Speeches

From year to year, it is becoming increasingly complex to provide adequate resources for the security of European citizens, as well as for Europe's economic and technological competitiveness. Difficult decisions, and the location of limited resources are particularly evident now in times of war and in times of pronounced strategic turmoil in the global environment. We have a responsibility to ensure that these decisions ultimately provide strong support for the strengthening of the European economy, the development of digital and green technologies, innovation, our entrepreneurs and farmers. Today, after the new victims of terrorist attacks in the centre of Europe, but also the continued pressure we see on our borders, but also what is happening outside, and the most naïve, it must become clear that the security of European citizens requires stronger financial support for border management, for the return of those who do not have the right to asylum, as well as for the fight against terrorism and radicalisation. Clearly, we must also not allow European funds to support the activities of terrorist organisations and the promotion of antisemitism. “I congratulate to our repporteur Siegfried Mureşan for the successful position of the European Parliament and I wish him all the best in the upcoming developments with the Council’ I congratulate our rapporteur, Siegfried Mureșan, for the successful position of the European Parliament, and I wish him all the best in the upcoming developments with the Council.

The Honourable Chair, Honourable Commissioner, Colleagues, we are in a time of heightened geopolitical challenges and strategic conflicts of global actors. If we want to resist this, if we want to maintain the standard of living that Europe has today in such an environment, we need to strengthen our strategic sovereignty in terms of the economy, in terms of technological competitiveness and in terms of security. Stronger public and private investment in critical sectors is essential for the transition to a digital and green technology society. Proposals such as this one, the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, are good steps to accelerate the development of high technologies and digitalisation. Above all, it is crucial that smaller, less developed countries, less developed parts of Europe have real opportunities when it comes to the benefits of STEP. Flexibility, on the one hand, as well as alignment with cohesion policy objectives, is the only way we can also ensure balanced development and encourage investment in strategic sectors across Europe, digital technology, robotics, artificial intelligence and energy. We have a responsibility and we have many opportunities that all our generations in all parts of Europe, as well as all Member States, must feel. To this end, we will have to rely, first of all, on our own knowledge, our own resources and our own agility. The fact is that today we live in a more cruel era than at the beginning of this mandate, in an era in which no one will give us anything, but we will have to fight for everything ourselves.

Dear Chair, Commissioner, colleagues, the budget is always the basis for any European action, in the Member States, in our neighbourhood and beyond. At a time of tectonic changes in a fundamentally changing world, this is more obvious than ever before. We have exhausted the multiannual financial framework, we have exhausted and we do not have the tools at our disposal for any possible future crises. The Commission recognises this. Parliament has recognised this and warned about it for some time. The Ukraine Facility is good, positive and should be welcomed. However, it is clear to all of us here that he is not and will not be enough. In political terms, all our hesitancy will be exploited from both the left and right by different extreme political groups, political groups that want to undermine Europe, political groups that do not understand European policies, but that understand citizens' concerns. The more we hesitate, the less trust citizens will have. Unfortunately, in some parts, this is already happening. Already now, we need stronger financial action on the issue of irregular migration movements, on the issue of maintaining serious ways of financing cohesion policy. It is time to return to common sense policies, it is time to return to financially sustainable policies, it is time for a serious, systematic and thorough revision of the multiannual financial... (Chair took the floor)

Dear Chairwoman, every athlete, every woman deserves equality, deserves deep respect and respect. Women's sport is like men's sport, a life of work, a life of hard work, a life of great renunciation and suffering with the aim of ultimate success: Be the first, be the best, be who you are. But for women, like men, to be able to compete with each other, to be able to win fairly, they must be women, let's say loudly, let's say openly. Throughout history, many have sought an easier path to success through cheating, doping, hormones. Today, ideological experiments imposed by some, trying to blur the line between women and men, place a new burden and new injustices on women's sport. They plant people who act like women, and then in the fields, in the pools, and in the ring, they come to life over women. This is insane and women are the ultimate victims of such social experiments that pollute sports and lead to social discord. Let's protect the dignity of sports, protect the dignity of athletes and enable fair competition free of any ideological whims.

First of all, I think that when I spoke of such moralizing tones, it was part of what, unfortunately, was heard from the left. I have also noted, and we insist on this, that the full implementation of this agreement is needed with the main aim of reducing irregular migration, suppressing any criminal networks that profit from such hypocritical, cynical exploitation of those whose desire to come to Europe we can understand at some human level, but we also have to understand that simply all the injustices of the world cannot be solved by asylum in Europe and we simply have to understand that the situation as it is today is in any case not sustainable.

