What Kateřina spoke about.

21

May

2026

Speeches CS

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The Union’s preparedness for and response to health emergencies: the case of the MV Hondius and the hantavirus warning (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, 30 days. Exactly how much it took the Commission to issue the first coordinated opinion after the first person died on board MV Hondius. Thirty days, during which hundreds of European citizens travelled home without a single quarantine, without clear information, often without protection. Coordination broke down in the bud between the flag state, the port state, the ECDC, the WHO and national authorities. The result was confusion about the conditions of disembarkation in Tenerife and inconsistent quarantine in different Member States. HERA has been in place since 2021. Still, you imported test kits from Argentina. Is that the glorious readiness? Today, the Commission is selling the activation of the Early Warning System to us as a success. And I say: That's a minimum standard, not a reason to celebrate. Success would be to act before the WHO had to draw Brussels' attention to a ship flying the European flag. This crisis turned out relatively well, but only by chance, due to the low transmissibility of the virus. Next time relying on happiness is not enough. And this is the next time we have an Ebola epidemic already spreading in Africa today.

21

May

2026

Speeches CS

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European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Stop destroying videogames’ (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, a situation where you buy a product and after some time, which you are not informed about at the time of purchase, nor can you find out, you suddenly lose access to the product, sounds catastrophic. We would hardly tolerate such a thing, and yet it is a reality in the field of video games. Most video games that require constant Internet access become completely unavailable to the players who have paid for them when the publisher shuts down the servers. Even if the game has single player modeIt becomes unavailable to the players. I completely understand that when a person pays for something, he wants to have access to it, especially if he could not know that after years, months or even weeks, he should be denied access while the money remains in the publisher's pocket. I therefore fully support the citizens' initiative "Stop the Destruction of Video Games" and I hope that the Commission will adopt the same position and finally propose how to protect the rights of players and the cultural heritage that video games are. Video game publishers must ensure that their games remain available in some form even after their server has been shut down. Otherwise, it is simply not possible for them to keep the money for these video games.

18

May

2026

Speeches CS

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Research Fund for Coal and Steel: research programme and multiannual technical and financial guidelines (short presentation)

Mr President, Mr rapporteur, thank you for exactly what you said that it was necessary to specify. We know that a lot of money has actually been wasted on various projects to support regions affected by just the nonsensical cessation of, for example, mining or insane steel measures – that is to say, the closure of steelworks. I am very happy that the conditions will be fixed, that it will be possible. I am also from the Moravian-Silesian Region, that is, not far from you. I am very happy that it will go to regions that will really need the money. But even money will not help us save a Europe of coal and steel unless we realize that we have to cut a lot and change a lot in this legislation. Because even a steelworks that receives money will not be able to compete in any way at the price of an emission allowance or at energy prices. In the Czech Republic, it has even gone so far that hard coal mines, which we desperately need, are being shut down, but they are simply being buried in such a way that they cannot be used in the future. It needs a comprehensive approach and I would like it not only to be about a few measures, but also for the EPP Group to look at legislation on how to do this so that steel and coal are once again the foundation of Europe.

18

May

2026

Speeches CS

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European solidarity: key to securing medicine access in a shifting geopolitical era (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the Commission is presenting us today with an initiative for global health. It sounds noble, but let's see what's behind it. First, the money. Six billion euros. This is not new money, Commissioner, is it? These are just old funds repackaged into a new logo. In addition, in the EU, you are cutting back on health care and sending money for the war in Ukraine, and you obviously don't mind spending money there. Secondly, who benefits from it? The Commission is talking about partnership with the private sector. We know what that means. Pharmaceutical companies will have access to new markets paid for with public money. Same model as for COVID-19 vaccines. Private profits, public risks. Thirdly, this Parliament received a kind of communication from the Commission. Not legislation, not co-decision. We are decorations. Global health is not a geopolitical issue for the European Union or a business for pharmaceutical companies. Until the Commission comes up with a transparent budget without corporate partnerships and a real role for Parliament and stops cutting EU health funding, I simply cannot support this initiative.

