Speeches

Madam President, the fear of wolves or bears belongs in fairy tales such as the one about the red cap, or in countries where sand was poured and water was spilled. Not until the 21st century. The killing of animals has brought many species in Europe to the brink of extinction. Bears, wolves, lynxes, bison, beavers and many more. Our approach to nature was conquest. To enslave, to cut, to kill. This approach has brought us to the verge of mass extinction of species. Will we be among them? The countryside needs progress, quality education, health, affordable transport links, high-speed internet, but not conquest of nature. I believe we don't need to kill predators again in the third millennium. We do not need to show dominance and humiliate other forms of life. To survive, we must learn to live together, both among people and with other forms of life, such as wolves and bears. So that our children do not know nature only from fairy tales.

Mr President, the climate crisis affects us all. It is not a European problem, it is indeed a truly global problem, and therefore we must not forget that what we have experienced in Europe this summer has been experienced in Pakistan, has been experienced in America, and it is possible that they will experience this winter in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere. This is not only a global problem, but also a global solution. Europe is not alone in this, and we must lead, but we must work together. Cooperation with Africa, cooperation with Asia, cooperation with Americas is the basis of the solution. It is the basis of the solution not only for saving the climate, it is also the basis of the solution for high inflation through green energy, it is the basis of the solution for protecting biodiversity through the use of nature as a solution, whether in capturing emissions or in adapting to climate change. It is the basis of the solution for the development and wealth of society both in Europe and everywhere else in the world. Let's work on it together.

Mr President, Matúš Horváth and Juraj Vankulič, let me first of all offer my sincere condolences to all their loved ones and friends. Matúš Horváth and Juraj Vankulič were murdered because hatred became a very common thing. And I'm not just talking about the extremists we have here. I am also talking about the top representatives of the parties in Slovakia, which belong to the EPP group and the SND. I am talking about the former prime minister, who is the head of the strongest political party in the current coalition and belongs to the EPP, and I am talking about the head of the party, which is a member party of the SND, who normalises hatred against the LGBTIQ community in Slovakia. Hatred killed Matthew and George. Hatred can continue to kill us if we don't stand up to them, but we also have to clean up at home.

Mr President, this crisis is the result of our dependence on fossil fuels, especially gas, and it is bothering people all over Europe and companies. Dependence, which destroys the climate, and dependence, which has put all the weapons in the hands of even the biggest dealer, Putin. However, we will best get rid of dependencies together, which is why I lack a stronger initiative from the Commission, stronger action from the Commission to help people and companies develop green energy and energy efficiency better. The Excess Profits Tax cannot only be at national level, as energy trades take place at a pan-European level. Traders buy electricity in one country next year and sell it in another. Purchases that were below 100 euros suddenly have to be compensated for more than 300. We need a European solution and I expect it both from the Commission and from the Council in the coming days.

Mr President, our farmers are calling for help. The prices of artificial fertilisers are rising to the sky and our food security is at risk. Why? Why did we allow this addicted drug addiction to artificial fertilizers and further deepen it? Addiction that not only kills life in our soil, our rivers, but also threatens our security. Because dependence on artificial fertilizers is also dependence on fossil gas and Putin's regime. The way out is not to beg Putin for cheap gas. The road is to get rid of addiction. Nature is the best solution. Let us encourage, for example, the use of soil bacteria, which can bring not only massive savings in artificial fertilizers, but also lower costs and higher yields. This can also be done in conventional agriculture. The talk of cheaper artificial fertilisers is not about helping farmers, but the agrochemical industry. Our support is deserved by innovative companies from all over Europe and, yes, also from Slovakia, which bring real, nature-based solutions. It is time to return life to the soil so that it can continue to bring us its gifts. It can be done.