The cradle of Western civilization, the Mediterranean, has for years been a symbol of a structurally unsuccessful migration policy and deep deficiencies in the protection of external borders. Criminal, smuggling networks illegally introduce hundreds and hundreds of people into European territory on a daily basis, to a large extent, from Tunisia. That is why I welcome the agreement that should focus on disrupting criminal networks of smugglers and preventing human tragedies in the Mediterranean. There is no immediate solution, but stronger external border protection with the help of third countries is a completely logical measure. We must not and cannot give precedence to some moralizing tones that we hear today in this debate, at the expense of the security of our citizens who witness on a daily basis the dramatic influx of migrants. Now we need to insist on the full implementation of the agreement and now we need to insist that we do everything to counter the uncontrolled migration flows that inevitably lead to the destabilisation of all societies. (The speaker agreed to answer the question raised by raising the blue card)

–The Honourable Chairman, the anti-civilisation Russian aggression against Ukraine, has helped Europe understand that the issue of security, the issue of defence, cannot be taken for granted or left to chance. The Ukrainian resistance helped Europe understand that today Western civilization is fought not only with words, but above all with deeds. In such a context, fostering joint procurement should strengthen the European defence industry, reduce competition between Member States, prevent fragmentation of the defence sector and improve coordination and cooperation. On the budgetary side, the funds will certainly have to be more significant in the future, but it is crucial that we have reached the basis for a broader European strengthening of our defence industry. The Multiannual Financial Framework is almost empty. That is why we call once again for a serious revision, for concrete proposals to be considered and for the European budgetary mechanisms we need to be further strengthened in an increasingly dangerous world.

Dear Chairwoman, colleagues, tragic scenes from the Mediterranean that we are witnessing remind us once again that in the absence of a comprehensive system and agreement on migration and asylum, Europe is left largely to the will of smugglers of people gambling on human destinies. The recent visit to Lampedusa, together with other colleagues from the Civil Liberties Committee, has made it fully aware once again that this island is also another, perhaps the best, symbol of dysfunctional European politics, migration and asylum. If we want to avoid the repetition of tragedies and the intensification of the migratory pressure that this island, as well as the whole of Europe, has been subjected to for years, we must approach this intelligently, boldly, without emotional blackmail and without ideology. Europe, without any dilemma, has a duty of solidarity towards those whose lives are in danger. At the same time, we must not indirectly support the various organised networks of profit-making smugglers, selling dangerous and deadly arrangements across the Mediterranean. We need to support Frontex, we need to support the Coast Guard in their challenging work, as well as the countries that bear the brunt of uncontrolled migration. We urgently need a common European agreement on the migration and asylum system.

Dear Chairman, horrific mass executions, the genocide of Srebrenica was the culmination of the crimes of the Greater Serbian Milosevic regime in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia. Such a policy was defeated primarily militarily, with the courage of the Croatian Army, the Croatian Defence Council in cooperation with the Bosniak forces that managed to save Bihać from the Srebrenica scenario. This was made possible by Dayton. This enabled an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it also enabled today's system of government, based on constructive peoples and the multi-ethnic character of the country. Today, unfortunately, some are dangerously denying the state, denying Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also some others, unfortunately, similarly dangerously deny the multi-ethnic character of the state through electoral legislation by which one people imposes on another people the choice of political representatives. It is encouraging progress, it is encouraging the dedicated work of the current government, but there is also much left to do ...(Chair took the floor)

The new technological era in which we live is a geopolitical ruthless era in which no one waits for anyone and in which nothing is free. In a tectonically changing world, where global players compete for the best possible position, Europe must also secure its place with this legislation. We can and must be faster in technological transformation, where chips are an indispensable component. In this way, we will secure a larger share of the global semiconductor market, but also prevent future supply crises. The more than €3 billion available to boost R&D is an exceptional opportunity for Europe, for European science and innovation, entrepreneurship, but also for all Member States. We are aware that in the long run we will need to invest even more resources, both European and national, if we really want to move closer to our strategic goals. However, this is already a big step and this is in any case a step in the right direction.