18

May

2026

Speeches CS

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Negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market (debate)

Mr President, I am sure this is one small step. But what I am very sorry about is that the Commission does not want to go further. We all know what saving the steel industry is all about. Steel producers pay three to five times higher energy prices in the European Union. Emission allowance prices are constantly rising. You, simply in the Commission, but also here in Parliament, colleagues, are doing everything possible to ensure that there is no steel in the European Union and that our children no longer experience any steel business. What you're doing right now is really just a small step. And if you do not immediately add to it the next big steps that will help the steelmakers, then we will learn about the steel industry only in fairy tales. And it will be your fault, your Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and you, the colleagues who voted for this green, ecological nonsense here. And all you care about is Ukraine. The rapporteur spoke only of the need to save Ukraine's steel industry. Who voted for you? European citizens or Ukrainians? Now get back to your senses!

29

Apr

2026

Speeches CS

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Danger of normalising relations with Russia, including its participation in major cultural and sports events (debate)

Mr President, it really does not stop me from wondering what stupid things we are talking about here with taxpayers' money. Important trade routes are closing. Oil and gas prices are going up, we are in danger of a shortage of fertilizers, and here it is being resolved that Russia should not accidentally be allowed into sports matches or Eurovision, so that there is no threat of normalization of relations with Russia. I don't even want to comment on the fact that none of you who have been yelling for Russia are yelling for the exclusion of the US or Israel from these events. But what do you want? You do not want to normalize relations with Russia so that we continue to be dependent on Washington's resources and mercy. Is the 10th in a row not enough for you? Are you still going to tell the Americans to kick your ass after 11:00? Instead of the danger of Russian athletes and singers and the servility towards Washington, we should say that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a threat to us and the solution lies in the suspension of the association agreement with Israel. An arms embargo on the country and an end to U.S. arms purchases for Ukraine, at least until they abandon their murderous adventures in the Middle East.

29

Apr

2026

Speeches CS

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Topical debate requested by a political group (PfE) (Rule 169) - Commission interference in democratic process and elections (topical debate)

Mr President, under normal circumstances, citizens elect the government of their states, which then proposes the President of the Commission. Unfortunately, the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen clearly does not comply with this normal situation and, on the contrary, is now trying to impose certain political candidates on the citizens of the Member States. Instead of respecting the will expressed in democratic elections, the Commission shows outright hostility towards governments, but also towards some MEPs who dare to defend their national interests. You know, if only words remained, I probably wouldn't have to perform here today, even if that's rude to the citizens. But when some media outlets and non-profits are receiving streams of money to create and promote narratives that suit the Commission, that's a damned bad thing. And then, of course, the threats that if citizens make the wrong choice, the Commission can block them with money from EU funds, as it blocked them in Hungary. I therefore ask that the Commission stop putting the Union on its head and kindly stop interfering in the elections in the Member States, because only the will of the people can give rise to power in a democracy.

28

Apr

2026

Speeches CS

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Joint debate - Discharge 2024 (joint debate)

Mr President, I am very sorry, thank you for the opportunity to speak additionally. Let me thank all my colleagues in the Committee on Public Health for the discussion, which I found quite interesting in that many of us see the mistakes in exactly the same way. However, we also need to thank the agencies for their work. In any case, what we have left and what we should find an answer to – and the Commission does not seem to be trying in any way to find an answer to that – is certainly the unresolved lease of the old EMA building in London, which simply puts an unnecessary burden on EMA’s work and takes money from the budget that we could use in a completely different way. It is clear that this is a long-term issue, and I think that we could also contribute to resolving it through our pressure on the Commission within the European Parliament. We never expected EMA’s mandate to have such a large lease. At the same time, of course, there is the unresolved issue of COVID-19. I think we have a lot to do until next time, but anyway, thank you very much for the discussion and thank you to the agencies for the way they are trying.