Madam President, Commissioner, Councillor, I am honoured to be part of the EP’s delegation to the CITES CoP19 because the convention is more than just a tool to control trade in endangered species, it is about our relationship with wildlife as such. Wildlife is a significant part of our heritage, our cultures. Our societies have to finally acknowledge the material and immaterial value that the habitats provide to us and the dependence of the wildlife on its good state. And the endangered species are the symbol of that deterioration. We have to admit that we, humans, are at the core of this problem. We keep contributing to the habitat degradation. We have led the market of illegal trafficking to flourish and we did not sufficiently punish those involved in it. We still keep trading captive-bred, endangered species, legally in a number of occasions. Just look at the trade in captive tigers. Also in the European Union. We have to be part of the solution. We finally need to equip the police, the customs officers and the authorities with the means to enforce the convention because they have been seriously understaffed. We have to invest in capacity building and training of enforcement and judicial capacities. We need to strengthen our cooperation by establishing specialised units, focusing on wildlife crime across the Member States. And we have to stop the trade in endangered animals from captive breeding. No more tiger trade. We all can help, also in this House, by sending a strong signal with our resolution on the CITES scope, but also by supporting a strong environmental crime directive.

Mr President, the climate crisis is turning into a climate disaster. Drought, fires and extreme heat. That's something we did ourselves. And not only did we do it ourselves. We didn't even prepare for that situation. We didn't adapt. This is why, in addition to reducing emissions, we need to adapt. It must be something that is not an option. It must be something that is mandatory. That is why I welcome the Commission's proposal for nature restoration legislation, which will be very important because the solution is nature, not concrete. That is why I expect to see a draft law on soil protection, because the soil has really suffered enormously this summer. But at the same time, we must ensure that the money, the public money that we give to the development of Europe, which goes to support agriculture, is tied to adaptation measures. It's not supposed to be something we can do. It's something we have to do. Otherwise, we will not be able to cope with this crisis.

Mr President, we know what is at stake. The planet is already making us feel it. Droughts, floods, crop failures, extreme heat. According to scientists, what we've experienced so far has been a small taste of what awaits us if we don't act. The climate crisis is here, and it's about survival. However, the crisis can also be an opportunity. It is an opportunity to move Europe, and therefore Slovakia, forward. Opportunity for progress. It's time to stop wasting and start using energy efficiently. Start developing a truly green energy that gives people jobs and does not destroy nature. Foster green innovation instead of subsidising the destruction of the planet. We have the opportunity to change the industry and enable it to be not only green, but also competitive in the 21st century. And that will only be the case if it does not destroy the planet and its climate. Our forests and our soils can help us because they best capture carbon from the atmosphere. And it's up to us whether we help them become part of the solution or they become more and more part of the problem. Because it is only from healthy soil that we are alive. Living soil helps us capture carbon best. We therefore need a separate and binding target for carbon farming. Climate protection is about fairness, accountability to Europeans. It also requires your courage and determination.

Madam President, first of all, let me thank you for the very interesting debate on this topic and for the support and encouragement that I got from you during this debate. Now, this is indeed a global problem. I myself was in the Arctic more than 20 years ago to witness the toxic pollution there. I was on the Agbogbloshie dumpsite in Ghana, where computers with PBDEs from Europe are ending and polluting the local environment, and I witnessed the measurements of mountain goats from the High Tatras in Slovakia, polluted with POPs chemicals. We really have to eliminate these chemicals. Toxic recycling is not an option. And I have to say to the Commission that what we are proposing is not something that we pulled out of our fingers. These values are stricter than those proposed by the Commission, yes, but are within what the Commission, in its own impact assessment, said is technically, economically and socially feasible. Just the Commission decided to go for the middle of the range and we decided to go for ambition, because we believe that human health needs to have a very strong priority, that the best cancer is the one you don’t have to cure. It’s actually also the cheapest and with the least suffering. I was happy to hear the engagement also from the ECHA being stronger on the PFAS. And I’m really happy for that. But I also hope that we can be equally strong on the brominated flame-retardants. The technologies are there. We really need to clean up our economy of the toxic chemicals, of the worst toxic chemicals, which the POPs are, to start proper transformation to a sustainable circular economy without the toxic chemicals, with the trust of the consumers, and with the future that fits the planetary limits.

