Speeches

Madam President, a few hours ago, the plenary session of the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed Hungary's and Poland's appeals against the conditionality mechanism. This is a very interesting development. Let this decision be the opportunity to reach the ears of every woman, every man, everyone, everything, Poland and Hungary, every European citizen, that the rule of law, the core of democracy, will be protected at all costs, no matter how many battles we have to fight. It must be made clear today that the mechanism linking the Union budget to respect for the rule of law does not exist to punish or blackmail, as the political leaders in Warsaw and Budapest believe. It exists to protect, where political leaders themselves fail to protect the citizens themselves; to protect basic human rights, freedoms, justice, the functioning of justice, judges, prosecutors, the functioning of journalism, journalists and their media; to make the separation of powers, the rule of law and democracy itself very clear. I think it's a very interesting start. I hope the message reaches the capitals clearly.

Mr President, Minister, this time you have not brought us a video. We saw you live. And we have all accepted here that the European Union lives with its contradictions. But this also gives a particular political interest to our Union. But the case of Mr Janša is, I think, a superlative overrun, as on the one hand he presides over an institution which on the other he discredits. What do I mean. I would like to remind you that Mr Janša and the Minister for Justice have acted on the right to disconnect - I thank you - in the wrong way and for the wrong reason, when, when asked by our committee to answer the questions that also concern our meeting today, he demanded instead of answers that we play a video in committee and then, when we refused, he disconnected. On our recent visit to Slovenia by the committee responsible, in which I participated, I must tell you that I had a different image from Mrs Kanko. I must tell you that the Prime Minister cancelled contact with our committee at the last minute. The institutions presided over by Mr Janša are completely discredited. I will not comment on the unhistorical and unacceptable attack by the Prime Minister of Slovenia on my political group, which President Sassoli has responded adequately and rigorously. In the three days we have been in Slovenia, we have seen that there is a major problem concerning justice. I think Slovenia will either comply or it will have to move forward with Article 7.

Madam President, we have also heard this: 'They will not freeze, they will not die at our borders, but at the borders of others'. But this is the question, in whose borders and in whose soil will people die or will they die? The current situation at Poland's border with Belarus is the result of the European Union's political stalemate on the refugee issue. The instrumentalisation of refugees by the Belarusian regime is fully in line with the dead-end Brussels policy and the European Union-fortress narrative. We live them in Greece. As in the case of Erdoğan's miserable policy. But here we have another bad factor, the Polish government. Both cases, as well as the crises that occur daily at the borders within the European Union, Slovenia-Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, justify our decision to be opposed to this policy. And I heard that, "Let's get them back." But where do we get them back? Afghans in the Taliban and Kurds in Erdoğan? Did we remotely draw the conclusion from the warm room in Brussels that they are not entitled to asylum? Is this the European Union we want? Well, our proposal is this, legal pathways, safe channels at the external borders, lawful asylum examination procedures and immediate assistance to people. Now, now, now! I do not care at what border it is, whether it is from here or there.

Madam President, today's debate is very timely, and congratulations, Commissioner. The fascist is ashamed to say that he is a fascist, but, because the events of Rome come in conjunction with the events of Athens – you will find out that the Nazis took to the streets and beat people again in the last few days, while a Nazi was also released from prison – I want to put the matter a little differently: Is this the right-wing aesthetic issue? If someone with Nazi symbols on his body, with a shaved head and with all the accessories that create a concept of a barbarian, where his narrative is the purity of race, of hatred towards foreigners, to different people, to what he considers should not exist, to live and breathe; and another, well-dressed, well-educated, accepts the essence, the core of these perceptions and places all this on the central agenda of his policy; Which of the two is more dangerous? Which one of you gives cover to the crime? Which one poisons people's souls? Both of them. Because one is the narrative and the other is the weapon. That is why I call on you, especially the PPE, because there are parties that cover these views, to wear on your lapel this triangle that I and my comrades have, which shows that we are against Nazism and fascism.

Mr President, Mrs von der Leyen, our inaction, the inaction of the European Commission, I think has brought us here and we have a responsibility for that. We saw, on the other hand, an Alt-Right show with the prime minister. What has happened here today, in the European Parliament, is an ideological struggle. Why has the European Union been built? We need to get things back on track. The concepts of human rights and the rule of law cannot be interpreted 'a la carte' to serve the interests of governments, Prime Minister. This decision was an on-demand decision by the Polish government to confirm its own ideologies concerning citizens' rights, with the tool of the so-called constitutional court. For the democratic arc, for the left, one thing is non-negotiable: rule of law and human rights. For other issues related to economic policy or the green transition we can negotiate, but we do not negotiate issues related to human rights and the right of every woman to do what she wants with her body. The same applies to the inalienable right of every human being to be identified and defined as he wishes. Poland must stay in Europe, but with the values of Europe, not with the values of Alt-Right.

