Speeches

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 – fuels division, fear and hate. That is so harmful in today's Europe, and it is so rooted in the past. However, Hungary, in this attitude, is sadly not alone. For example, five EU countries – my home country, Slovakia included – offer no partnership or protection for same‑sex couples. Only 20 out of 27 give any legal status at all. How is this fair? How is this a Union of equality? Tell me, dear colleagues, how is this fair? This is 2025, and the European Union cannot afford to backtrack. That is why I very much resent the withdrawal of the anti-discrimination directive, because equality cannot be treated like a bargaining chip. The European Union must lead not just by defending rights, but by taking action. And the time, dear colleagues, is now.

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 taxpayers contribute to our recovery, for example on roads or hospitals in Slovakia, they have the right to know that this money is being used in a meaningful way. Ladies and gentlemen, these are not noble ideals. This is the absolute basis for a decent functioning of the country. And everything I mention is in the European Parliament's Rule of Law Report. And I want you, as a citizen of any EU country, including Slovakia, to ask yourself whether your current government is acting in this spirit. This is, and should be, the European standard. By the way, which we all agreed to when we joined the Union. And we deserve that standard. And not attacks on the institution or money drowned in dysfunctional hacienda.

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 trauma after years, and most of them are only able to process it in adulthood – often after 50. If something deserves the right to life's justice, it is abuse in childhood. More helplines, more accessible healthcare and AI risks are all in these new rules. And I am glad that I participated in their creation, because I truly believe that this is our role in politics: to act and speak for the benefit of the most vulnerable, for the benefit of those who do not or cannot speak for themselves. I believe that this legislation has succeeded in Parliament. I believe that the Commission is also aware of this, and I hope that the Council that is missing today is also aware of this. 'Cause if we're not in this together, we're gonna let the kids down. None of us can afford that.

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 data are collected. And we in Europe don't even know exactly how many children use these platforms. We lack research and data on what it does to them. This is our role here in the European Parliament: Finding solutions. The good news is that we did not fall asleep a few years ago and we have basic rules in Europe to protect us. And, of course, some big players may not like it. But if the platforms make royal money here, they have to respect our rules. And the protection of children has a special and special place here in Europe, which is why I will say this clearly. I won't give up on this, and I hope you don't either. We need to do everything we can to make the online space safer. We owe it to our children, but also to all users.

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 was last Friday, for storing European users' data on servers in China. Platforms operating in the EU must fully comply with our legislation, and we should reaffirm our commitment to safeguard citizens online. If the agenda does not allow it on Wednesday, we propose it for the debate for the May II plenary session.

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 Parliament. Even though some colleagues might like the iron curtain. I am grateful to be a citizen of the free world. The United States, the long-standing guarantor of our freedom, is facing unprecedented times today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but at the same time I see reality. This debate is not about America, it's about us, it's about taking responsibility for our own destiny and for the society we want to live in. Free, independent information for citizens who do not have access to it is part of this world. It's just that it's no longer enough to be in jail. Successful countries today are those that actively build and strengthen our space. Cooperation, clear foreign policy and common defence. It's 2025 and the world is changing.

If I understand that correctly, Mr. Kaliňák, then communism was propaganda or that we also had communism in Slovakia, is that propaganda? Or should he come back when you say that we are financing ourselves – which I honestly do not understand even in Slovak – that we are financing propaganda mechanisms? Should we go back to the eighty-ninth regime? Is that your idea of what it should look like? Should we go back to a country without free media?

Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, Europe's strength and competitiveness lies not only in increasing defence, but also in strengthening the health care of our citizens. In Slovakia, healthy people live an average of 57 years. In the best country in the Union, it is up to 70. This difference is not just statistics. It is 13 years of full life with family, with children, with grandchildren and grandchildren. It's 13 years in full health that we're missing. One way to redress these inequalities is through a common European approach to faster availability of medicines. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how quickly and unexpectedly we can face critical shortages of medicines, and we cannot afford to depend on supplies from third countries such as China or India. We need to invest in European medicines production capacities, support research and ensure the availability of medicines for all. But we can only do this together. Defence, yes, competitiveness, yes, but the same yes applies to quality healthcare for all citizens of Europe.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, I don't think this crisis is silent. Just days ago, a children's crisis helpline reflected on 30 years of service. It has handled over 10 million interventions. Once, children called about everyday concerns like getting a period. Now, almost every call is about a serious mental health struggle: suicide, self-harm, eating disorders. Distressing cases rise each year. Suicide-related calls are up 23 %. Self-harm calls are up 18 %. Meanwhile, the phones in your hands: just last week I learned how platforms lead teenagers towards harmful content. The best engineers, the most advanced tools, and yet they amplify self-destructive patterns instead of stopping the harm. Three in four YouTube recommendations to young girls searching for diet advice promote extreme, eating disorder or related content. Not so silent this crisis, I say. Prevention, awareness, strong enforcement of the DSA. Let's realise online is not a space where everything goes. This issue is hitting too close to home – even your homes. We can't stay silent.