Mr President, as the rapporteur for the review of the waste limits for the persistent organic pollutants, I’m very proud of what we have achieved in the ENVI Committee, but also of the great support from all the major groups. I would therefore like to thank all my colleagues who are supporting low, responsible limits for the content of the POPs in the waste. And we are not talking about some nice chemicals, these are some of the worst chemicals known to mankind. Examples: we are talking about PFAs – forever chemicals; we talking about dioxins, DDT. And unfortunately, even years after the restrictions, after we banned these chemicals, we still find them in the water, we still find them in the products: in the toys that our kids play with, or in the breastmilk of the new mothers. That is why the international Stockholm Convention requires parties, including the European Union, to prohibit and/or take legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate – and I am highlighting eliminate, going down to zero – both the production and the use of chemicals listed in the Annex A, and their import and export. Why? Because they are persistent, they are for ever, they do not really break apart. And the limits? The limits are there because we have to have some limits. But ultimately, they are also bio—accumulative, they are going up in the food chain, and we are on top of the food chain. A recent report from the scientists, who concluded that the chemical pollution has now passed the safe limits for humanity, is indeed and should be a global wake—up call. Therefore, what we decide during this review, and with the other co—legislators, will have an impact on public health and environment. It will have impact beyond national and European boundaries, as the waste limits also influence what we dispose in third countries, especially in developing countries. It is also why African countries are desperately asking EU to adopt low limits, because they see this as a light at the end of the tunnel to limit pollution to their own environment from the waste that we dump there. The limits that we adopt decide whether to allow those dangerous chemicals to enter our lives through waste. Adoption of the ENVI report means a clear ‘no’ the toxic economy, clear ‘no’ to toxic recycled material, because these are waste limits. But dumping of waste, think of resource for the circular economy. We don’t want a circular economy that contains toxic chemicals. So I hope that tomorrow we will defend the result from the Environment Committee, and it will help to free our economy from pollution, increase the trust of our citizens in recycled materials and products. This is absolute precondition for a circular economy. I believe that this will be the case, as our report is ambitious but also realistic at the same time. The limits that we propose are within the impact assessment of the Commission. And the Commission said that it was technically and economically feasible. Therefore, there is no reason why not to adopt lower limits that the Commission proposed. As a step forward towards toxic—free future, my ENVI report proposes to adopt a limit of 200 mg/kg on some of PBDEs, brominated flame retardants, with a review to lower it further in next 5 years; 200 mg/kg for the HBCDD, with a review to decrease it to 100 mg in 5 years; considerably lower limits for dioxins and furans; thresholds for the PFOAs to reflect the commitment in the chemicals strategy for sustainability to reduce the contamination by the PFAS that sadly many people are affected with; limit of 420 mg/kg for short—chain chlorinated paraffins; and we are also adding a new group of perfluorinated substances that will be soon listed – and by soon, I mean early June – to the Convention; last but not least, we address the incoherence between the classification of all waste containing old and new POPs to ensure effective treatment of all POPs waste. I hope that by adopting the report tomorrow, we, the European Parliament, will stand behind the public interest, and I hope that we get a strong mandate for our negotiations in a trilogue. It will not be easy, but I can promise you we’ll do the best.

Madam President, the horrors we see in Ukraine today have not been seen in Europe since the Second World War. Even worse, I hear talk from both the extreme left and extreme right about how we need to have fun, how we need to find common ground. The same common language we found with Hitler in Munich? Is that what you want? Ukraine needs our help, as well as our military assistance. They need guns now. When will we be helping Ukraine more than we are helping Russia with money for fossil fuels and nuclear fuel? When will this money remain in our families and in our regions and will we finally get rid of dependence, even drug dependence, on fossil fuels? When do we finally stop tolerating the culture of lies on social media and innocently watch algorithms, and let's say straight away, Facebook gives more space to evil, gives more space to lies? And all this just to get someone to pack up. We let the system subvert from the inside. Ladies and gentlemen, we must not only stand in defence of our freedom and the freedom of Ukraine, but we must also stand on the side of the future of Europe as a whole. It's time to stop talking, it's time to start acting.

