Speeches

Madam President. I have one pragmatic question about the EU-Ukraine summit. We are all convinced that together with the Americans we will beat Russia. Is there an alternative B? What if we don't defeat Russia? So far, no one in history has succeeded. As a Slovak and Slovan, I would like to ask our Western European friends: Your fathers and grandfathers killed about 20 million Slavs, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Serbs and, as a bonus, 6 million more innocent Jews in the fight against Russia during the Second War. How many Ukrainians and Russians do you think will be killed before this war is over? But you probably don't care. You just have it in your genes. Stop the madness, or you'll eventually suffocate with that Slavic blood. Let’s talk about stopping the fighting, let’s talk about peace and the excuses “it’s Hitler, it’s Putin, it’s Napoleon” do not apply. If we don't, we'll all shoot ourselves like rabbits.

Madam President, in the 70 years of foreign, imperfect foreign policy of the European Union, we have come to the conclusion that we have reached, that is, there is a war in Europe, there is a crisis, there is a food crisis, there is an energy crisis. And a crisis that may lead Europe to a greater conflict than it is. I agree with what Mr Borrell said. This should be avoided in relation to China, the situation should not be escalated, China should be understood as a partner, a trading partner, and negotiations should be conducted with them on an ‘equal to equal’ basis. And if it concerns some here, such strong or eager MEPs, who think that Europe is about the center of the universe and that we can dictate to someone how to act in their own state, what to do, what to do, what to work for, then I would probably compare the position of the European Union and China to that of an elephant. elephant and antAn elephant and an ant walk on a bridge and the ant says: ‘But we do!’ Simply, we can't afford to act to get rid of another global business partner who really never attacked anyone like we did. (The Chair interrupted the speaker)... That's all.

Mr President, I assume that if all 705 MEPs were here, and I asked each of them who the right-wing extremist was, no one would raise their hand. If I asked in Sweden, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Croatia who is a right-wing extremist and who voted for right-wing extremists, no one would raise their hand. Simply, everyone would tell me that he is a patriot, that he is a patriot of his country, that he is a Swedish patriot, an Italian patriot, a Hungarian patriot, a Croatian patriot. You, liberal democracy, are bothered by the fact that right-wing extremism is not rising here, but that patriotism is rising here, and patriotism is neither right-wing nor left-wing. Patriotism is simply patriotism, a relationship to the homeland. And as long as strong patriot states are national, there will be a strong Europe. And if there is no patriotism in every state, a feeling of a citizen, a love for his homeland, a sense of belonging to Europe, it can end here. I am also the chairman of the Slovak Patriot party in Slovakia, and since this gentleman is banging, I am ending.

Mr President, I am from Slovakia, I am the chairman of the Slovak Patriot Party. The Slovak Patriot Party, as the only party in Slovakia, has mentioned the fight against all forms of extremism and movements aimed at the suppression of fundamental human rights and freedoms in the fifth point of its electoral programme, and the programme objectives at all. I am not saying that if every political party adopted this programme and put it into its basic priorities, it would be possible to avoid what happened in Bratislava, but perhaps it would help. Perhaps this would help more than convening different meetings and talking about what to write declarations on the agenda of each political party, like the Slovak Patriot party, of which I am the chairman. On the other hand, I have to oppose a certain part of the spectrum of liberals who are trying to create a situation as if Slovakia were a state of xenophobes, homophobics, racists: It's not true. Slovaks don't have it in their genes. We have never been the makers of perverse ideologies of fascism, racism, world wars, guillotines, slavery. For a very short period of time, Slovakia had a period of racism, fascism, but we were able to deal with this quickly in the Slovak National Uprising. I simply want to say here from this place that Slovaks have never been, are not and will never be a nation of extremists, homophobics and racists. The actions of one half-crazy who he is, of whom he does not even know... (The President took the floor)

Madam President, I am the chairman of the Slovak Patriot political party. Slovakia has already been mentioned here by Mr Weber. As a Member of the European Parliament, in order to have objective information about the situation in eastern Ukraine, the members of our party participated or were present at the time when the referendums were held there. If I wanted to report objectively on the situation in eastern Ukraine, most of you would probably stone me and Mrs von der Leyen would have to blush. That is why I do not use the speaking time given to me, for which I deeply apologise. As far as the proposed resolution is concerned, I will vote on the proposal objectively and truthfully. This is different from most other members of parliament.

