Speeches

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I confess that I do not understand very well the need to talk here about defence against foreign interference. After all, the European Union is indeed a world champion in foreign interference. Look at all the resolutions that have been passed here on Moldova, where we are pouring money just to support the administration of the current head of state. Look at all the texts we have recently adopted on Georgia, where, on the contrary, we are annoyed that the current government wants to defend itself against foreign interference. Remember the recent resolution on Venezuela, or just remember that tomorrow we will be voting here on a text meddling in China's internal affairs. Instead of censorship, let's focus on transparency and comprehensive regulation of algorithms on social networks, while putting an end to our own interference in the affairs of other states and spending more time here dealing with crises with rising costs of life and housing or the crisis of industry and agriculture that we have inside the European Union. And if we spent as much time on them as we do on the various resolutions, maybe it would really help the citizens.

Madam President, colleagues, two weeks ago, we were dealing with the automotive industry here. Today we are dealing with the steel industry, which is strategic for the entire European Union. And why are we dealing with him? Not because of cheap imports. This is only part of the problem, because here this Parliament has passed legislation that is desperately damaging the steel industry, and has been silent when the steel industry has been screaming. If you want to take more action plans, hold conferences, take pictures with anyone, do it. But besides that, you have to do a single, immediate revision and suspension of the ETS, a reduction in the price of emission allowances, because steel, that is energy, and European steelmakers will never be competitive unless they have cheap energy. And at the same time, you have to start talking about how to get the industry back on track. Not by the Commission determining who can buy what, which Indian can buy which European industry, but by the industry being ours and valued by Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, toys for toddlers that break easily into small pieces that are at risk of inhalation, gas alarms that do not work or toys and cosmetics containing dangerous chemicals - in short, products that endanger consumers and are prohibited from being manufactured and sold in the European Union. But until now, e-shops have been able to skirt our rules and manufacturers from outside the European Union have also skirted them. These health and life-threatening products, which often target children, continue to flood the European market thanks to e-shops and the low cost of producing them. I will be glad if we finally remove this loophole, once and for all. Online platforms must also be responsible for the products they offer on their websites. Their downloading must have clear rules. Information systems must be better prepared and the penalties for selling them must be considerably higher than they have been up to now. I am glad that, at least here, things are going in the right direction with the new rules.

Mr President, colleagues, the year has come to an end, and once again we have a debate on World Mental Health Day. Again, it's full of optimistic plans and challenges, what needs to be done. I'm afraid, like every year, there won't be much of it. How is it possible to deliver on these ambitious plans when we are constantly reducing the amount of European funding spent on health? For the last time, we preferred to send this money for a senseless war in Ukraine. President-elect von der Leyen’s actions in relation to the strange election of the Commissioner-designate for Health and the definition of his mission are rather embarrassing. So I ask: What do we want to reform, colleagues, when the current political leadership of the Commission has neither the money nor the will to do so? I am very sceptical about the Commission's current plans and activities in this area. He is constantly doing the opposite of what he is talking about here and what he writes in his ambitious plans.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have heard a lot here today. The automotive crisis, Euro 6 reform, reform of internal combustion engines and CO2, both AFIR and Euro 7. Colleagues, it was not only the Socialists, the Greens and the Left who approved of this. These were the European right-wing politicians who, together with the Commission, tried to make these regulations apply here. We were already warning at that time that the only thing that would mean would be the liquidation of the European car industry. You laughed at us then. Many of your colleagues do not sit here today and bear no responsibility for the decision, do they? We have caused huge potential unemployment, we have caused the destruction of other industries. And if someone said today that employees should not be the victims of managers, then European industry must not be the victims of bad decisions by the European Parliament. Take an example of this. The only thing that will help now is the immediate deregulation of the sector and the revision clause, which we will speed up so that we can make the change and examine conscience.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been exactly one year since the flags of a regime that has occupied the territory of Palestine for decades were hoisted at the European Parliament, without anyone asking us Members. Since then, we have witnessed disgusting war crimes in the war Israel is waging primarily against Palestinian civilians, and Israeli attacks on the territories of Syria, Iran and Lebanon. For every such crime, the EU pretended not to see it. The unbridled support of Israel from our elites has resulted in 12,000 dead children, over 700 under the age of one, and an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The joint EU statement calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been vetoed by immoral individuals from the government of the Czech Republic who enjoy every human suffering and who make my country an outrageous disgrace. Let's call for a ceasefire, at least. Let's not participate in another crime. Let us not allow Lebanon to become another Gaza. Let us stop supplying arms to Israel and force it to end the genocide it is committing in Gaza. You have a chance to show that your lofty words about human rights are not just empty bullshit.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, what has happened in my country in recent days is a disaster. The floods have hit us and our citizens very hard and continue to suffocate the already impoverished country by the government of the current liberal-right government. People have died and the country has suffered massive infrastructure damage in the tens of billions. We will need all the help we can get, and one of the few common instruments that makes sense in Europe is the Solidarity Fund. The European Union has the last chance to show citizens in the Czech Republic and elsewhere that it is not here to finance senseless wars, purchase weapons and support non-profit organizations that further aggravate the situation, but that it is here primarily to help in the difficult moments that citizens are experiencing in these countries today. Colleagues and Commissioner, when voting on the disbursement of aid, please consider that who pays quickly pays twice. Billions on paper that do not reach people directly and quickly will not restore their devastated homes. Finally, let me thank all the rescue services of the Czech Republic. They did an incredible job, and without them, there would have been so much more of the dead and the destroyed infrastructure. Thank you, firefighters, policemen, paramedics! We couldn't have done it this weekend without you!