Madam President, it is black and white. Over and over and over and over again. The extreme weather we are experiencing in Slovakia and across Europe is caused by climate change. People caused by climate change. The floods we face in Slovakia, but also in Western Europe, the heat that people die from, the drought that destroys crops and our forests and emptys our wells. The climate crisis is here and we are approaching a climate catastrophe. We caused it ourselves. But many Slovak politicians and business captains pretend as if nothing happened. They're talking about hot air trading. Don't expect them to pay for the damage caused by the floods. The solution is in our hands. Reducing emissions is not just about green energy and ending waste. It is also about ending our dependence on Putin's murderous regime and lower energy bills. But we also need to adapt our cities and villages to be full of greenery, adapt our agriculture and bring forests back to their lives. Science is clear on this. Now it's up to us and we have to act.

– Madam President, Commissioner, we carry our mobile phones and computers with us everywhere. Batteries have become a very common part of our lives and it's really not just about small pencil flashlights anymore. We love technology. But we only love them when they really work. And let me tell you, I'm very upset when I have to buy a new phone or computer just because I can't replace the battery. The craziest thing is that it's often more financially worth it than replacing the battery itself. That's why we need to change things. And I'm not just talking about batteries in computers or mobile phones. It's a question of flashlights in cars, flashlights in bicycles these days, or in the power grid. We don't have endless resources. We only have one planet. It also has its capabilities. We are all aware of this in 2022. That is why this legislation really comes at the highest time. It must have rules not only for the production, replacement or disposal of batteries, but also for their recycling. Finally, we need to move to a circular economy with batteries. It's something we've all been calling for a long time. Batteries must not only be fully recycled, but also made from secondary raw materials. And they must be made without toxic substances. We cannot pretend that what is beyond our borders does not concern us. If we demand safe and fair working conditions at home, workers who produce batteries for the European market also deserve this. If we protect nature at home, we cannot destroy the environment where we cannot see it because of our needs. Like Europe, it is with this legislation that we have the opportunity to influence the world market, to set standards so that they are respected not only in our country, but all over the world. We can make it the gold standard for the world. Batteries will be very important in the future. But only batteries made and used on the planet and by people in a friendly way will help us create a green and fair future.

Madam President, the European Semester was born out of the financial crisis of the late 2000s. Now we are facing the climate and biodiversity crisis, the – hopefully – post-pandemic recovery, but also the security and energy threats that culminated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It’s time to make it ready for the 2020s. It’s time to recognise that ‘business as usual’ is over. And that also means new ways of monitoring progress in delivery of what we agreed on together. The new deal, including the acceleration of the green energy drive, that we need to do to cut our strategically dangerous dependence on Russian fossil fuels, needs to be properly reflected in the semester’s monitoring framework. True sustainability, fitting the EU into planetary limits, needs to rest on three pillars: the economic, the social and the environmental. We need to ensure that we are coherent in all three of them, and that means from an energy perspective that we need to further integrate the EU’s climate, environmental – including biodiversity – and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner. Economic indicators are not enough in times of need to reduce our ecological footprint. We need to check properly the alignment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) with the climate and biodiversity spending targets, but also policy objectives. We cannot allow our public money to do significant harm. We cannot afford regression, and we need to include partners, not just us in the Parliament, but also civil society, social partners, scientific bodies and other stakeholders. We need a semester that looks at progress towards sustainability as a whole, not just part of it.

Mr President, Commissioner, in Slovakia we want solar cells on the roof, not Russian tanks in the yard. That's why it's time to do something I've been calling for for years. A full-blown energy revolution. We need to promote the efficient use of energy, because the cheapest is the gas that we do not consume. Remove obstacles thrown at people, but also entrepreneurs under their feet, who want to develop green energies in a naturally sensitive way. The sun, wind, geothermal energy, biogas and hydropower are cheaper than fossil gas. We should have done it for years. Don't wait for the climate crisis to turn around. As long as Putin attacks Ukraine, and indeed us. Now we have to add. We must run, but we must not let the most vulnerable and the poor fall. Here, a climate check will help, which will give emissions charges to people, not polluters. Green energy will not be disconnected by Putin, nor will the price on the stock exchange increase it. It is ours, it is the energy of freedom.