Mr President, I do not agree with the motion for a resolution of the European Parliament in relation to Hungary. There is probably no state in Europe that can be criticised more or less for the shortcomings resulting from Article 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. But you chose Hungary, only Hungary, or even Poland. Let's just be honest. You are concerned that, despite the European Union's wide-ranging campaign against Mr Orbán and the Fidesz party, the citizens of Hungary have chosen to re-elect the Christian Conservative Government in free and democratic elections. This is an objective fact and an undeniable fact. Kedves Magyar Barátaim! Tartsatok ki! Idő kérdése, mikor bukik meg and kormány Szlovákiában. Együtt fogunk harcolni and brüsszeli centralist elit ellen. Magyarország és Szlovákia, és lesznek masses államok is! Magyarország, fel and fejel!

I can explain it to you. If there is life in the body of a woman or anyone, or vice versa, if there is something bad in the body of a woman, a cancerous tumor or sepsis, it is necessary to remove it from the body. As a man, as a man, as a man, as a father of a family and a grandfather, I do not understand how a man, and I do not take anyone's opinion, how can one remove from the body when life is there? I'm not saying it's a right. I just said, it's a woman's right. I just can't understand it internally. That is why I compared it to a gardener, there is seed, life sprouts. It's his right. It is a woman's right to do so. As a person, I don't know, that's all.

I miss one essential thing in the Commission's appeal to the United States because it does not want to respect fundamental human rights, women's right to abortion. If the United States of America does not respect our opinion and that of the civilized world, what sanctions will we apply to them? Either we stop, or we limit the supply of weapons to Europe, or we freeze the assets of Supreme Court judges, I don't know, because we can't make a difference between Poland, Hungary and the United States of America. And as far as women's right to abortion is concerned, I don't think that's a right. It is a question of conscience, of the character of a woman. It is a question of how it will be decided. The gardener, who is the owner of the garden, can tread the seed, from which a beautiful flower will grow. He can do it, it's his garden. It's his right, but in reality it's barbarism, so I just have so much to do. And I would also like to deal with a letter or a call from some of the Members of Renew, some of the Members of Renew, in so far as it relates to the fact that all those who have a different opinion on the question of life should be fired from Parliament, that is to say, on the question of abortion, on which, if one is already advising on this call, (The Chair adjourned the speaker) Explain what it is, it's total. bullshit Or I don't know how to say it. That's all. (The speaker agreed to respond to the speech after raising the blue card)

Madam President. Instead of general ideological floscades, I would like to address the pragmatic reality, namely the fact of protecting journalists and human rights organisations from vexatious, unfounded, life-threatening lawsuits, which are primarily the domain of the strong, the rich and those with the financial means to defend themselves in this way against either investigative journalists or some of their unfair activities. It is undisputed that any person with legal capacity has the right to bring an action before the courts for the protection of his or her rights and legitimate interests. However, this right cannot be unbridled. This right cannot be abused for vexatious, unacceptable lawsuits that make life difficult for the defendant. It is therefore necessary to take appropriate measures in this regard, including by the Commission, which is already being proposed in some cases, but also by the national states. These are measures in the area of procedural law and in the area of protection of journalists against physical attacks, in the area of criminal law. In my view, it is essential that such actions, which we simply cannot prevent, have the necessary elements of mandatoryity, which are exceptional and distinct from other actions. First of all, the plaintiff should be represented by law, as in administrative and other proceedings, by a lawyer, because while it is true that rich people pay for a lawyer, nevertheless, the status of a lawyer is in some way an honor that could somehow limit such vexatious lawsuits. Further, it would be necessary to adjust the laws on fees, on applications where such a fee should be increased to a part so that no one and at any time could bring these actions. Nothing would happen. If successful, such a fee would be refunded. Another fact, which is very crucial, is that a preliminary hearing of such an action, without the involvement of the parties in the proceedings, must be ordered mandatory in the criminal codes concerned, and that the defendant, and this is very important, in the particular case of journalists or human rights organisations, should be entitled, by law, to free legal aid through state legal aid centres. Of course, it is then necessary to have more and more adjustments, but about two minutes is not enough for this. There's a lot to talk about. This is a matter of civil procedural law. Necessary. And then there is the danger of physical attacks. This is already the domain of criminal law. It is essential that specialised teams be set up in the relevant police departments, as for various activities, drug crime, just another idea, relating exclusively to this protection of journalists. I mean, I have to quit. Two minutes have passed. I could talk a lot about it.