Madam President, Commissioner, it is twenty years since the biggest enlargement of the European Union in history by ten countries, including the Czech Republic. And today we can hear calls from the Commission for further enlargement and for the reforms needed for this enlargement, which is the word for depriving Member States of their powers. There is no need for enlargement, and there is no need for reforms such as the abolition of unanimity. Does anyone here feel that the Union, at its current size, is working as it should? We are suffocating our own industry with green madness, and a new one is leaving for the United States, to which the EU is unable to respond. The EU is unable to detain migrants at the border and return them home. By supplying weapons, we are perpetuating the conflict in Ukraine, which is destroying us economically. Corruption reaches to the highest levels, and Mrs von der Leyen herself is secretly colluding with Pfizer about the purchase of vaccines, which is then paid for by the Member States. No, the EU is certainly not ready for enlargement, and federalization plans to abolish the right of veto must be rejected. Get your head together, get your house in order, and then we'll talk about who else can come. But as long as we don't have order at home, we don't have the right to tell our citizens that we want something more. We're here for them, not to make air locks.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the most problematic part is the patent protection period, where we went up to seven and a half years. Combined with bonuses even up to eight and a half. There is no rational reason for this. What's the point of an overpriced patent-protected drug that no one can afford? On the contrary, I am very pleased that my amendment introducing the possibility for Member States to ask the Commission to purchase a medicine in bulk has been included in the text. Only if we join forces and buy together will we lower the price, buy more of these drugs and provide them to more patients. But let us not do it in the style shown us by the head of the Commission. We all have to take our hands off this and learn from it. Among the things that I consider to be a big mistake are portable vouchers, which create room for financial speculation, and above all the possibility for Member States to introduce an exclusively electronic leaflet for medicines. I think this option will greatly harm the older generation and is potentially dangerous to health. I wish future Members to make the proposal even better, to improve it and to preserve all the good that we have got into it.

Mr President, Commissioner, I would like the next President or President of the European Commission not to be once again a figure driven by a fierce desire to be first in something and to go down in history, whether it is good regulation or bad regulation. But if she becomes once again a person like the current President, then I firmly hope that the next European Parliament will not be forced to reach an agreement at all costs just to accommodate such a person. When setting the rules for artificial intelligence, there was the potential to do something positive. Definitely prohibit biometric surveillance of citizens or ensure the safe use of these technologies. However, this did not happen. Biometric tracking is allowed by the current text, and the profits of the richest have triumphed over security. I reject such a text, because it is better to be second than to send a signal to the world that spying on citizens and endangering health is okay.