25

Mar

2026

Speeches CS

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Implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and risks to the security of supply of medicines (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, the extended producer responsibility scheme shifts the costs of wastewater treatment to the producers of medicines, on the basis that patients exclude medicines. This is a tax on disease, because since we live under fair capitalism, the costs will be passed on to patients. If neither producers nor patients pay for it, municipalities, as owners and founders of wastewater treatment plants, will have to pay for it. Yet the scientific basis of the whole measure is very dubious. The Commission's claim of a 66% share of pharmaceuticals in the toxic load of wastewater is not supported by laboratory data. The European Medicines Agency shall not accept such computer modelling for the evaluation of ecotoxicity. The result? Threat of tsunami of drug outages. Outages of medicines on which lives depend. I therefore ask the Commission: "Stop, put it off. Subsequently, please conduct a proper transparent impact study and ensure that health policy, industrial policy sit at the same table as environmental policy”. Neither patients nor municipalities can pay for systemic failures.

11

Mar

2026

Speeches CS

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Child sexual abuse online: protect children, not perpetrators (topical debate)

10

Mar

2026

Speeches CS

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EU enlargement strategy (debate)

Mr President, the enlargement of the European Union has been a very popular topic in recent years, but honestly, does anyone really want a major enlargement? However, let us look at the relations between the countries of the Union and the candidate countries. With Serbia, as we heard here a moment ago, here some have the problem of not joining all the anti-Russian sanctions. North Macedonia is a problem for some because of its reluctance to dishonor its language. Georgia is being pushed away by the Commission itself because of their ‘brazenness’ to be transparent, and the President of Ukraine is threatening the prime minister of a Member State of the European Union with the military, and the entry of Ukraine would be devastating not only for our farmers. Turkey occupies part of the territory of a member state. We all know that the EU has enough problems of its own, and we have to deal with them first before we think about enlargement. On the other hand, for the Commission and some colleagues, enlargement is a useful battering ram, attacking the right of veto and asking for it to be abolished. Rather, I am asking for respect for the sovereignty of the Member States and for the resolution of our internal crises. There aren't really very few of them.

10

Mar

2026

Speeches CS

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Presentation of the Energy Package (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, the wording on affordable and clean energy for all Europeans sounds strong, but in itself it simply does not guarantee anything at all. How many times have we heard such slogans? Packages, strategies, action plans. And what's going on? Where is the reduction in energy prices for industry and people living in the European Union? Nowhere. Where did you go with the fact that this energy crisis is hitting the low-income strata the most? Because otherwise, energy prices fall on people who are low-income, and otherwise on people who don't really care how much they pay for it. The specific details of the funding are not known. You didn't tell us or imply that today. And this will be very important for whether the poorest in Europe will again pay for it instead of those who are neither tax-free nor additionally tax-free here and just take advantage of what energy prices we have here. And the competitiveness? Commissioner, without cancelling Green Deal or at least reduce it very much and try to cut red tape, so no competitiveness of European industry can ever begin.

10

Mar

2026

Questions CS

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Presentation of the Energy Package (debate)

Do you agree that every country is different? We simply will not make a living in the Czech Republic, even if we have thousands of windmills and thousands of photovoltaic panels. We are an industrial country, we need a stable supply of electricity for our industry, otherwise we will have to close the last steelworks. We have already closed many engineering plants because the energy prices are disproportionate. I would just like to ask: do you, as Germans, also acknowledge, after you send us surpluses and cause blackouts, that just every country is different, and will you let those countries do that, too, so that they have enough energy for their people and for their industry?

9

Mar

2026

Speeches CS

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

11

Feb

2026

Speeches CS

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Rule of law, fundamental rights and misuse of EU funds in Slovakia: the need for an EU response (debate)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I was really looking forward to the debate today because I thought I would learn something. Once again, I have only heard conjectures and I am ashamed of all the colleagues who used the words ‘violation of the rights of national minorities, confiscation of land on the basis of ethnicity, confiscation of property’ here today. Or did you just succumb to propaganda? Or do you just need one fabricated purpose-built lie that you repeat here? This is not the case in Slovakia. I may surprise you, but there is a Constitutional Court in Slovakia. The president returns the laws to their legislature. The police even work there because they're investigating exactly the cases you're talking about. Like, what do you want more of? You just chose Slovakia because Robert Fico allows himself to travel the world, act without having to give him recommendations, and say his opinions because it's good for Slovakia and not for you. And that's why we're dealing with Slovakia again. You are hypocrites. Nothing more, nothing less.