Jano Kuciak, that's the message I received seven years ago when the news began to spread like fire among my colleagues that one of them had been the victim of a murder. I know exactly what I was doing back then. I know exactly where I was then. Since then, a lot has happened in our country, events that will last for decades. But the important thing today is that John is not here today, and his fiancée Martin is not here either. He's not here because Jano did his job well, exposing abuse of power, injustice, corruption. This is ridiculous and infinitely unfair. I always try to find out how we can learn from all of this. Thanks to one young couple, we found out that in Slovakia there is a very vibrant community of people who care about public affairs, who can freeze in the squares and know that truth and justice are the basis on which not only Slovakia must function. They know that we are together in the Union and that the Union will not let us down if we stand by it. Being a journalist is not and should not be pleasant. Journalists are not meant to like and remain silent. They are not fragile creatures who want more than others. But there is a big difference when the work of journalists is unpleasant in a fair discussion, and something completely different is when, after a difficult investigative work, you get a photo of your children on the way to school. When you read threats every day, when strangers shove into you on the street. Please, let's keep this feeling of distinguishing what is and what is not right. Let us keep our sensitivity to the fate of others and let us keep our sense of the truth. John, Martin, Daphne, we will not forget.

Madam President, as a former journalist, I value the freedom of speech very dearly. And let me be very clear: the DSA and fact‑checking protect this freedom. Fact‑checking flags disinformation and keeps social media open for honest and transparent debate. Are we suppressing opinions? Look around this Chamber. I think every opinion here is well represented on social media and elsewhere. We must act and enforce the DSA to ensure that platforms used by European citizens are transparent, accountable and respectful of our rules. But let me say this: can you see what we are doing? We are merely reacting. And we will surely continue to do so. But reacting is not enough. We must move beyond the reaction mode and stop only responding to what happens in the US or elsewhere. Innovation, research, business and education have never been more important than they are today. Let this be the main lesson of this long, long debate to take from here. I want a future where Europe dares to lead the way. So let's start working on this here together.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, we often think of platforms like TikTok, but not only TikTok as free spaces, as neutral arenas where some bureaucratic rules are imposed. But this simply is not true. These platforms already are controlled ecosystems. Algorithms drive them, as we heard, and dark forces exploit them. Disinformation, foreign interference and large-scale manipulation flourish there. This is where the EU and the EU citizens have power. These networks profit from our use; they must also respect our demand for greater transparency online. Transparency and accountability are not optional. We should not allow for chaos to reign in the digital sphere, because there is no free speech if networks are hijacked by forces we don't understand. Freedom is the power of our citizens and it must thrive in openness, not in the shadows.

Madam President, today's children are facing unprecedented challenges. It was a pandemic that caught many without a safety net and sometimes completely without a safe environment. Not to mention the vast online world, which offers incredible opportunities, but we still do not fully know what tax we are paying for it. Many times we hear, and have heard today, that children are our future. But I always say that children are our present, they are here and now, and not just those who are lucky enough to live in loving families. They have the right, as legitimate citizens, to be protected, to respect, to support. And we politicians often overlook children in politics because they are not a target, they can't vote many times. But it is all the more important to find voices to represent children on this ground, because politics must also be in the interest of those who are vulnerable. Not just the ones who shout the loudest. I say this as a mother of two children, but also as a human being. Modern society knows itself by how it cares for its weakest. Let's not forget it.

Madam President, I cannot believe what I'm hearing in this Chamber, right here in the year 2024. I thought the European Union was supposed to be a union of equality, no? Am I wrong? I'm a new MEP – am I in the wrong Chamber? What is happening? So let me be clear: targeting or silencing minorities does not demonstrate strength, it highlights division and misunderstanding. The recent laws in Bulgaria and Hungary don't help or protect anyone. All they do is spread fear, deepen division and undermine the values we all stand for in Europe. What makes this especially troubling is that these laws often target children. What we need is clear: we need better schools, we need quality healthcare, reliable transport, competitive businesses and communities where people feel safe and included. That's what builds strong societies. That's what builds strong Europe, not targeting those who already feel vulnerable. Our responsibility is to protect fairness, equality and democracy for everyone, because no one should live in fear just because of who they are. And that is our mission here in Parliament.

Mr President, I do not find it easy to talk about women who have experienced violence. It is even difficult to call them heroines, not because they lack courage, but because they did not choose this fate on their own. And few of us can imagine the dilemmas they face. These are the choices they were forced to make. I rarely feel anger, but I feel it when someone tries to take space away from women in difficult situations, when he tries to trivialize what happened to them, their experience. I consider it our task, as politicians, to always speak up in such cases, to constantly educate ourselves. I will not allow and will not allow women to suffer outrageous attacks in public space from people who have no clue how to behave and have missed the opportunity to remain silent. Today, however, I also want to talk about help and the way out. Because the path exists. Whoever needs to hear it today: You're not alone. Confession helps. We listen to you and care about you.