Madam President, I do not want to talk about the right, the left, I do not want to talk about liberalism and conservatism. I want to speak about the holy right of citizens of a nation state to choose as their representatives whom they deem appropriate, and not to be punished for it. The anthem of the Republic of Hungary begins with the words "God bless the Hungarian". The European anthem begins with the Ode to Joy. Today, after the remarks of some politicians who call themselves liberals, which is about as far from liberalism as meat from my horse, we can cry. President Leyen and the Vice-President of the European Parliament even say in words that Hungarians should be punished for having made the choice they made. This is unacceptable, this is unacceptable, it is something terrible, something unprecedented. That's why I can only say so much: Isten áld meg and magyart. That's all.

Madam President, at a time when globally strong players are battling for economic domination of Europe and the world, the European Union should remain prudent, calm and deal with things without emotion, thinking first of the future. I am not convinced that the report on foreign interference in all democratic processes, including disinformation, would be prudent, without emotion. Although it makes sense by its very nature, the choice of means and measures to achieve the objective is not correct. In this context, I was impressed by The Left’s minority position on the report, which states that the resulting report is unbalanced, biased and in itself represents disinformation. Future generations will regret this document. In history, it has been shown many times that the opinion of a minority who did not go with the crowd had more power of thought than the majority, and in the future this was manifested. I hope that Members of the Left Group will not be labelled as disinformation or be considered blacklisted for their opinion.

Mr President. I am the only member of the European Parliament from Eastern Slovakia. My compatriots, friends, relatives near the Ukrainian border provide gratuitous help to refugees from the war and denounce the war between the two Slavic peoples. The Parliament of the Slovak Republic condemns the unjustified military invasion of Ukraine and calls for an immediate halt to military operations. The Slovak Republic offered Bratislava as a place for peace talks to Ukrainian and Russian representatives the day before yesterday. The Slovak Republic does not agree with the declaration of independence of the republics on the territory of the state with the help of foreign troops. Therefore, the Slovak Republic, as one of the few states, does not even recognise the unilateral declaration of the state of Kosovo, because even in this case it was with the help and invasion of foreign troops. I believe and am convinced that in the near future there will be peace and friendship between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. And it is the duty of all of us to do everything we can to make that happen.

Mr President, it's 16. 2. 2022, the attack on Ukraine is not taking place and that is good. We don't know what's going to happen this afternoon. Yesterday the 15th. 2. 2022 Ambassador of Ukraine to the Parliament of the Slovak Republic stated, read: "Ukraine has no information about Russia's attack on Ukraine, as US officials say," she continues, "such statements by the United States cost Ukraine half a billion dollars every day." One could warn our American friends that disinformation is not good. Hatred among politicians is slowly shifting to hatred among nations, and this is not good. The Great Son of the Polish Nation, Pope John Paul II, 22. 4. In 1990, when he visited Czechoslovakia, he said: “The Cold War is over. No one should be defeated and no one should be a winner, because such division into a winner and a loser can lead once again to hatred between East and West". John Paul II goes on to say that ‘a healthy body breathes through both its lungs, right and left. If one side of the lungs is sick, the whole body is sick’. As a conservative politician, I am guided by the words of the great son of the Polish nation and I am in favour of a diplomatic solution to these problems.

Madam President. Perhaps more than any of those present here, I have practical experience in animal life, in animal husbandry. Until recently, I was a breeder of horses, sheep, dogs, I lived in nature, and all this while working as a judge. The animal is a living being, the animal feels pain, the animal knows how to mourn, the animal knows how to rejoice, the animal feels hunger, the animal feels thirst, it is a living being. The animal feels in the transport, where it will go, how it will go, why it will go. I will therefore support any directive, any regulation, any commission of inquiry dealing with the dignity of animal transport. This is my heart issue: nature and animals – I grew up, I lived in it. Whoever wants to put the meat business, the animal business, before a decent transport, doesn't like animals. Anyone who doesn't like animals doesn't like people. And who doesn't like people and wants to do business with animals, let's sit him in that transport with those animals, let him travel from Holland somewhere to Turkey or Lebanon and let him try it. There is simply a need for more criminal responsibility for this kind of behaviour towards animals, because finally someone has to make order here. This is not possible: Someone destroys nature, someone destroys animals just for the sake of business?

