Speeches

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, what we are seeing right now in Ukraine makes some things crystal clear. We in Europe have always protected freedom of speech, freedom of information as our fundamental values, and at the same time we have allowed aggressive, authoritarian dictatorships to use information as a weapon against us. It is now urgent to change this approach. Europe has to engage much more in the distribution of its positive message. We should not hesitate to emphasise our values, our position and our approach to reach the public in authoritarian countries like Russia. I’m talking here about supporting the quality journalism and analysis about access to objective expertise and independent channels of information. I mean, these first two weeks of the ongoing Russian aggression have been catastrophic for the informational sphere in Russia. Prominent media outlets like Echo Moskvy or Dozhd have been forcibly closed, journalists expelled and arrested. Without our help, the last remnants of a free public debate will be gone in a matter of days. This is not just about helping the Russian people, this is about also ourselves getting informed about what’s happening in those countries. Thank you very much for the report.

Dear President, Commissioner, dear Veronica, Europe must first be effective in solving problems that are important to its citizens, so I am really pleased that the European Parliament can contribute with its report to a common European cancer initiative. And this is a diagnosis that brings more than a million Europeans to the grave every year, and this figure can be significantly reduced through prevention, screening, and early diagnosis and treatment. Money is needed everywhere, but also, of course, the political will to act together. However, I would like to draw attention here today to one aspect, namely the inequality in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer between European countries. Let us be honest, there are now huge differences between countries in Europe in terms of early detection, access to modern medicines and treatments, and quality follow-up care. And I think that this aspect of inequality must actually be at the heart of Europe's cancer plan. And no European initiative will be successful if only the citizens of a few Member States benefit from it. It is by doing and organising many things together that we can achieve better cancer care for all patients in all Member States. I would therefore like to highlight those initiatives in the plan that most directly affect this aspect of inequality. First of all, equal access to screening must be achieved in all Member States, as today differences, such as breast cancer screening, are even tenfold between countries. In addition, equivalent quality standards for screening should also be introduced. Secondly, the European Commission must work actively with the Member States to achieve equal access to innovative medicines. There is a need for effective competition between pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce costs and increase access to medicines, and for joint European procurement. That is why our report also stresses that patients have the right to optimal treatment, regardless of their ability to pay, country of origin, age and gender. Finally, comprehensive cancer centres in the Member States need to set up a network at European level to serve both the circulation of medical data and to give patients access to the best diagnostics and expertise. These centres must also serve, of course, as a basis for joint research. And finally, the envisaged Cancer Inequalities Registry will only be relevant if we see it as a guideline for joint work and common deliverables.

Dear Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, That is, it seems to me symbolically, that we are now talking about the use of wild animals in circuses during Advent, because it is indeed first and foremost a humanity issue that we do not have the moral right to use the suffering of other living beings for our pleasures, because even after several generations in captivity, wild animals are still wild animals with their characteristic behaviour. It is a pleasure that an absolute majority of Member States have already recognised this, but it must also become a European standard. But as long as the Commission has not come up with such a proposal, we call on the three Member States that have not yet imposed any restrictions on the use of animals in circuses to do so, because the next generation of European leaders today will be measured not only by the buildings built or the roads repaired, but by whether they have been able to make Europe more humane, and it seems to me that this ban would be a great opportunity for this.

Dear Madam President, Dear Commissioner, Colleagues, Women have been the first victims of attacks on social media during the COVID pandemic. In my country, it is women – doctors and nurses, general practitioners – who tirelessly explain the importance of vaccination, and it is they who are the target of the troll attacks of various antivaxers, not only because of their scientific convictions, but also, in particular, because of their gender. Unfortunately, neither Latvian nor European Union laws are sufficient to adequately address this cyberviolence against women. It is therefore urgent to extend the concept of hate speech to sexist hate speech, as requested by the resolution. And it is also necessary to identify the harm that has intensified during the COVID pandemic, when lockdowns increased the risks of domestic violence and also expanded the use of cyberspace tools for threats and emotional violence, and especially against women involved in overcoming the pandemic – treatments, nurses, medical personnel. Europe must act here!

