Speeches

Madam President, dear colleagues!  Lithium, cobalt, graphite, rare earths, nickel. What do these raw materials and their exploitation have in common with the European Union? A lot, but unfortunately nothing good. They are a symbol of our inefficiency and an indicator of deep economic dependence. But without these raw materials, there is no green transition, there are no electric vehicles, there are no batteries. Very easy. The future will be in the hands of those who have it. What hurts the most is the fact that the European Union has these raw materials, especially nickel, lithium and rare earths. We are literally sitting on them, but unfortunately we import them from third countries, especially China. Exploitation of ores under strict European environmental rules is not green enough for us. We do not mind, however, that these same raw materials are extracted in much dirtier ways in China and Africa, with drastic consequences for the environment and no social rights for workers. Europe, sober up! Let's stop bureaucratic and green nonsense, shorten procedures, maintain reasonable environmental safeguards!

Mr. President! Colleagues and colleagues, and especially dear brothers and sisters from Canada, whom I understand as our American colleagues! We have a lot in common, we have a lot of similarities, and it is right that the European Union and Canada work together in depth. Over the years, Canada has certainly proven to be a reliable partner. Last but not least, when it came to defending our eastern NATO borders, Canada is there, Canada is in Latvia, and it helps us defend our eastern border. Last but not least, when today we also look north in the direction of the Arctic, which is becoming a new geopolitical front, because Russia and China are already protecting and asserting their interests. Canada is also very important here. But the partnership also means the courage to make decisions, and it is CETA that brings jobs and stable supply chains and less dependence on unstable regimes. It is therefore also up to us to ratify this Treaty as soon as possible.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues!  In recent years, we have been dealing with high energy prices. We spent a lot of hours discussing these things, and we found that our electricity prices were higher than the competition in the US or China. And when things seem to have calmed down a bit, bam, a new war, a new crisis, and again, a new energy crisis is announced that will raise energy prices. And this, of course, raises the question of what we, as Europe, have learned from the war in Ukraine. The lesson is very simple: We can only rely on ourselves. Therefore, if we want affordable energy prices, then we need to build a suitable mix of renewable energy sources and nuclear energy. And that's the only thing that can make us competitive on the global stage.

Mr. President! Today it may seem that we are talking about Turkey, but we are actually talking about a much broader thing, namely whether the European Union is ready to defend its values. Is she ready to defend freedom of religion? Is she prepared to defend her Christian foundations? Under the guise of national security, Christians have been targeted in Turkey for years. People who live there legally, often for decades, start families and build local communities. Without evidence and without legal protection, they are marked as a security risk and ultimately expelled. This is not a coincidence, but a systematic denial of one of the religious communities, in this case the Christian community. The European Parliament must be the voice of persecuted Christians. This is also why I call on the European Commission once again to finally appoint a special envoy for respect for religion and belief. Europe cannot be just a market, it cannot be just an association of some countries. Europe must remain a champion of human dignity everywhere, including in Turkey.

Madam President! The Draghi report is an embarrassing truth that we have to face one way or another. Today we have an absurd situation. European savings are financed by American companies, while European companies are looking for money outside the European Union. Our citizens are saving money in Europe, while this money creates growth and jobs elsewhere, on other continents. And money does not leave Europe because we do not have knowledge or talent, but because investing elsewhere is easier and cheaper. To turn the tide, we need a true Capital Markets Union, less fragmentation and less regulation. And, as the President of the European Commission said today, we need reliable trading partners, a real single market and decisive simplification. The path is clear and right. Now is the time to work.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, for many years, European defence has relied on the presence and capabilities of our American allies. But we must also be realistic. We cannot assume that this presence will always be there. Europe is a Union of 27 Member States, each with its own armed forces, its own command structures and its own strategic priorities. This fragmentation is a vulnerability in today's hectic geopolitical environment. We must ask ourselves a simple but crucial question: how do we defend Europe in a world that demands unity and strategic clarity? Europe needs the creation of a European army placed under the European Security Council. A European army that does not replace national forces but brings them together. An army with a common command, shared capabilities and clear political direction. This is a long process and for this reason we must begin now.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the war we are witnessing today is not a technological revolution; it is a structural one. Drones have transformed the battlefield into a permanent zone of exposure, where movement, logistics and even survival are constantly contested. But one lesson from Ukraine is clear: drones do not replace traditional military capabilities; they reshape them. Drones are powerful force multipliers for artillery, air defence, armour or MAS. At the same time, we must be aware that over-reliance on drones without the resilience of traditional military capabilities creates dangerous vulnerabilities. This is where Europe must act – not by chasing individual technologies, but by building integrated systems, by ensuring that European industry sustains potential war efforts. War has changed: scale and cooperation now decide about our survival. Europe must adapt now or we will be defeated in the future.