Mr President. Today I learned from President Macron that if I want to be a good European, I have to be a liberal democrat or perhaps a Frenchman. But given that, although I am not a liberal democrat and a Frenchman, I feel like a good European, I certainly support the act or the new rules of the Digital Services Acts, which are absolutely necessary not only for Europe, but in the digital world, that is, for everyone. The E-Commerce Directive has been in place for more than 20 years. In the light of developments in the digital world, as innovation progresses, some of the provisions of this previous agreement are already archaic and need to be amended. The Digital Services Act should, in my view, regulate internet access services, but also web domain registrars, hosting services, online marketplaces, app stores and very large online platforms more consistently, so as to protect, in particular, the rights of consumers and honest users of social networks. However, I cannot agree with the central control of the online space as such. Such action may have an unnecessary democratic deficit and an indirect impact on the right, on the freedom of expression of users. However, I support ... (The President took the floor)

Madam President, I share the regulation of social networks in the areas of protection of life, health, peace, protection of women's rights against violence, protection against pornography and so on. However, I cannot agree with the regulation of social networks in the area of the market. In my opinion, it disrupts the market, it disrupts competition, it disrupts what is the basis of the economy of every state, that is, the market economy. I am also of the opinion that the regulation of networks in the area of the market will not be to the benefit of the consumer. My view is that consumer protection must be ensured by strong regulation, by judicial regulation and, above all, by the promotion of civil associations in the various national states, whose duty it is to deal with consumer protection. Therefore, I cannot identify with the Digital Market Act in its entirety.

Mr President, the protection of women from violence and such protection must be regarded as the number one priority not only in legislation, but above all in a person's head. I am very familiar with the controversial and legally imperfect Istanbul Convention. As a judge with 40 years of experience, I am also very familiar with the legislation of the Slovak Republic. I must state objectively and without emotion that the legislation of the Slovak Republic, in so far as it concerns the protection of women's rights against violence, is more perfect and better, more objective and uncomplicated. I therefore propose that the European Union legislators become familiar with the jurisdiction of the Slovak Republic, take over and implement it into the law of the European Union, and then we can easily throw the Istanbul Convention into the English Channel. And one last thing. I object to the statements of some MEPs who claim that countries that have not adopted the Istanbul Convention are somehow more backward. This is not the case in Slovakia. We love our women because they are the most beautiful women in the world.

Madam President, the Treaty of Lisbon came into force on 1 December 2009. We have convinced the citizens of the European Union that as a whole, the European Union as a whole, will be stronger, better at dealing with foreign relations. The opposite turned out to be true. A strong nation-state of Germany, Mrs Merkel has started negotiations with Lukashenka, with Putin, and our External Action Service, headed by Mr Borrell, has learned about these activities from the press. Politicians say or Poles say: ‘Not about us without us’. Next time, therefore, I propose, and I think it is a joke, that the European Union should not solve such problems, but that the Ambassador should leave Berlin. It is good that a V4 meeting will be held on Thursday this week at the suggestion of the Poles in Budapest. The V4 appears to be more effective in addressing these issues than the European Union should. Finally, something that you may not like. Globally, not in a particular case, but globally, the migration crisis as such is not the responsibility of Poles, Russians or Belarusians, but neither of Slovaks, nor of any Slavic nation. The migration crisis in the world is the responsibility of those who have colonized centuries, i.e. (The Chair took the floor) Please don’t bang with the hammer when the Slovak speaks. I am not done yet. (inaudible) And I want to say something important. Thank you very much.

Mr President, I support the proposed changes to the common agricultural policy. National states and farmers hope and believe that these legislative changes will make it possible to achieve the goals set, ensuring a stable supply of affordable and quality food. In my opinion, however, rural development policy is a cardinal issue. The problem is a kind of unnecessary struggle between green policy and agricultural policy, and often farmers become hostages to this struggle. ‘Szanuje wasza prace, mistress komisarzu Wojciechoski’. I was born in the countryside, I live in the countryside, I was a breeder of horses and sheep and I cooperate with the rural parliament in Slovakia. I have an invitation to the conference on "Vision for a more attractive countryside", which will be held on December 6 at the University of Nitra. I invite you, Commissioner, to this meeting, where the people of the countryside will inform you of their problems. It would be good if you attended this meeting, in addition, the Slovaks ‘zawsze lubiły Polaków’.

