What Veronika spoke about.

6 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Effective measures to protect and empower children in the digital world (debate)

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Madam President, dear Vice President, dear colleagues, 'Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love.' These were the words of an AI chatbot towards a 14-year-old Sewell Setzer, who took his own life a few seconds later. 'I know your mum saw the last one, but you need to seriously think about this... I love you.' And these were the words of a sexual offender towards a 14-year-old girl that …

5 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Protecting patients from illegal and falsified medicines sold online: strengthening enforcement and cross-border cooperation (debate)

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Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, rat poison, wall paint or cement – all of these things can be contained in fake medicines that are sold online. You think you're buying a food supplement and actually you're swallowing poison. You think you're getting relief from pain and actually you're getting a death sentence. Are you kidding me? This is not an accident, it's an illegal business…

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

The recent hybrid attacks and instrumentalisation of migrants in Ceuta and the need for a coordinated response to protect EU’s external borders (debate)

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Madam President, colleagues, sometimes we only need to look at our own families, at where our grandparents and parents come from, to realise what migration is and that it is a part of our lives. Ceuta was a tragedy. More than 140 people died. So, my solidarity is also with the people of Ceuta, who faced fear, unprecedented situations and unimaginable scenes. However, turning migration into a polit…

17 Jun

2026

EN Answer

Protecting children’s safety and mental health from the risks posed by social media – our duty to act now (debate)

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I didn't hear it from the beginning, but I guess you're suggesting that there are seven genders that are responsible for something. I mean, dear colleague, it's just pure nonsense. It's just pure nonsense. We're talking about the safety of children and you bring this up. How is this relevant? Do you want a safer internet for kids? Do you want it, or do you want to talk about bullshit? Is that what…

17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Protecting children’s safety and mental health from the risks posed by social media – our duty to act now (debate)

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Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, today I'm not going to speak to children or parents or policymakers. Why? Because I'm tired. I'm tired of asking the same question all over again: Are our children really safe online? So instead, today I will speak to those who benefit from this. To Mr Zuckerberg, how hypocritical is it that you spend a fortune protecting your own privacy and se…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

The need for targeted criminal provisions and platforms’ responsibility to effectively address cyberbullying and online harassment (debate)

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Madam President, they bully and they are bullied: one in six teenagers experiences online bullying. This is the reality of the internet that we know today. I often hear that the internet is a free space. Well, it is not. It is a space where algorithms reward hate: the more you attack someone, the more likes you get. Group chats where men encourage one another to drug and assault women and exchange…

28 Apr

2026

SK Speech

The Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law report (debate)

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Mr President, the rule of law, such an incomprehensible category. Bad Brussels is always pushing us into something, it's always getting in the way of something. A lot of people are comfortable with this kind of deceptive discussion. And you know why? It diverts attention from what is important. And I very much welcome today's discussion and remind, for example, the Slovak government coalition and …

11 Feb

2026

SK Speech

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

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10 Feb

2026

SK Speech

Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

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20 Jan

2026

EN Speech

Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, when I entered politics, a deepfake video of me was shared online. It was my face plastered on a dancing body clad in a bikini, because how else would you try to hurt a starting female politician? It spread quite fast and, despite our efforts, it's still online. Well, I'm an adult. I am equipped to deal with this, although I don't think I should be. However, imagi…

18 Dec

2025

EN Speech

European Democracy Shield – very large online platform algorithms, foreign interference and the spread of disinformation (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, every day adults in Europe spend around 2 to 3 hours on online platforms, with children almost twice as much. These hours are spent inside systems that decide what information you see, in what order and with what emotional charge. You are shown content designed to shock, scare and keep you hooked. And the systems neglect our well-being, our democracy, our society – and th…

17 Dec

2025

SK Speech

2030 Consumer Agenda (debate)

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Mr President, imagine that we are aware of sexual predators who approach 12-year-old children on social networks, send inappropriate photos, make sexual suggestions to them. We have evidence of this, but we are doing little against it. It's scary, isn't it? META admitted exactly such behaviour during the 2024 court proceedings. She did not consciously protect her children from predators. They didn…

16 Dec

2025

SK Speech

Presentation of the EU Cardiovascular Health Plan (debate)

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25 Nov

2025

SK Speech

Protection of minors online (debate)

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Juliana, Adam, Sewell. These are the names of three young people who are no longer among us in good faith, in search of solutions. They turned to artificial intelligence for their troubles and pains. Maybe many of you know it, maybe many of you use it. However, there is a fundamental difference. Juliana was 13. 13 years old, a child who we ourselves have let into a dangerous world. He is no longer…