Dear Chairwoman, colleagues, starting a family, creating a new life and desire for parenthood are one of the fundamental, most intimate, but also the most sensitive areas of human life. We have also heard in this discussion attempts to justify commercially contracting pregnancy, commercially contracting childbirth with some supposedly noble goals. Unfortunately, regardless of possible noble goals in some situations, I cannot agree with that at all. Surrogate motherhood grossly violates the dignity of all involved. The most insulting is the human integrity of the surrogate mother, whose body is exploited for someone else's goals, whose body is exploited - often with a commercial background. Even when there is consent, as with human trafficking, it is often conditioned by complex life circumstances where this very financial dimension, unfortunately, sometimes seems the only possible way out of life's problems. In essence, pregnancy can under no circumstances be a service that can be purchased. The birth of a child cannot be some kind of legal service that can be contracted, and neither the child nor the body of a woman can be an object to fulfill the wishes of others. We must be extremely careful and prevent any instrumentalization, prevent exploitation, prevent ideological experimentation and the transformation of both women and children into products of the industry.

Dear Chairman, colleagues, the continuous increase in illegal crossings, the inconceivable numbers of immigrants and smugglers and the increasing migratory pressure on the Mediterranean, on the area where it was created, where Western civilization was created, once again rings alarm, once again points to the alarming situation at our common external borders. Europe still has no control. Europe still has no mechanisms and no way to stop the creation of new and new waves of migration. The asylum system with mass abuses is completely dysfunctional and countries closer to the border, such as Italy, Greece, Croatia, bear a disproportionate part of the burden. What is clear, however, even from this debate, is that the policy of verse migration has failed. The approach taken so far simply cannot be a sustainable way of managing migration and it is understood today by most Member States, as they understand the need to find an agreement between Member States, but also to find an agreement here in the European Parliament. That is why the encouraging step of last week's agreement between the interior ministers, which needs to be welcomed, is the key legislative proposals that will be crucial because it is crucial, ultimately, to find this balance between responsibility and solidarity. I think we can do this with this proposal and I hope that it will happen before the elections.

Dear Vice-President, Commissioner, colleague and colleague. As the central technology of the industrial revolution, artificial intelligence is changing our society at an incomprehensible speed and there will be no human activity that will remain intact. Like all tools, it can be used for both good and evil, for better medical diagnosis, higher quality of life, higher productivity, less uniform work, but also for dystopian scenarios, mass control or social evaluation systems. This is why we need to seize opportunities and minimise risks by putting in place clear rules. Caution and fuses are necessary, but unreasonable opposition to certain applications, such as biometric identification to find missing children, seems completely missed. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a historic act. Europe needs a trust framework, Europe needs legal certainty and Europe also needs innovation, innovation and competitiveness. This document can do that. So congratulations to everyone involved in making this. I was also pleased and I hope that with this and in negotiations with the Council, we can achieve a good, quality framework.

Dear Chair, colleagues and colleagues. Today, Europe is under increasing migratory pressure, especially from the Member States at the external border, including my country Croatia. Asylum - the international right to protection - is being dramatically abused across Europe and this is a fact. That's why we all have an obligation together and here, in the European Parliament, in other European institutions, in European society, to approach this issue soberly, to approach this issue together and to remove pressure from our borders. Today we set the rules for the future. We all need a little more togetherness, a little more responsibility, and a little less ideological passion. We need a little more strategic thinking and a little less emotional blackmail, because ultimately it is about the security of our borders. About the security of our territory and the security of the whole of Europe.