Madam President, thank you very much, good day - and I will start with a personal conviction: young people are neither worse, nor better, nor more radical than others, but today they are confronted with a force that no other generation has faced to such an extent before, namely the online world. If someone thinks things happen by chance, they're wrong. The algorithms of social networks not only create traps for young people to fall easily into, and the Internet has long been not just a free space, but a place where radicalism spreads, where there is room for crime and violence, and our task here is to do everything possible to eliminate these traps. You're not a good company if the content you feed young people is toxic. And this is precisely why we so badly need to respect the Digital Services Act. We really have the tools to make the internet safer, so let's use them. We have a chance now. As a society, we can give young people much more than they receive from us today.

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Commissioner, I was not here seven years ago when Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. But I am here today, and I'm not afraid to say that it is in great part to Daphne and to Ján Kuciak. It is also no coincidence that we are discussing the state of law today, because the state of the rule of law is reflected in how journalists are treated, When they are free to investigate, to report, to speak up, it may be uncomfortable, but it shows that democracy is strong. However, when they are threatened and attacked, we see that democracy is faltering and there's failures in governments. We have seen this in Malta and we have seen this beyond. Let me express my gratitude to the sons of Daphne for continuing her legacy. I really admire your work, wherever you are, because intimidation, SLAPP lawsuits, and similar malicious tactics have no place in a democratic society. Thank you Daphne, thank you, Ján, for your courage. We will not forget and we will not stop.

Mr President, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit us harder than we were willing to admit, and the consequences of the solitude it entails hurt us all. And as a mother, I feel particularly sensitive to the fact that it affects children and young people. We still don't talk about mental health openly enough. We have little focus on prevention. We heard it here today. And it's still a stigma not to be well. Today, I am optimistic. Do you know why? Hope is given to me by the many wise young people who break these taboos and talk about their health, not only physical but also mental. Thank you for that. It's very inspiring and we can all learn from them. I am glad that they are gradually changing their approach to the soul. And we must not slack off. Without mental health, there is no health. The Union is aware of this, young people are aware of it and it is time for the rest of us. I can promise myself that I will do so. So I have a little request for all of you here. Please think of your souls, and not only yours, but others as well. It's worth it.

Mr President, I am following closely those who are destroying the rule of law. Those who disparage female journalists and journalists who try to destroy the media use harsh language and think they are strong leaders. You know what I think? They're not. I have carefully read the report on countries that are lagging behind in upholding the rule of law and its principles. And it is read as an unfulfilled domestic task, as an inability to bring justice to all, because the rule of law is about trust, about the certainty that the rules apply equally to all. In the end, they are both built hospitals and the freedom of all of us. What about politicians who despise this? That's not how I think of strong leaders. Really strong leaders and leaders are not afraid of the media. Thanks to Europe, we have the strength and let us not be convinced of the opposite. Thanks to the Union, we now have tools that protect the rule of law and it is our responsibility to ensure that we make consistent use of them. And the time for that is right now.

Madam President, 'the pandemic hasn't been', 'Europe is dying because of LGBTI'. These untruths are spread not by anonymous trolls on the Internet, but by the highest representatives of the Government of the Slovak Republic. This is not just the case with Slovakia. We hear similar statements all over Europe, and in some cases they even help to win elections. There are words at the beginning of every hate crime. And governments that knowingly spread disinformation are thereby dividing society. There may be short-term political gains from this today, but we as a society will find it very difficult to recover from it in the long run. This Saturday we commemorate the attack on the LGBTI+ bar Tepláreň in Bratislava, where hatred killed two young people. Spreading lies about our LGBTI+ loved ones and friends won't help anyone, but it will hurt many and many. No self-confident company can accept this offer. It is independent journalists who are our first defence against lies. Today, the media across Europe are bravely facing attacks from politicians. And it is our task here, on European soil and in the European Parliament, to promote a media environment that serves truth and facts. A media environment that does not destroy democracy, but helps to defend it. Thank you, Mrs. Jourová, for trying to do this.

Mr President, it is 2024 and 59% of all Europeans are on social media. There is no way that what we consume there is decided outside the European Union and without any consequences. There is no way that women are insulted every day on the Internet for their work. There is no such thing as misleading business practices in the online world. To spread fake news like fire at the expense of facts. Let's not forget that social media is, first and foremost, a business. It's great that we have a space to connect, create and enjoy. And owing to the EU and the DSA, we now have a tool to make this business the way we all want it, to make it fair. The decisions of a single person should not have undue influence, and the power of algorithms cannot be placed above facts. I stand here today to assure you that when it comes to what happens online, we will use the same tactics that the social media companies often use on our citizens – strict ones. But unlike theirs, ours will be fair.