21 Oct

2025

EN Speech

Delayed justice and rule of law backsliding in Malta, eight years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, eight years have passed since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. For her sons, this is perhaps one-fifth of their lives. Imagine that – is this how a modern state treats justice and fairness? What message do we send to our citizens when so little follows such a crime? As a former journalist, as a mother and as someone who is passionate about the t…

20 Oct

2025

EN Speech

The decision to impose a fine on Google: defending press and media freedom in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, we often hear grand talk about freedom of speech, usually from the loudest voices claiming they are silenced online – big, fiery speeches with honestly very little substance. The internet isn't a romantic town square; it is a business, built by engineers and driven by profit. Whatever keeps us online wins. If skinny talk keeps teenagers clicking, so be it. If anger k…

9 Oct

2025

SK Speech

World Mental Health Day - addressing the socio-economic factors (debate)

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on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. - (DE) Mr President, on a day when we are celebrating mental health, I want us to move from awareness to action. In our policies, we need to promote a psychosocial, person-centred and recovery-centred approach, an approach where we are not only a passive patient, but also an active partner in treatment. We know that participation in life and a vibrant community reall…

6 Oct

2025

SK Speech

Intergenerational fairness in Europe on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I admit that I do not like to speak to the elderly, because I speak to those for whom age is just a number and who live a rich social life. But I also speak to those who get up from bed hard in the morning, and chronic pain accompanies them every day. I speak to those who see their grandchildren only through screens, but also to those who have never been …

9 Sep

2025

SK Speech

Wave of violence and continuous use of force against protesters in Serbia (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, I want to support and thank everyone who has strongly and peacefully condemned the violence against demonstrators in Serbia. In August this year, the Slovak minority met with a violent and unacceptable reaction in Bács Petrovec and today I want to send a clear message to my compatriots in the north of Serbia, but also to all citizens of Serbia: Students a…

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

Lessons from Budapest Pride: the urgent need for an EU wide anti-discrimination law and defending fundamental rights against right-wing attacks (topical debate)

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Madam President, dear colleagues, I had the honour of being at the Budapest Pride this year and the atmosphere was joyful. It was peaceful, very crowded. It was full of people who want to live and love freely. There were families, young and old. The contrast between the conduct of the Orbán government and the atmosphere at Pride cannot be more striking. The Orbán government – the ruling party – fu…

17 Jun

2025

SK Speech

The Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report (debate)

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Madam President, courts that decide impartially and in a timely manner, where, as a victim, you can invoke justice and also prompt and concrete assistance. Media outlets that freely inform journalists without fear of intimidation and attacks. Politicians who do everything they can to ensure that corruption does not pay off and that responsibility is paid equally to all. And yes, if European taxpay…

17 Jun

2025

SK Speech

Combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast) (debate)

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Madam President, today is the day when we have good news, because we are taking the protection of children from sexual violence a step further, at least here in Parliament. The penalties for predators will be stricter and more accurate. As we have heard, we are also abolishing the limitation period for child sexual abuse offences. Indeed, we know that up to 40% of survivors only deal with this tra…

7 May

2025

SK Speech

The fine against TikTok and the need to strengthen the protection of citizens’ rights on social media platforms (debate)

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Madam President, try to imagine something. You are 11 or 12 years old, the first mobile phone in your hand and a new world will open up to you. Today we are talking about a fine for TikTok, but it is not just about this platform. Our kids spend hours on apps designed by the world's best software engineers. Algorithms track their behavior, goals, target content, create addiction. Huge amounts of da…

5 May

2025

EN Speech

Order of business

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Madam President and dear colleagues, pursuant to Rule 150 and on behalf of the Renew Europe Group, I would like to request the addition of a plenary debate titled 'The fine against TikTok, and the need to strengthen the protection of citizens' rights on social media platforms'. This very suggestion follows the EUR 530 million fine imposed on TikTok by the Irish Data Protection Commission, which wa…

1 Apr

2025

SK Speech

Safeguarding the access to democratic media, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (debate)

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Mr President, "The Free Europe Call Station, run by your friends in a free Western world. Our broadcast aims to provide a permanent and reliable source of information.” This was the first report in 1950 to totalitarian Czechoslovakia, the country where I was born. Today is 2025 and the world looks different. I am not speaking from behind the Iron Curtain, but from behind this desk of the European …