Dear Chairman, dear colleagues, the Mediterranean as the cradle of Western civilization, our civilization, as well as the directions we are witnessing in the immediate vicinity of the Croatian border are under strong migratory pressure. This reminds me a lot of the migration crisis of 2015. Clearly, along with determination at the borders, solidarity towards those most in need of protection is also necessary. According to, above all, Ukrainian refugees, but also those in need fleeing across the Mediterranean, are trying to find peace and security that they do not have in their countries. However, the situation regarding search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean is not satisfactory. It is not reasonable and sustainable to leave the patrolling of the southern sea border in the Mediterranean to NGOs. We need a new and more responsible migration and asylum system, a system that can respond to this crisis, that stands in solidarity with those who are really in need, but also unwavering towards smugglers who threaten the security of our continent. That is why I welcome the adoption of positions on key legislative proposals, the reform of the migration and asylum system in the committee responsible, and I hope that together with the Council of the European Union, we will move closer to a more responsible, resilient and normal system as it exists today. Migration is a source of concern for more than 70% of Europeans. We must not miss this historic moment, this historic opportunity, because we must remember that today we decide how we live and work tomorrow, that today we decide whether we live tomorrow in peace and order or whether we live tomorrow in chaos.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, colleagues, year after year, Europe has been facing events that put our preparedness, readiness and resilience to the hardest tests. Year after year with the budget, with the budgetary procedure, we once again have an important task to set out Europe’s priorities and determine how much funding we wish to allocate in order to achieve them. The focus is not only on the challenges that are currently on our doorsteps – and there are many, but also on investments with which we need to achieve a stable future for Europe, a stable future for our citizens, primarily through digital and green transition, but also through tackling uneven demographic change and uneven development. At the same time, we cannot neglect issues affecting Europe’s security, including our capacity to deal with the growing migration flows. We need funds for better border management. We need funds for necessary infrastructure, including the humanitarian assistance, including the reception capacities, because we need them to really remain and maintain the level which will match our clear commitment for a comprehensive migration pact. The budget is much more than just a financial document, it’s a statement of our values and let it reflect the priorities and values of our citizens, and let us support a stronger and more competitive Europe.

Dear President, Honourable Commissioners, colleagues, children, family formation, parenting, but also the desire for parenthood are some of the most sensitive areas of human life, and the adoption of children is probably the noblest act of an adult human being. Unfortunately, what can be an act of fulfillment for someone else, primarily a human trafficker, can be an opportunity to gain benefits, and for the child himself, if the minimum civilizational conditions are not met, for example, getting to know adoptive parents, life trauma. That is why we have the responsibility to make the process of adopting a child from another country more transparent and legally flawless. In the process, all unknowns, all fears, first of all for the child himself, must be eliminated. The adoption of a child must not have financial motivation for either side. Adopting a child should not take children, should not treat children as an object. Adopting children is not and cannot be a cultural or ideological experiment. We have the right to help children in need, but we do not have the right to take them away from their parents. We have the right to adopt a child in need from a foreign state, but we do not have the right to exploit the institutional weaknesses of foreign states. We have the right to strive to be parents, adoptive parents, but we do not have the right to treat children as an object. Let us protect the most vulnerable among us, the children, no matter what country they are in, because their rights go far beyond all our rights and all our desires.

Dear Chairman, thank you very much. Presidents, colleagues, along with the Baltic neighbours Lithuania, but also Ukraine, and Croatia, my country, throughout its history fought against repression, fought for freedom, preserving its identity, preserving its language and preserving its culture. All this until our freedom was taken for granted and many disputed it above all, stronger and larger neighbours. Both Croatia and Ukraine have suffered aggression, Croatia has defended itself, liberated itself, and today it knows very well what Ukraine is going through. Years of prepared aggression, strong propaganda strikes, but also orchestrating and supporting internal rebellion. This is what Ukraine lives today, it survived Croatia and essentially all this was prepared, perhaps in different forms, for the Baltic states. Over the past decade, the Baltic States have experienced disinformation attacks, as well as attacks on their digital infrastructure. Ukraine also suffers the most attacks on civilian infrastructure today. Croatia, although far from any military threat, is still exposed to various cultural resettlements. Although we are different in many ways and in different historical moments, one thing is very much common to us. We know who we are, we know what our values are and we know where we belong. And that is why it is most important that every corner of Europe, no matter how far away we may sometimes seem from any war or digital battlefield, that our freedom, our security and our future is what is decided in Ukraine today.

Dear Chairwoman, colleagues, the area of the Mediterranean where European Western civilization was born is again, along connected land routes, under the most intense pressure of unregulated, irregular migration. Even the most naive is clear today that dramatic figures show that existing European migration and asylum policies have failed. They didn't deliver the ordered system. We therefore need a responsible common European migration policy in which it is fully clear, even before the conclusions of the European Council, that the protection of our external borders has no alternative. Member States, not smugglers' mafias, should decide who has the right to enter European territory. We need a system that is solidarity-based, that is humane to all those who are truly in need, but that is also unwavering to smugglers who endanger the lives of thousands of people, but also to those who try to abuse the system. Let us not and cannot close our eyes to the instrumentalization of the system and to the dramatic attempts at abuse. The intensity and complexity of the migration issue calls on Europe to adapt to the new reality as a matter of urgency. Europe has not done so yet, but the conclusions of the European Council are certainly the right step in this direction.