Madam President! We all know that peace is the foundation of everything. Peace is a prerequisite for the functioning of all social subsystems, be it the economy, health, education, pension system. And long-term peace for our children can only be secured by credible deterrence. Credible deterrence can only be achieved if the right defence capabilities are in place. What is the cost of these real defense capabilities? Nowadays, two percent seems to be too much for some on the left. But let's not forget that during the Cold War, we gave more to defend ourselves, about four percent of GDP, and yet we built extremely robust social systems that helped us establish a high level of our standard of living. Today, our European security depends on our American allies. We need to build our strategic autonomy. Therefore, EDIP is a tool to build a more robust European defence industry and EDIP means together, more efficient and European. And those who oppose a more robust European defence are actually opposed to peace and support Putin.

Mr President. North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan. These are just a few of the countries in the world where the massacres of Christians are taking place. In a way, our mother Europe seems to be deaf to persecuted Christians everywhere in the world. It is not unimportant that as many as 380 million Christians around the world today face various forms of discrimination and persecution because of their religion. In Nigeria alone, 41,000 Christians have been killed in recent years. Freedom of conscience and religion remains one of the fundamental values of the European Union and the least I expect from the European Commission is to finally appoint a special envoy to promote free religion outside the European Union, which has not been there since 2024.

Mr. President! What are the consequences of enlargement for existing members and for new ones? Positive in any case, and it is truly amazing how much time is spent discussing what the consequences will be. Definitely positive. The new members, of course, get additional funds because they can strengthen their development, but the existing members get, above all, new markets where they can sell their excellent products. And economic analyses have shown that after the 2004 enlargement, when ten new members joined the European Union, existing older members gained the most in net output. So the arguments of the French Member, how France is a net contributor and that this is bad for France, simply do not stand because, thanks to enlargement, France and all the older members have gained above all. More than all new members. Enlargement is positive.

Mr. President! Twenty-one years ago, a major expansion took place, of which Slovenia was a part. And last year, calculations were made on who gained the most from the enlargement of the European Union, taking into account all existing old members, as well as those new ones. And France was among the three countries that gained the most from enlargement. So, I would like to know why you are opposed to something that is good for France because it brings a lot of economic benefits.

Madam President! Do you remember in 2004, 21 years ago, when Slovenia joined the European Union? It was the star of the entrance at the time, developed, modern, advanced. Where is he today? Unfortunately, things are going backwards, and I have to say that Slovenia is becoming a kidnapped country today. Let's just look at the police case. The police were led for two years by an illegally appointed director whose task was to clean up the police, all those who do not agree with the current government. The result is an attack on the opposition, house searches without serious grounds and criminal charges and investigations by the opposition. Things are going on. The Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, which detected irregularities with the Prime Minister, is also under attack. And the third thing: This is followed by a change in the judiciary, which opens the door to politics. Slovenia is becoming a European patient.

Madam President, in today's debate, we are seeing how Russia is mocking and deliberately provoking the EU. Putin is doing so because we are a democracy and because he knows our rules of engagement. Russia knows that NATO aircraft carrying out air policing can only shoot down Russian aeroplanes if NATO aircraft are attacked. The Russians are exploiting our rules of engagement so that they can use their propaganda machine to portray Europe as ineffective and slow. If they want to attack the EU, then they have made a strategic mistake. They have wasted the element of surprise. When the moment of truth comes, Europe will be better prepared for Russian threats.

Dear Vice-President, dear colleagues! Today we have devoted a great deal of time to complaining about how the single market does not work and how powerful the 450 million market is. Yeah, it's true. We need to go to concrete actions, we need more speed. What does concrete action mean? Namely, we promised the so-called 28th regime, where a company established in Slovenia can practically work anywhere in Europe. We are waiting for this to happen. Today we are far from it. A company established in Slovenia has a number of obstacles to operating in Austria, Germany or any other European country. These are the concrete things that the Single Market needs, not just to remove bureaucratic barriers, but to take concrete measures so that businesses can do business. As is the case, for example, with telephones, where the single market is very clear. I can use my phone at home, anywhere else, and I expect the same for businesses.