Madam President, Commissioner, especially the rapporteur, thank you very much for your work, because I think it is largely the result of your commitment that we have the text together today. I am glad that, after years of being ignored by the European Union in the area of housing, tomorrow we will vote on a proposal for a regulation by regulating at least what data online short-term rental platforms, such as Airbnb, have to share with cities. It is no secret that short-term rentals often lead to rising housing prices and deteriorating quality of life in cities. According to the regulation, platforms will have to share detailed data about the apartments offered through them and will be responsible for their completeness and accuracy. The regulation will also facilitate the fight against illegally offered apartments. However, it is up to the Member States and cities themselves to make use of this regulation. It is up to them to establish authorisation schemes and to request data from platforms. And I firmly hope that the Czech Republic will take full advantage of this, because even the current lack of regulation of short-term rentals contributes to the fact that Prague is the most expensive city to live in in the entire European Union. There will be an opportunity to do something about the housing market, so use it and stop just throwing people who are looking for housing, sticking their feet with reluctance or fear of the anger of platforms and speculators and preventing them from having a chance to live decently. I also strongly hope that the future European Commission will become more active in the area of housing. The problem of inaccessible housing affects the whole of Europe, and action must be taken clearly to ensure that everyone has the right to decent housing and that cities are a place to live.

Mr President, thank you to the Commissioner for answering this important question. Nevertheless, I would like to describe the situation of teachers in the Czech Republic, because it is alarming. Teachers' salaries are not dignified, despite the government's pre-election promises to raise them to 150% of the average salary. However, after the election of the teacher, the government threw overboard. Investment in education, unlike in arms, is almost non-increasing and, thanks to high inflation, will remain lower than in the previous year. Non-teaching workers such as cooks, cleaners or janitors are not affected by salary increases at all. Despite reason, the Minister of Education has decided to cap the number of teachers in a senseless effort to prevent a reduction in the number of students per teacher, thus significantly jeopardising the quality of teaching. Despite the strikes by education workers, Prime Minister Fiala said in his arrogance that the strikes were unjustified. I will be glad if the situation finally begins to be resolved. The Commission will stop cutting and we will realise that the education of our children is our future.

Mr President, let me inform you about the situation at the Liberty Ostrava smelter, which has been out of operation since December. The steel producer directly employs six thousand people and indirectly provides work for tens of thousands. The company is devoured by financial problems caused by the implementation of the nonsensical Green Deal, expensive energy and the competition resulting from the botched sale of the Commission-sanctioned steelworks, which put Liberty Ostrava's direct competitors in the hands of its main and only energy supplier. Years ago, when GFG bought the Ostrava smelter from the ArcelorMittal concern, a number of experts warned that removing the only energy supplier Tameh and leaving it in the hands of the original owner is a very bad idea that will threaten the future of the Czech smelter. Nevertheless, the Commission approved the sale. Today, the worst-case scenarios have been fulfilled and the energy for supplying the Czech steelworks has become the main tool of the competitive struggle of the two competing groups. There was an employee in the middle. And I'm asking: How does the Commission intend to address this situation for which it is responsible?

Mr President, housing in Europe has long been overlooked by the problem that urban dwellers, and especially young people, are now suffering. The clearest example is Prague, where, thanks to the neglect of the problem, the hate campaign and the cowardice of some representatives, who were more interested in their personal PR than their citizens, is now the most expensive housing in the Union. In the capital of the Czech Republic, an apartment of 75 square meters will now be available for more than 25 annual salaries. I therefore call on the Commission not to put its head back in the sand and to do what it can, and not only to help young people. In the past, the European Parliament has called for higher funding for social housing, allowing data to be shared on the situation in individual cities, fighting speculation and banning forced evictions. However, the Commission has so far only made progress in regulating short-term rentals. That is why, even now, I ask you not only in the Commission, but also in the Czech Republic and in all cities, to finally start resolving the situation. Housing is a fundamental human right, not a commodity or a privilege.

Madam President, Commissioner, for several years now, in this institution, we have been wondering how to return pollinators to nature. But I am afraid that we will fail again with the atmosphere that reigns here today. In the meantime, some aggressive invasive species, such as the Asian hornet, have been added to the classic threats such as pesticides and diseases. In the last few months, she's even come to my country. It is quite clear that if we want to sustain life as we know it today, we cannot do without comprehensive protection for pollinators. But it cannot only lead through blindly defending further phasing out pesticides and setting unrealistic targets that further threaten our food self-sufficiency. Yes, colleagues, I am talking about what happened here today with the regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. For so long, some have been pushing the saw with other unrealistic targets, the whole thing has fallen under the table. Innocent victims are our pollinators, to whom this fanaticism has rather aggravated. Next time, it would require more moderation and reason.