Madam President, cancer is the modern plague. It does not any more affect only the elderly, it affects increasingly the young generation. We all know people who managed to survive, and sadly, those who died. Cancer affects our lives. Yet more than 40% of the cases could have been prevented, and chemicals – hazardous chemicals – are one of the key culprits here. This is why the implementation of the Sustainable Chemical Strategy is going to be a really crucial element in fighting cancer in Europe. We need to eliminate POPs, the worst of the worst chemicals that contaminate the waste stream, and we need to prevent these hazardous chemicals from spoiling the circular economy. We need the chemicals used by the society to be sustainable and safe by design. Not a bit of cancer – no cancer. They need to be intrinsically safe, they need to be without hazardous properties. So dear Commissioner, when you come up with the CLP and REACH proposals, we need safe chemicals. Let’s beat cancer by prevention. Let’s beat it by eliminating hazardous chemicals.

Madam President. Humanity. Humanity is also about our relationship with animals, sentient beings. Suffering. Suffering and pain are felt by both humans and animals. All the more terrible and worse is unnecessary suffering and unnecessary pain. This is what happens with long journeys of animals. It happens unnecessarily and it happens because of our greed. Because most of the suffering in transport can be prevented. Transport cattle by truck from Slovakia to Kazakhstan. Two weeks on the way. Can you imagine that? Without a single place for proper rest east of the Slovak border. Or imagine the journey of sheep from Slovakia to Libya, where there is a civil war. Just to kill them at the end of the road. How can it even be legal? Why do pigs have to travel from Slovakia to Germany to beat them, to process them, and then we bring sausages and meat to Slovakia. Long transports, without proper rest, are suffering for animals. But they are also harming our country, harming our farmers and our food industry. By exporting live animals for slaughter, we are losing jobs in Slovakia. The report of our committee of inquiry is finally calling for change. We have to end transports longer than 8 hours without proper rest. We need to ensure that our domestic rules are respected when exporting outside the Union, and to ensure that this is done properly. We need to limit the transport of very young animals as much as possible. Don't carry animals in the heat when we actually feel like we can't last long outside. And make sure those rules aren't just a scrap of paper like they used to be. To be properly enforced and to be respected. And we need to help farmers to keep doing business. They don't want cruelty either. It's time for more humanity for animals. And that time is now.

Mr President, a friend once told me: ‘Seeing animals in the circus is part of childhood.’ But children are not stupid. Why are we going to say that they're going to think that the tiger is supposed to jump in a cage, that the elephant is supposed to jump between different things in the arena, that the chimpanzee is supposed to ride a bike? Kids aren't really stupid. And the majority of Europeans are not stupid either, because it is clear that the majority of Europeans think that wild animals do not belong in the circus. That they do not belong for fun, that they do not suffer during training and then ten months a year to ride closed in small maringots or cages and experience additional suffering during performances. It's time we stopped saying that the performances of elephants, tigers and other wild animals are fun. Fun cannot be built on suffering and cruelty. I am glad that many countries, including Slovakia, have come to the forefront of this problem. And it's time for us to face it like Europe. We solve complicated things, we can solve these simple things. It's not just about the suffering of animals. Unfortunately, circuses are also a source of endangered animals for the illegal trade in them. Not only is the legislation unenforced and full of holes, but the fact that there may still be wild animals in circuses contributes to trade, for example, in tigers. It's something that's time to stop. Not only because it threatens wild animals, but also because of zoonotic diseases, as the corona now cruelly reminds us. I therefore expect the Commission to find legislative ways, it is not difficult to finally ban wild animals in circuses across Europe. Humanity towards animals is a European value.

Madam President, we have to do the utmost to limit the global warming to 1.5 degrees. We got a taste this summer and honestly, I think we are standing on the brink of a climate disaster. But there is no chance to achieve this if we don’t act on methane, if we don’t properly act on methane, and act now, because honestly, we have overlooked it way too much. I’m not going to repeat the words of Maria Spyraki about potency and the timeline, but it’s clear that we have something on our hands where we clearly need to act. Sadly, we don’t really even have a proper overview. We see the releases of documentations about the previously unknown leaks all around the world, and this is something which needs to call us even more urgently to action. We need to act above all in the energy sector. MRV and LDAR – these might be shortcuts, but they are really important words. We need to ban routine flaring and venting, and we need to act at home and abroad, because not just climate has no boundaries, but most of our footprint is abroad. And it will provide a level playing field for European businesses. We have to look at our agriculture – not just the cows’ diet, our diet; together with the farmers, not against the farmers. We have to solve the landfills with circular economy, and we have to take methane to the global stage in Glasgow. I hope that we will see some proper action led by Europe there as well. Madam Commissioner, I hope that what we see from you is soon also an ambitious legislation that will not only deliver for this House but for our future.