Dear President, Dear Commissioner, Today, there is one artificially induced migration crisis at the Belarusian border: the use of de facto new weapons against the European Union. And it is clear that Lukashenko wants to divide Europe first, but this fails to work for him, thank God. European unity is crucial here, and I am talking first of all about three things: the security of our borders is a common European thing. What is happening at the Polish-Latvian-Lithuanian border will also be echoed elsewhere in Europe, and it also requires joint investment in border security, including infrastructure. Secondly, the humanitarian crisis that Lukashenka has caused at its borders must be rapidly addressed with the involvement of international organisations, ensuring their access to the border and helping the people fooled by Lukashenka to return safely to their home countries. Thirdly, European asylum legislation needs to be adapted to such new possibilities of hybrid attacks, where people are actually driven across borders, while not jeopardising our common values, for example, requesting and examining the right to asylum should not require the prior crossing of a border in any way, but it could also be possible to do so outside the European Union. We need to react in a timely manner to such attempts to use migration as a weapon and people as instruments in the geopolitical games of dictatorships. Thank you.

Dear President, Dear Commissioner, Firstly, thank you to the rapporteur for his excellent work on this document, because now cyber defence is also an opportunity for small Member States to make their solidarity-based contribution to European common defence. In contrast to classical defence, comparatively lower investment in cyber defence makes it possible to achieve significant results, and this is perfectly demonstrated by the Baltic States. One of the things that I would like to highlight, in addition to all those mentioned in this report, is the cybersecurity literacy of the public, because it is the behaviour of an individual user that often affects cyberattacks and hybrid operations. The resilience of the European Union starts and is rooted in each of us on a computer and mobile device, and therefore basic knowledge of phishing, multi-factor authentication and other cyber hygiene matters is just as important as knowledge that now the street cannot be crossed by a red light, and European Union funds are to be invested in it. Alongside the lack of cyber literacy, the problem today is, of course, those billions of companies that attract billions of people to their technologies, and they often also act as monopolies. However, all the risks associated with their use are often passed on by these companies to the whole of society, in which many will never have cyber-literacy or resources to protect themselves. Regulation and clear rules are needed here. Thank you for this report.

Dear Mr President, dear Mrs Johansson, One year after the suppression of the Belarusian people's freedom and democratic aspirations, Belarus is closer to Russia's military-political patchwork and further away from its partnership with Europe than ever before. And this regime is in a state of war with its citizens. However, Lukashenka's dictatorship has made asylum seekers at the external border of the European Union, namely in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, just as inhumanely as ammunition in hybrid warfare. Our action must be adequate. For every new violation of such human rights by the regime, we must respond with targeted sanctions against members and officials of the regime. It is in this context that it is fair and appropriate to deny free travel to the European Union to members of the Lukashenka regime. I really hope that all Member States will support this decision soon. However gloomy Belarus may be today, we must not write off Belarus as a potential European country and accept its astonishing inclusion in Russia today. We will not be able to achieve the transformation of Belarus with the instruments of European promises of carrots and sanctions alone. We need to empower the democratic opposition in Belarus. Жыве Беларусь!

Dear Mr President, Our real work must not fall behind our plans and strategies, and if we take the challenges of the European Green Deal and digitalisation seriously, research and innovation must become truly European. The European Research Area is now a framework that we all have to fill together with one real content and without waiting another 20 years for results, as has unfortunately often happened in the past. Firstly, Member States must be effectively motivated to target three percent of research expenditure, including by channelling money from the Structural Funds for this purpose, from: Next Generation EU and so on. European money must effectively reduce disparities in research budgets between Member States, including by giving the European Commission more power to influence it. Secondly, we need to think about the European research community and the young generation. Many Member States suffer from brain drain, especially in Eastern and Central Europe, but also in Europe as a whole. Clear career opportunities for young researchers, clear social guarantees and the possibility of returning to their home countries – all this Europe needs to organise together if we do not want to be sidelined by our geopolitical rivals. Finally, we must protect academic freedom as one of the fundamental values of Europe. Dear colleagues, European science has always been excellent, and excellence is the main criterion in science. However, we need to identify and rebuild this potential for excellence in all Member States and not just in a few. We therefore call for a shift from words to deeds and for the European Research Area to be made a reality. Thank you.

Mr President, there is a tendency in the right-wing populist regimes to exploit the fears, the stereotypes, the insecurities of their citizens for their own short-term goals. These Kremlin-inspired anti—LGBT propaganda laws in several countries are the clearest example here, and it is spreading also during the COVID crisis in many European countries, so we have to act quickly. However, here in this House, we have to insist on two things. First, we have to show that homophobia and stigmatisation of minority groups has nothing to do with Christian and European values. It is just the opposite: it is unchristian and uneuropean. Secondly, respect for fundamental rights is an important precondition for the participation of a country in the European Union, whether the current leadership likes it or not. Respect for an individual choice is located at the very DNA of the European project. Therefore, the European Parliament and the Commission must call on the Council to address concrete recommendations to Hungary, as stipulated in Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union, including a recommendation to repeal the law, and with a clear deadline to implement them, and the start of the rule of law mechanism is important as well.