Mr President, nineteen years ago, my country joined the European Union and was thus one of the first states to join after the adoption of the Copenhagen criteria. The Czech Republic had to fulfil these criteria concerning, inter alia, the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for the rights of national minorities before its adoption. After 30 years of existence, all countries interested in joining the European Union are required to fulfil them. And it's the right thing to do. We certainly would not want to accept a country that violates the rights of minorities or a country where corruption strangles all the principles of the rule of law and destroys people's lives. At present, however, we are constantly hearing that Ukraine, which is one of the most corrupt states in Europe, where the rights of national minorities are fundamentally violated and where the opposition faces persecution, belongs to the European Union. I would therefore like to remind you, as a citizen of a state that has met the Copenhagen criteria, that there is no accelerated way to join the European Union and that no state that has not met these criteria before is definitely not part of the European Union. Unrealistic promises are useless.

Mr President, it has been just over two weeks since we voted on the new Euro 7 emission standard, which has finally passed through Parliament in a relaxed form. And now we are voting on another emission standard, this time for new heavy-duty vehicles, and this time the report from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety is even more devastating than the Commission's original proposal. Not only are we destroying industry by tightening emission standards, but in our green blindness some colleagues may not have noticed that we can harm the environment by approving this report. Requiring heavy-duty urban buses to be fully zero-emission from 2030 can actually worsen the accessibility and quality of public transport, as cities in Europe simply do not have the charging infrastructure ready for it. If we really care about the environment, we need to make public transport more attractive, not cripple it. People need to get to work or school and then back home. I hope common sense wins and this liquidation policy is rejected.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, like other countries in Europe, the Czech Republic suffers from a shortage of health professionals. According to the minister, up to 3,000 nurses and 1,000 doctors are currently missing. Poor working conditions, also caused by long overtime, deter potential new health workers, while health schools suffer from insufficient finances and capacities. The voluntary nature of overtime is often rather declaratory, as the maintenance of the Czech healthcare system simply depends on it. Instead of a systemic solution, however, the Czech government coalition came up with a proposal to extend overtime. I am glad that healthcare workers have opposed anti-social pseudo-solutions and a large number of them have refused to work extended overtime. The Minister of Health was forced out of his original intention to resign. Here again, I agree with the paramedics that it is not possible to make only cosmetic changes or return to the old dysfunctional tracks. Health workers, like all workers, deserve decent wages and conditions, no 24-hour shifts. Schools need sufficient funding. Health workers are people, and people are not machines. So let's not treat them that way either in the Czech Republic or elsewhere in Europe.

Madam President, colleagues, Commissioner, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that mental health is as important as physical health. That is why we urgently need a new strategy and changes in legislation, especially towards emerging technologies such as the use of AI or teleworking. And also burnout syndrome, which we have probably all experienced here, should be recognized by our laws as an occupational disease, because it often has the same and worse consequences on health than the diseases and injuries that we already recognize today. However, the best legislation will not solve the reasons why employees' mental health is constantly deteriorating. These are, above all, the existential insecurity of the employees, the dissatisfaction that they are not getting paid as much as they would need to cover their costs, and the forced participation in the rat capitalist race for life. Until we solve the fact that in order to provide for his family, a worker has to chain work contracts or, as a self-employed person, take on too many jobs to make a living, everything will remain as it is. Let's pay people enough so that they and their families can live a dignified life without having to work 16 hours a day. Otherwise, the problem simply cannot be solved.

Mr President, Commissioner, it has been more than a year and a half since the European Union imposed extensive sanctions on the Russian Federation following the events in Ukraine. This is also why Europe is going through an energy crisis. With record-high inflation, many households in Europe have seen a huge drop in living standards, while energy companies have enjoyed record earnings. We replace our dependence on Russia with dependence on Azerbaijan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We really did that. On the other hand, despite the proclamations that we have heard here that Russia will be on its knees in a few weeks and all will collapse, Europe has not succeeded in isolating Russia from trade with third countries, and through these third countries, Europe is constantly acquiring Russian goods. The only ones whose lives are de facto complicated by sanctions are civilians. Therefore, if the sole aim of the sanctions was not to worsen the standard of living of European and Russian civilians, then there can be no doubt that no sanctions are an effective solution. Only dialogue can resolve the conflict in Ukraine. So if the EU is really about ending the war and not whipping its own citizens, it must use its mighty influence to demand a peaceful end to the fighting.