Madam President, fascism, nationalism, anti-Semitism, racial supremacy, two world wars, guillotine, colonialism, slavery, concentration camps are the worst that man could create. But it is true that historically the creators of these perverse ideologies are our Western European friends. We, the cultural nations of Eastern Europe, have never been the creators of such perverse ideologies. It is therefore the duty of us, the cultural peoples of Eastern Europe – the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Poles, the Hungarians – to see to it that, in the minds of our friends and with them, the idea of a re-creation of an ideology to dominate the whole of Europe does not arise. That is our duty. Finally, as a Slovak, I am proud that Slovakia has the most fair among nations awards in terms of population: Yad va-shem.

Mr President, every month, every week, every day we hear: Poland, Poland, Poland. What on earth did Poland do to you? I have at my disposal the judgment of the German Constitutional Court of Karlsruhe. I also have the judgment of the Polish Constitutional Court at my disposal. From a legal-procedural point of view, there is no problem between them. However, Poland does not seem to be able to afford what Germany does. This is not a political problem. This is a problem of interpretation of European law, interpretation of constitutional law and dialogue is needed. Otherwise it won't work. Otherwise, we will create a European Union where Mrs von der Leyen will be queen, there will be no need for national courts and there will be a political group to decide. And as far as Poland is concerned, now in Polish: Polska jest i będzie suwerennym państwem narodowym. Polska jest i będzie w Europie. I eat Polakiem.

Madam President, an ecologically clean green Europe is a necessary condition for the lives of future generations. The energy needs of the sun, wind, water, because it represents life for Europe, the life of man. However, the current generation, which often lives in energy poverty as a result of rising energy prices, lives as a vulnerable consumer, also needs to be addressed and this needs to be addressed. I welcome the Commission's decision, or the Commission's plan, that on 13 October a set of tools will be found to force national states to take action to combat rising energy prices. Rising energy prices are indeed causing poverty, putting consumers at risk. If the European Commission does not deal with this, it will not be good. It is regrettable that some national states, including Slovakia, are not yet anchored in legislation, which is a vulnerable consumer.

Mr President, Mr Vitanov's report, as far as the use of artificial intelligence in criminal proceedings is concerned, is good, it is balanced, it is professionally processed. I am therefore of the opinion that it is rather good to point out the positives of AI in criminal proceedings and also to the negatives. In my view, as a long-standing judge, I believe that it is necessary to be cautious about the use of artificial intelligence at the time of decision-making in court. There, however, it should only exceed the human element, because the decision on guilt and punishment is always individual, and no algorithms can possibly apply it to the situation. Indeed, here too, in this room, Mr President is deciding from time to time, he has to decide, and if that were not the case, then instead of the President, there would be artificial intelligence, and instead of MEPs, there would be artificial intelligence, because on the basis of algorithms, we would know how to decide. Opportunities for the misuse of AI in the protection of human rights and freedoms should be avoided, but in principle and in principle AI is an asset in the fight against crime and needs to be promoted and developed.

Mr President, the history of Western European countries is marked by colonialism, slavery, great empires: The Roman Empire, the Great German Empire, the Holocaust. The history of the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Europe, the history of the countries of the Visegrad Four is marked by the struggle for the soul of the nation, for freedom, for independence, for its own traditions, for its own religion. And it seems to me that the European Union is currently trying to take away from Eastern European countries their traditional values, to take away their culture, to take away their perception of the world, that is, to take away their soul. Don't do that. Neither Mr Kaczyński nor Mr Orbán are xenophobes. They only present the soul of their nation, their traditions, Christian traditions, religion. It has always been to the detriment of the great empires, whether the Roman Empire, the Greater German Empire, or the Habsburg Monarchy, to give individual states their own souls. Let this not happen, because you do not want to decide that we in Slovakia raise children as Brussels wishes. We know how to raise children. We know how to relate to people who are otherwise sexually oriented. Don't take it away from us, because it's going to have bad consequences. That's all.