What Elena spoke about.

6 Oct

2026

IT Speech

Question Time (Commission) – Implementation of the Methane Regulation

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Commissioner, you were surprised that many of us asked for the same thing. Yes, the conservative group called for this debate, as did the Populars and as did the Patriots. It was hard to come here and talk about this. And yet, gas is everywhere, it's in our homes, it's in our factories, it's in our cars. I asked a friend who has a Golf, the European car by definition, that the Green Deal is destro…

15 Sep

2026

IT Speech

Defence (joint debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this weekend's family photograph was India, China and Russia together in India. Commissioner Kubilius, you are one of the few Commissioners with a very practical approach and you have reiterated that today. It is neither time for peace nor for war, and it is in crisis. status quo. Then we cannot ask European industry to produce for our security, while with other…

8 Jul

2026

IT Speech

Harnessing the potential of a competitive and sustainable EU Bioeconomy Strategy for EU strategic autonomy (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we must recognise that the strategy of the economy, of the bioeconomy, is a great deal. The Greek word "bio" refers to the cycle of life. I will focus on fuel and its use. If applied with a view to technological neutrality, it must also focus on the issue of fuels. And let's talk about biofuels produced in Europe with European raw materials and European workers …

7 Jul

2026

IT Speech

Urgent measures to strengthen the competitiveness and safeguard quality jobs in the EU’s automotive sector (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, thank you for your clarity, your hardness and your analysis. It is on the recipe that we have differences, because, as you recalled, but I remember, even two years ago, in July 2024, there was a debate here on theautomotive. What's changed? Nothing compared to the Commission’s approach – little, I would say – while the market has significantly d…

17 Jun

2026

IT Speech

Electrification Action Plan (debate)

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17 Jun

2026

IT Speech

Protecting EU citizens’ data from hybrid threats: the Lithuanian case (topical debate)

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20 May

2026

IT Speech

High time to deliver on the Single Market, providing certainty and predictability for EU businesses and quality jobs (continuation of debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in order to have strong companies and quality work, we need a complete manufacturing industry, and the predictability of the rules is the minimum condition for our companies to be able to invest, to grow, to remain in Europe. Instead, too often we have done the opposite: excessive, often incorrect, gold-plating, which we are trying to correct today. On the on…

19 May

2026

IT Speech

EU cybersecurity and preparedness in view of advanced AI systems (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the issue of readiness, of crisis preparedness, certainly touches on the issue of security in the broadest spectrum, there is that of defence, there is that of the economy, there is that of personal security. And today it's all cyber security. Faced with this increasingly complex and hybrid environment, it is important to work on what capacity E…

27 Apr

2026

IT Answer

Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

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I believe, however, that the will of women must be very clear, because otherwise in the debates we return to years and years and years of defense. I don't have so much faith in justice, I don't have so much faith in debates: I have more confidence in the woman's will and in her sensitivity and in her ability, even when she is in a matter of difficulty, to respond, even to respond in a debate. But …

27 Apr

2026

IT Speech

Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, sexual violence against women is a serious crime to be punished with certainty and harshness. To make this crime punishable, without a doubt, it is necessary that, as the Istanbul Convention says, there is a case-by-case assessment. That is, the certainty of the crime must be unassailable in the debate to reach the just and harsh punishment of the rapist. It …

25 Mar

2026

IT Speech

Energy security, independence and supply in the geopolitical context - ensuring market stability and affordable energy for industry and citizens (debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, you have referred to the crises, the energy crises that exist, which are historic; you have also given good advice to governments. But let's think about what we have to do here. Governments get along and have their sovereignty in these choices. But what can the Commission do? Well, he can do a lot. And it is true that in the face of contin…

9 Mar

2026

IT Speech

Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, there is still much to be done in Europe to ensure equal pay for men and women doing the same work. Even in Italy, women employees earn up to 25% less than men. This translates into a pension almost halved compared to that of colleagues. These differences in pay stem from the complex reconciliation of work and family: Women are called upon m…

9 Mar

2026

IT Speech

Upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, if we are to strengthen the European research area, research must be free, open and not ideologically directed. In my writing of the Space Act, as rapporteur, I mainly tried to simplify rules, procedures, bureaucracy, as you also said, and authorisations, to develop a favourable ecosystem in Europe for the whole sector, in this case space. Resea…