Madam President, freedom of speech and of the press, free and fair elections, these principles seem to have become a hindrance to the European Commission when it found that in democratic elections people can opt for a different direction of their country than they would like. This was demonstrated in the elections in Slovakia, when the Commission forced social networks to censor more severely so-called Russian propaganda, which can only be explained as an attempt to prevent the victory of the SMER party. A party that speaks openly about peace at a time when the Union rages frantically with weapons. Social networks are already severely restricting freedom of speech. However, the Commission clearly believes that digital oligarchs still allow us to express ourselves too openly. It also turned out that the Commission did not intend to limit itself to elections when it began enforcing social media censorship of posts that did not correspond to Israel's view of the events in Gaza. I urge the Commission to immediately stop its attempts at stricter censorship, otherwise next year's elections to the European Parliament will not be considered fair either. If the Commission intends to continue this practice in the future, I believe that, as in Slovakia, European voters will resist the pressure and will not let those who try to silence us win.

Mr President, Commissioner, although I congratulate the rapporteur on the agreement reached, I must also express my disappointment. It must be recognised that this will include important consumer rights in the horizontally applicable Consumer Rights Directive. I also welcome the fact that we have changed the text from full harmonisation to minimum harmonisation, which will allow Member States not only to preserve pre-existing consumer rights, but also to introduce others. But there was room for much more in the negotiations. We must admit that the Council has accepted almost none of the demands of the European Parliament. This applies in particular to texts relating to so-called review clauses and sanctions clauses. My group would also prefer stricter regulation of advertising for financial services, especially with regard to influencers advertising online. I do not have to explain here that the role of these influencers in investment advice is growing from year to year. They have no responsibility, but no responsibility. That is why we have recently witnessed a number of scandals, especially in the area of investing in cryptocurrencies. And that has to change as quickly as possible. Therefore, the text of the Directive is very disappointing in this respect. In short, the minimum has been reached and we have missed the opportunity to better protect consumers.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I ask: What, apart from the debate, has actually been done to ensure that our citizens have access to even basic medicines? The Commission’s position on this has emerged when its President was not even worth mentioning in her State of the Union address. Allow me to replace you, Madam President. The situation regarding the shortage of drugs in virtually all drug groups today is absolutely tragic. Today, people are afraid to get sick in Europe. What has been done to bring API and generic manufacturers back to the EU, which the Commission famously announced three years ago? Three years ago! Is there money available at national level or at EU level? Well, they haven't. It just stayed with the flight plans. Promises, promises and people suffer. After all, I do not have to go far, just remember the comedy with the introduction of the pharmaceutical package. You can find money for guns whenever the gun sector needs it, but, Commissioner, this is what the citizens will add up for you in the elections. But what's worse? Because of this, citizens simply suffer in Europe because of your incompetence.

Mr President, I have heard many times in this room, but also from other European and national leaders, that protecting the environment and nature is a priority for the Union and also for its Member States. Sure, such words are certainly well listened to, but let's look outside this hall at what the real reality in the European Union is, as the case from the Czech Republic now proves, where the so-called protection of nature must in practice give way to the interests of the military-industrial complex due to the crazy policy of militarization. The Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic presented its intention to build a military logistics center in Mošnov. However, the construction of such a centre and associated infrastructure would seriously disrupt the Poodří Protected Landscape Area, which is also a significant European site, and would negatively affect the birds living in the area, without adequate compensation. Colleagues, just because it's an army, please don't shut up when it's destroying what you're trying to protect here and what you're investing money in.

Mr President, I am very happy for any proposal that can really help regions and local producers, and I therefore welcome the fact that artisanal and industrial products can also enjoy the same protection against copying as agricultural products, food, wine and spirits. Such protection can in turn lead to a strengthening of the competitiveness of traditional industry and crafts in the Union, the creation of new jobs in these spheres, the growth of local economies and a more consistent protection of cultural heritage. However, the protection of geographical indications for industrial and craft products will not only help local producers, but also consumers across Europe, who will be able to be sure that, for example, the glass they buy actually comes from the locality it has in its name and is therefore of sufficient quality. Finally, the conditions between agriculture and industry will be levelled, and glassmakers, jewellery manufacturers, cutters, seamstresses and a large number of other craftsmen will also enjoy GI protection. I am very glad for this suggestion. I hope he can help them all in their business.