Madam President, our Group has always supported an ambitious transition towards a sustainable food system that will not only respect planetary boundaries, but also ensure farmers’ livelihoods and food on our tables. To achieve that, we need to turn farm to fork into reality and then a bit more. Without it, it is not possible. Change is possible. During the last 15 years more than 90% of Europe’s horticulture has moved away from using hazardous pesticides to integrated pest management, and if you go to supermarkets, what do you see? More tomatoes and fresh vegetables all year round. We need to make it happen. We need to cherish our nature. We need to hear our fields buzzing and our soil being alive. I think this is a really big opportunity for the farmers. Don’t listen to the scaremongers. We cannot afford the cost of inaction. I hope that as this House has called, we will not only see farm to fork, we will see a protection of soil by a legal framework. We will see action on pesticides and a move to the mandatory target, and we will see a binding protection of pollinators.

Madam President, Slovakia is one of the countries with a serious problem of energy poverty. Too many people are forced to heat in one room and heat virtually anything, because gas is too expensive for them. And the current increase in gas and electricity prices will aggravate the situation. It was enough for Putin to pull the tap, and we have a problem in Europe. The most vulnerable. The connection between gas and electricity prices is also a problem. We need to reset the electricity market and immediately help the most vulnerable. But a quick patch won't solve the problem in the long run. The real solution is energy efficiency and green energy. More efficient buildings mean not only lower energy bills, but also employment, cleaner air and climate protection. In addition, green energy means energy independence from regimes such as Putin's. Sun, wind and geothermal energy are among the cheapest. That is why I am shocked by the senseless subsidies for fossil gas, such as the one for gas boilers for households in Slovakia. The real solution is the climate dividend. The money for emissions permits should go to the people, not the polluters. Foster green solutions and innovation.

Mr President, Commissioner, the climate crisis is turning into a climate disaster. Thirty billion euros and a lot of human lives. This is only the price of summer flooding in Germany. We need to act radically enough. But we have a problem. Slovakia and Europe are facing rising energy prices, again threatening the most vulnerable and the poorest. Why? Due to increasing dependence on and imports of climate-harming fossil gas from dictatorial regimes such as Putin's Russia. Yes, I'm talking about Nord Stream 2, which we gave Putin another ace. Thanks to Schroeder and Merkel. How to get out of it? By optimising consumption, efficiency and local green energy, as these address not only the climate crisis, but also our energy and strategic dependence on Eastern dictators and fluctuations in fossil fuel prices on world markets. And they will help people at risk of energy poverty. There has to be an end to the situation where polluters receive free permits and citizens have to pay. Money for issues goes to two things: promoting green innovation and solutions and back to people as a carbon dividend.

Mr President, the ambitious Green Deal needs an ambitious environmental action programme, because indeed we have a problem. If you look at it from economic perspective, can you imagine running the European Monetary Union on a 300% deficit? That’s what we’re doing with the planet. And I think this is where we really need to act on a number of fields. I want to point out one in particular, and that is soils. And I would like to also emphasise that even here in the environmental action programme, in a legislative text, the Parliament calls for a binding legal framework for soils because it’s one of the elements that is missing, and I think this is something which we need for biodiversity, the climate, hazardous chemicals, for supporting our farmers. To be able to deliver on the action programme we also need sufficient resources of the Commission. And that’s something that is lacking, not only at the Commission, but also at the agencies. So we have the solid science and we have the capacity to not only make the rules, but to deliver and monitor them. So I hope that, not like today, tabling amendments for more resources, next year we will see a sufficiently resourced Commission to deliver on this action programme.