup will always be remembered as the World Cup of shame. As the world is watching these grand stadiums, all I can think about is how they were built. Credible sources show that thousands of workers lost their lives and the Qatari authorities even refused to investigate these cases. A giant amount of financial resources flowed into a project that was tainte…