20 Jan

2026

IT Speech

Pending approval of the Hungarian national plan for Security Action for Europe (SAFE) funding in light of persistent concerns around the allocation of public funding (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is a little late, but let us repeat it. Article 4(2) of the Treaty on European Union states that the Union shall respect the essential functions of the Member State, in particular national security, which remains the exclusive competence of the State. This applies to all Member States and also to Hungary. But there are double standards in this House. There…

20 Jan

2026

IT Speech

Presentation of the Cybersecurity Act (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, cybersecurity is freedom and autonomy and is therefore a priority, and the Commission has done well to develop this. Cybersecurity Act for important objectives such as ensuring citizens and businesses on essential services today, which depend on and are managed by networks. And the second focus is to be able to strengthen the European supply chain of technolo…

16 Dec

2025

IT Speech

EU Defence Readiness (joint debate)

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25 Nov

2025

IT Speech

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

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let us immediately make it clear that China is our biggest problem in terms of industry and market balance. Their hyper-production capacity, the infinite possibility of supplying very expensive raw materials, the low cost of labour, the unlimited state subsidies and the almost total absence of environmental laws put European productions, compared to China, compl…

25 Nov

2025

IT Speech

European Defence Industry Programme and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products (‘EDIP’) (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are in a time of war and production in the armaments sector in Europe needs to be rethought - that is what EDIP is for. EDIP is fundamental, it is openly aimed at the defence industry and its competitiveness, so we must strive for ever greater European autonomy, it is obvious, but we must not think that this autonomy should or can exclude all…

21 Oct

2025

IT Speech

Changing security landscape and the role of police at the heart of the EU’s internal security strategy (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we have a growing problem of internal security within the EU, in our cities, in our homes. On the one hand, we need a whole-of-society approach to security and defence, as the Niinistö report reminds us: strengthening our military capabilities and rethinking the role of leverage, service, especially for young people, and a broader reserve. On the o…

8 Oct

2025

IT Speech

Establishment and functioning of European Works Councils - effective enforcement (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been inspiring to work as a shadow rapporteur on this important dossier, because works councils can play an important role today. I say this after having managed 350 complex crises in my land of work and having always found the solution with the help of workers. Companies and workers are unique today and the look that must be taken is not that of a rea…

8 Oct

2025

IT Speech

Europe’s automotive future – reversing the ban on the sale of combustion cars in the EU (topical debate)

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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, you have declared the future of the electric car, echoing von der Leyen's words, and someone has also said so. I wonder if you are producers, analysts, experts. You give me the idea of being with the size of the Soviets, with the proposal of the little car electric, the Lada, or battery factories that aren't there yet. Then there is realism and the…

7 Oct

2025

IT Speech

Rising antisemitism in Europe (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, anti-Semitism is growing in Europe. And who is responsible? Those responsible are those who do not condemn the brutal aggression of October 7: families in homes, young people at a concert, children killed, women raped, elderly people beaten. Those who pay for and supply weapons to Hamas are responsible. And those strange NGOs that feed anti-Semitic propaganda…

10 Sep

2025

IT Speech

Serious threats to aviation and maritime transport from Global Navigation Satellite System interference: urgent need to build resilience against spoofing and jamming (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I think it is very appropriate that, apart from the events that are happening today, which means that we are very close to Poland, but it can happen anywhere, we are starting to discuss this issue a few days ago. Space Act. It has a lot to do with security. It has a lot to do with Europe's sovereignty in the management of its own data and contro…

8 Jul

2025

IT Speech

Need for the EU to scale up clean technologies (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, clean technologies are Europe's heritage. The cultural approach to respect for the environment is European – certainly more so than other nations in the world – but what we risk today is being out of the market. We need to return to a pragmatic approach and a principled approach to technological neutrality. It is written in our treaties, it is not …

17 Jun

2025

IT Speech

Situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Israel has the courage to do what Europe does not have the courage to do. Israel has the courage to defend itself when it is under attack. We cannot forget that on 7 October 1,400 victims were civilians, children, the elderly in their homes, at a concert, and 250 abducted, including 30 children. Israel has the courage to react and defend itself. It is under a…