Speeches

Madam President, Commissioner, honourable Members, Ukraine has chosen the path of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. But what does it get in response? It faces aggression from a regime that recognises only tyranny and violence. Russia must understand that its actions have consequences. Our unwavering support for Ukraine is not just a moral obligation; it's a clear statement that no dictatorship or invader will succeed in overturning the will of a free people. The growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea presents a new threat to global stability. North Korea has deployed 11 000 troops to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine, but what it will get in return is even more alarming. The dark alliance of autocracies should compel us to act decisively. This crisis underscores the necessity for European strategic autonomy. We must be capable of defending ourselves through our own strength. By building a robust European defence infrastructure, we ensure that our Union can stand firm against any aggression – united, resilient and self-reliant.

Mr President, the European Union is a global leader in setting high standards with the aim of ensuring quality and protecting our consumers. 'Made in the EU' is not just a label; it's an unmatched guarantee of quality and safety. Yet we allow unreasonably cheap, low-quality, sometimes even dangerous, products to flood our markets, undercutting our industries. This must change. We need stronger enforcement of anti-dumping measures to defend the integrity of our single market. The European Commission has made recent strides, improving trade defence instruments by over 40 % to allow faster investigations and duties on unfair imports. But more action and especially enforcement of the existing rules is needed. Take my own country, Bulgaria. As the EU's sixth largest exporter of electric bikes, our manufacturers face competition from cheap, lower quality imports from non-EU countries. These imports threaten to destabilise the growing sector. Robust enforcement, like recent EU actions against Chinese e-bikes, is essential to protect jobs, innovation and fair competition across Europe.

Madam President, organised crime is one of the most serious threats to the internal security of the European Union, but this threat does not remain locked within national borders. It often extends to neighbouring countries and to the wider European Union, undermining security, destabilising institutions and undermining public trust. Unfortunately, there are cases in which it is also rooted in various sectors of the economy. I come from a country, an external border of the European Union, Bulgaria, which also plays the role of a gateway to the European Union, which in turn makes it vulnerable to transnational organized crime, the impact of which is felt throughout the Union - from drug smuggling and human trafficking. The fight against organised crime is therefore not just a national issue, but a pan-European one. It is essential to cut off the financing of organised crime. For 2023 alone, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has frozen a billion and a half euros. There are approximately 2,200 ongoing investigations, of which more than 10% are related to organised crime. That is why our parliamentary group has tabled a proposal to increase the budget of the European Public Prosecutor's Office by EUR 30 million, so that we can ensure that it functions even better. I hope that the other parliamentary groups and the Commission will agree to increase the budget of the European Public Prosecutor's Office in order to fight organised crime more effectively.