Unfortunately, the situation at Europe's borders is starting to be dramatically reminiscent of the major migration crisis in 2015. Thousands and thousands of unknown people are apparently illegally entering the territory of the European Union. It is terribly scandalous to hear, on the other side of the left and here in the European Parliament, a passionate advocacy for non-compliance with our European common rules. Europe can no longer look at this. Europe must act. We need an agreement as soon as possible on the new migration and asylum system, an agreement that can respond to this crisis, an agreement that includes solidarity between states because for too long countries at the external borders have been putting the greatest migratory pressure, but also an agreement on a system where the foundation is also steadfastness towards smugglers, who exploit our indecisiveness and put the lives of thousands of people at risk. We must stop irregular entries and insist on protecting Europe's border.

In a new era of deep uncertainty, Europe, as the best place to live in the world if it wants to stay, must take investment in its security, including the security of the state border, as well as the imperative of economic and technological competitiveness seriously. In both areas, your presidency can steer Europe in the right direction. That is why I welcome the focus on defence, migration, energy: domains that have a critical impact on all and are a true test of both European policies and European civilizations. Do not neglect engagement with our immediate neighbourhood - BiH and other countries in Southeast Europe because it is crucial, because it is important, because it is something that concerns all of us. The Czech presidency will be remembered by Croatia as very high quality, and I wish Sweden a lot of success in a difficult time. Let's go back to our foundations. Common-sense policies have eluded both Sweden and Europe. Common-sense policies will also preserve Europe.

–. ...()...and the most corrupt human beings, as well as the greatest wealth. Which is why, no matter where she was born, no matter what her name, deserves our special protection. They are what remains behind us, they show how we lived, what values we implanted in them and what kind of people we raised them in. The civilisational power of a society is therefore greatly measured in how it treats the most vulnerable, children. The one born and the unborn, the one of one's own, but also the other's. This is why child trafficking and various related practices, as well as the instrumentalisation of children for ideological whims, must be stopped. Adoption is a noble act, but all suspicions of selling children under the guise of illegal international adoptions must be clarified and, if found guilty, punished in the strongest possible terms.

–The Honourable Chair, the Honourable Commissioner, the colleagues, the budget is the cornerstone of any European action in our Member States, in our immediate neighbourhood, but also beyond. Through the budget, we determine our strategic priorities and the future of our development. The political, economic and social context in which we define these priorities has changed beyond recognition following Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. The tectonic changes in the security architecture and security architecture of Europe, the historical turning point, but also other growing global challenges, the unforeseen needs that have arisen in Europe as a result of the war far exceed the means at our disposal. We have a human and moral responsibility to stand with the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their freedom, for their existence, and we also have a responsibility to support Europe in the transformation that lies ahead. In a new era of uncertainty, there are also incredible needs ahead, from the digital green transition, European competitiveness, security and defence. We need a return to fundamental European policies that are lacking without adequate resources. This is why it is high time for a serious, thorough, in-depth revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework.

Dear Chairman, three decades after international recognition and aggression, in the tenth year of our European membership, Croatia rounds off its full return to European civilization. At a time of deep uncertainty and war on the European continent, this, together with better transport connectivity, greater competitiveness, freedom of movement and one great development opportunity, brings us additional security - a stronger and more resilient state border. We regret that Romania and Bulgaria, whose citizens have been waiting for equality and full freedom of movement for too long, have not been accepted. In this sensitive geopolitical moment, we need a stronger Schengen with Romania and Bulgaria. I would like to thank once again all those who have supported Croatian membership in Schengen in the last months, and for the end, I will also ask you for a little more support tonight in our semi-final against Argentina.

The European Year of Youth has rightly put the focus on young people who, unfortunately, once again feel disproportionately the burden of the crisis in which Europe and the world have found themselves. At the same time, new generations continue to show that they are a driver of development and possess special strength, the power of innovation, the power of creativity, the power of excellence. This is why they deserve first and foremost a safe and peaceful, but also a sustainable and digital European future. The war in Ukraine is another shock for young generations. Instead of sitting in classrooms or training on sports grounds, young Ukrainians were forced into their own hands to take a weapon, a fate no one deserves. Together with other European youth, young Ukrainians deserve a safe future, and these are things that unfortunately today we may take lightly, for granted, a safe home, secured education, a safe job and family life. For young Europeans, unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is another lesson and a reminder that these are the values that our generations will have to fight for and fight for.