Madam President, Commissioner, this has been a very good job and we would like to thank the rapporteur for helping to achieve a very good result with both dialogue and composition. In our opinion, this report is in the right direction. It is a common finding that in the post-COVID era – we are still in the midst of the pandemic – bold policies and changes in the economic governance of the European Union are needed to help our society cope with the effects of the crisis. This is a matter of the happiness of all people, not just some. As we go through the green and digital transitions, which are evolving in parallel with an ageing population, we understand that the European economy, industrial relations and social affairs will need to adapt accordingly and very quickly. The question is in which direction. With this report, with this composition of all members – or at least most of the democratic arc – we have found in which direction. I would like to say, therefore, that safeguarding workers' labour, social and trade union rights, including those working in digital, is at the heart of our proposals. Man must be at the center, women, disabled people, all people. It is a good day today for workers in the European Union.

Madam President, the title of Politico is very harsh: The United States imposes sanctions on Bulgarian high-ranking officials, but the United Europe does not give a damn. Something's going on here. If the United States of America attacks a Member State of our Union, we must see how we support the Member State but, if the Americans are really right, who are right, then in this case someone is not doing his job well. This is a huge hypocrisy, on an issue where, as I pointed out, America is right. The European Parliament has been shouting about this issue for a long time and is right, and as for Mrs von der Leyen, Mrs Johansson, and the Commission, I think they are not doing their job properly. We in the European Parliament had early become aware of the issue of corruption in Bulgarian government offices. In our resolution of October 2020, we referred to institutionalised corruption in the judicial system, the misuse of European funds, the silencing of press freedom and, more generally, the collapse of the rule of law. That's what we said. The Commission's reaction was very, very lukewarm, because in both annual Rule of Law Reports, this year and last year, the harshest expression it used was that the situation was of concern. But really for whom? For those who break the law, it does not inspire any concern at all. There are clear signs that European funds are feeding corruption channels, especially with the support of media outlets that are mouthpieces of the government. However, Mrs von der Leyen, in her reply in the last week of August, claimed that Parliament had not put forward any concrete proposals. But that is the job of Mrs von der Leyen and the Commission. For more than two years, Parliament has identified the problem, and the mechanism of development and its treatment, but the Commission is systematically evading it. Let me remind you one last thing: A few years ago, in 2015, because the then government had a different understanding of economic policy, you were so strict with my country that you wanted to throw it out of the European Union. But when it comes to the rule of law, democracy, freedom of the press, I see that you are very relaxed and very lenient. I think, on the Bulgarian issue as well as on that of Poland, that you should take measures. Right away.

Madam President, what is happening in Poland is particularly worrying because the circumvention of basic principles of the rule of law strikes at the core of our principles, democracy and Union. The alt-right's attempt to take for granted, as a de facto right of a Member State, and in particular of a Member State's government, to blacken democracy, is, I think, something that cannot but be stigmatised, it is something that must of course be condemned. What European Union tolerates the systematic prosecution of magistrates in its Member States? What is the European Union that swallows the brutal violations of the human rights of the citizens of the Union, that tolerates being targeted and persecuted by the alt-right, that is, by the extreme right, everything that from its own ideological point of view is considered different and minority? What European Union is this, where the people of the press, the journalists - I am a journalist and I feel it - are with their backs against the wall and for the monopolies of the press? The Polish authorities are deliberately and repeatedly violating the rulings of the European Court of Justice on the rule of law and the Commission continues to act as an irritated observer only. Of course it is a non-negotiable and inalienable right for Poland and Polish citizens to vote and elect what they think, but it is also our right to defend our beliefs about the European Union, democracy, it is our right not to tolerate policies that, a century ago, led Europe into deep darkness. Europe cannot go back. And I think Poland should not go back. He must join us in a democratic Europe. There is no other way. We must act decisively here.

Madam President, this is not where the friends of the platform clash with the enemies of the platform. Here the friends of progress do not clash with the others who are in the previous century. Here comes the question of who are those who do not want rights for workers. The fear of the past, which I have heard many times, is that people should have rights and people should have rights in the new conditions. There is a need for a legal framework that protects workers. Self-regulation, which I have heard very often in recent years, means that the powerful will win. A framework providing for collective labour agreements and the fulfilment of social security and tax obligations of platforms. It will not be possible for the algorithm to fire and hire, but it will be human-responsible and will regulate how platforms manage the data generated by workers and consumers, while workers retain control of their data, whether they are still working on the platforms or have left them. There will be trade union representation. It is a prerequisite for the proper functioning of democracy. Here, then, we can ally with many and we are bound to clash with others.

Mr President, first of all I should like to express my great sadness and concern at yesterday's murderous attack on my fellow journalist in the Netherlands. And get to the point. Homophobia kills! The lack of freedom of the press, the refusal to protect journalism kills! Samuel died yesterday in Spain. In Greece we lost Zak, Zak and Dimitra were murdered, victims of homophobia. We hear terrible and terrible things here. It is the right of the state, he says, of every state to violate rights. Where does that come from? Homophobia kills when LGBTIQ people in Hungary are criminalised, targeted and discriminated against by their own state. It is a matter for Europe, then. This is not a matter for the government of any country. In Poland, LGBTIQ-free zones, same discrimination, same violation of rights and a government war of threats and manipulation. Without justice, there is no democracy. The delay is complicity and I think we should get into the sanctions process immediately.