Speeches

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, southern Europe is once again plagued by terrible forest and wildfires. Destructive wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events will become more common and their scale will only increase as climate change and biodiversity loss progress. We need to be better prepared for these challenges in the future. We need better cooperation within the EU and a strengthening of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. When we talk about wildfires, we cannot help but talk about the state of our forests. The Commission's decision last week to postpone the entry into force of the deforestation regulation was also a lousy decision in this regard. When forests are being destroyed in Europe, they say, turn your eyes to the Amazon, turn your eyes to the big questions. Now that this important deforestation regulation is coming into the toolbox, we are not taking it into use. This is incomprehensible news! On the contrary, it is more important than ever to ensure the implementation of EU legislation that is central to the state of forests, and we need to increase ambition. We also need more comprehensive information on the state of our forests in order to better protect them. Above all, we must be able to address the root causes of the disasters. We do not have time to take a step back in climate and nature action, and we cannot send a message to the world that the EU will not work on these issues in the years to come. Nothing is more important than a viable planet. When ecosystems collapse and food production drowns, our forests burn to the ground, groundwater spoils and species around us die, we cannot eat banknotes and drink securities. We need action now.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, I think it is valuable that the report puts a climate-resilient Europe and skilled people at the heart of competitiveness. However, competence must be based on a foundation where people's basic income, housing and education are guaranteed to everyone, where everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to realize themselves, and in this report, unfortunately, leaves something to be desired. The competitiveness created by consuming nature and people has come to an end. Good working conditions and a fair working life, as well as a stable and equal society, biodiversity, are prerequisites for sustainable competitiveness. Together, we must make the decisions that will make the EU the most competent and prosperous people in the world. Let's start with the fact that everyone has a home from which to build a good life.