Madam President. The protests. The right of assembly is the most normal thing in all Western European democratic countries, so it should not even come as a surprise to the Serbian Government. You can distinguish a Democrat from an autocrat very quickly by how he handles the protests themselves. The democrat will resort to dialogue, and the autocrat will resort to violence. If anything, I've been worried about President Vučić's nervousness lately. Recently, he even afforded to accuse Slovenia and Croatia of pacts against Serbia, on a completely innocent basis, because Slovenia and Croatia are allies in NATO and in the European Union. I think it conveys a lot. And that is why we in this house must also send a clear message to the protesters that we are on their side and on their democratic right.

Madam President, dear Commissioners, dear colleagues, it seems that we are waiting for the war in Ukraine to end on its own, or for President Trump or the Pope to bring it to an end. None of this has happened. The war will end when Putin realises that he has nothing to gain on the battlefield. That is the reason for our unwavering support for Ukraine. Our support for Ukraine is the path towards peace. History teaches us a clear lesson: an aggressor does not stop by choice, but only when confronted with limits. The unity of this House is more important today than ever. Europe is stronger when we stand together. Our response must be clear. Putin will not stop on his own. Only together we can stop it.

Madam President. Dear colleagues! It has been a year since Mr Draghi poured us pure wine, what the European Union and all of us need to do in order to continue to be a relevant player in the international arena and to continue to be an economic and economic power. It's been a year since then. Let's ask ourselves what really happened this year. Mr Draghi recently performed again in Italy in Rimini, where he poured pure wine again. Time is running out, time is running out. Somehow you will have to stop talking a lot and do a lot more work. It is the duty of all of us, of this House here, of the European Commission and also of the Member States of the European Union. Because if we just keep talking, not working, then we're just going to be a tourist zone for China and America.

Madam President! Commissioner! Colleagues! I come from Slovenia, which in the past was the victim of violent and extensive wildfires. In Slovenia, more than half of the area is made up of forests, so fires in inaccessible areas are practically a constant, constant threat. I am also a volunteer firefighter. Slovenia, which has a population of two million, has 165,000 volunteer firefighters, 50,000 of whom are operational firefighters. I am saying this because I want to emphasise that for effective firefighting we need a sufficient number of firefighters, as well as the appropriate technique. And it is firefighters who play a key role, especially volunteer firefighters, who are crucial for resilience to natural and human-induced natural disasters. They are the first to respond. They're the ones who know the area. I firmly believe that a genuine union of readiness cannot exist without clear recognition of this human capital. The European Union should also financially encourage volunteer firefighters and, above all, immediately eliminate all bureaucratic obstacles to volunteering. People who make themselves available also need the right technique. In recent years, Slovenia has strengthened its air component in firefighting. It is the air forces that can make a significant contribution to extinguishing fires in inaccessible areas. I expect the European Union to increase the range of available techniques that members could share.

Madam President, Madam Commissioner, dear colleagues, North Macedonia has been an EU candidate since 2005, with 20 years of efforts towards membership. During this time, the country has demonstrated real dedication, enacted many important reforms and moved closer to the EU. Yet we must be clear – enlargement must remain a merit-based process. Countries that deliver results and respect democratic values should get a clear and fair EU response. The next step is to adopt the constitutional changes requested by the EU Council in July 2022, including the formal recognition of the Bulgarian community. I call on all political parties in North Macedonia to engage constructively in this process. This step is not just a technical one; it reflects the European principles of inclusion, respect for diversity and minority rights. Let me also stress that bilateral issues should not block the start of the negotiation process, especially since Member States have the final say. Enlargement is one of the EU's strongest strategic tools. Let us not undermine it because of a historical disagreement. We must focus on the present and find a way forward. At the same time, we should not forget that enlargement is not simply a political priority – it is a strategic choice. It delivers economic benefits both for existing Member States and for new ones. Therefore, advancing North Macedonia's EU integration is not only in the interest of the country itself, but also in the interest of the European Union as a whole. I cross my fingers that we will have soon North Macedonia as a full member of the European Union.

Dear Commissioner, Vice-President, dear colleagues. In Slovenia, we have some folk wisdom that holds true, even in the field of defence and security. Namely: together we are stronger and the group is as strong as the weakest link. NATO is a defence alliance that offers collective security to all countries, and collective security has always been cheaper and more powerful than the security that each Member State provides for itself. But collective security only works if each member of the Alliance fulfills their homework. Only if the commitments are fulfilled can we count on the realisation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. And that's why we can count on all NATO members to come along in the event of an attack. Or, as US President Bush once said in Vilnius, any attack on Lithuania would be considered an attack on the United States. For smaller countries, such as Slovenia, this is a key guarantee. Assurance that we will not be alone in the event of aggression and terrorist attacks.