10

Feb

2026

Speeches CS

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Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

10

Feb

2026

Speeches CS

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Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire (debate)

10

Feb

2026

Speeches CS

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Building a stronger European defence in light of an increasingly volatile international environment (debate)

21

Jan

2026

Speeches CS

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Restoring control of migration: returns, visa policy and third-country cooperation (topical debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am really glad that the issue of migration, the improvement of return policy and cooperation with third countries in this area are being addressed here in plenary. I understand that the migration pact also focuses on some of these areas, but I must stress that the migration quotas are clearly aggravating the situation and I consider it necessary for the European Parliament to call for the pact to be abolished and to retain only those parts that really strengthen our control over our borders. At the same time, the European Union needs to focus on finding partners where illegal migrants can be deported if the security situation in the country of origin does not allow them to be returned there. Just as Italy did with Albania and the UK did with Rwanda, so the EU as a whole should find partners for deportation needs. At the same time, let me deny that more opportunities for legal migration would be a solution to the situation. It is impossible to address the reluctance to pay decent wages to domestic workers by importing cheap labour. This is not really a solution to migration. We need strong borders and decent wages at home, not allowing borders to be circumvented to keep undignified wages at home.

19

Jan

2026

Speeches CS

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Framework for strengthening the availability and security of supply of critical medicinal products as well as the availability of, and accessibility of, medicinal products of common interest (debate)

26

Nov

2025

Speeches CS

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Protecting citizens' right to make cash payments and ensuring financial inclusion (debate)

25

Nov

2025

Speeches CS

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Protection of minors online (debate)

25

Nov

2025

Speeches CS

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Effective use of the EU trade and industrial policy to tackle China’s export restrictions (debate)

13

Nov

2025

Speeches CS

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Framework for achieving climate neutrality (A10-0223/2025 - Ondřej Knotek)

Madam President, I am very sorry that I was late, and let me explain, ladies and gentlemen, why I could not vote today in favour of the binding 2040 climate target and why I think the whole vote is wrong. We are talking about competitiveness, we are talking about competitiveness, which we all know Europe is losing every year. It loses not only because it makes commitments that go against physics itself, but also because of huge bureaucracy. And instead of looking at it rationally, giving ourselves the opportunity, for example, in two or three years' time, to re-evaluate whether what we are here, or you have voted here, is really effective, you want to commit yourself here to goals that will only be another problem for Europe's industry, for agriculture and for making people's lives more expensive. I really thought we had learned our lesson, but what was voted on today means that we have not learned our lesson and that, unfortunately, Europe will only get worse.

12

Nov

2025

Speeches CS

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Condemning the illegal unilateral declaration of the secessionist entity created by Türkiye in Cyprus and the continued Turkish military occupation (debate)

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, for 50 years the territory of a Member State of the European Union, Cyprus, has been occupied by a NATO member, Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes due to the Turkish occupation and entire cities had to be abandoned. And despite the European Union's condemnation, the situation in Cyprus is not improving and the end of the occupation and reunification of the country is still not approaching. Instead, the Cypriots have to listen to the talk that Turkey is a member of NATO, and that's why we have to sell it weapons, that we have to coordinate our defense with NATO and therefore with the occupying Turkey. Instead of European politicians dedicating themselves to ending the occupation of their own territory, there is more space for Ukraine. I hereby ask the Commission and the leadership of the Member States to put the issue of ending the occupation of Cyprus at the forefront of diplomatic communication with Turkey, so that people displaced from their homes can return, without the supervision of foreign soldiers, in a free united Cyprus. We don't have answers for the Cypriots. How can we forget them? So let's get up and start dealing with it. This is a state of the European Union and they have the right not to be occupied.