Debate contributions by Judita LAŠŠÁKOVÁ

Mr President, we must be honest with ourselves. Slovakia was one of the first countries in the EU to highlight the key role of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen, the fight against terrorism and the spread of extremism. These warnings were not taken seriously. Today we see the consequences. The security vacuum in the region translates directly into our own security in Europe. The problem is no longer only in Yemen, it touches us at home. We have countries that enjoy visa-free travel to the EU, but their relations – direct or indirect – with entities linked to the financing of terrorism or the tolerance of such activities raise serious questions. If we really want to protect the security of the Union, we need to rethink these things. We should clearly link political and economic benefits to high standards in the fight against terrorism, not to short-term political comfort. We need partners, which is why we need to listen to and dialogue with domestic leaders and recognise that the United Arab Emirates has always been an essential stabilising element in the region. I therefore highly appreciate yesterday's words by President Roberta Metsola that dialogue is the greatest asset of the European Union...

Dear colleagues, Madam President, Commissioner. I have mentioned this several times in this house, every single demonstration strengthens democracy and every single dictatorship weakens, that is, it weakens. So it's right for the state to allow and protect the demonstration. On the other hand, I ask this house, let us not call on the government, either of the accession country or of the Member State, to interfere in the work of the law enforcement agencies. The president of the state has nothing to do with it, the government has nothing to do with it, because it automatically commits the crime. So I would be very happy if, Commissioner, I think that you can do this very well, there is no need to urge you to do this from us: You must, and you certainly know what the Serbs need, you can communicate with them. And I think you'll continue to do exactly the job you're doing. And thank you for that.

Mr President, as far as Afghanistan is concerned, I think that this is something that should affect us all, and I therefore welcome the fact that the Commission has personally sent its staff to Afghanistan so that our assistance can be delivered there. As far as the Taliban are concerned, I don't know in which textbook the Taliban were declared to be some kind of human rights-compliant regime. It was no surprise what the Taliban would do to the women. I remember a session in the last legislature when the FEMM Chair called Afghan women who said that if the European Union wants to negotiate with the Taliban, Afghan women must be part of the European Union delegation. And that's because they know the Qur'an and know when the Taliban are lying. Yeah, he's lying to our eyes, too. So I welcome the fact that the Commission will correct this mistake from the past.

Madam President, colleagues, citizens' participation in democratic processes is important. Political engagement as well. Every assembly strengthens democracy and weakens dictatorship. At the same time, however, only a peaceful assembly deserves protection. This is also defined by the European Court of Human Rights, which is also based here in Strasbourg. For if the assembly is not peaceful, the state is obliged to protect the life, health and property of others who are not involved in the assembly. We know what happened in Serbia. We really know that. And if we're sure what's going on there, what do we want to do? Is there any kind of brutality against minorities, as we have heard from Slovak colleagues, for example? Whatever decision we take, I hope we don't want to do it like Putin. In the protection of minorities living in Serbia, to invade there on tanks, when we are already so bravely armed.

Madam President, colleagues, every Commission report on the rule of law speaks of citizens' participation in democratic processes. It's a tragedy of the time that we just don't have a European perspective. When the COVID measures were adopted, the first human right abolished was precisely the right to assemble. I have to admit, not everywhere in Europe. Where were you between 2020 and 2023? Because I know where you weren't. You weren't in Slovakia. Back then, governments used water cannons for protesters, not to mention rubber bullets. If we want to talk about the rule of law, let us try to talk about the material rule of law. Nazi Germany was also a state of law. But the material rule of law is the state where there are, where written laws are not only adopted in the constitutionally prescribed form, but also applied without distinction. If we want to criticize Hungary, which is fine, because the substantive criticism shifts, let us first try to clean up before our own threshold, and not criticize when it suits us.

on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. - (DE) Mr President, colleagues, Commissioner, the 75th anniversary of the execution of Dr Milada Horáková is approaching. Few of you have met her name. His life is characterized by resistance to war. At the age of 17, she was expelled from high school for taking part in an anti-war demonstration. That was in 1918. During World War II, she was imprisoned by the German Nazis. In 1944, the German Nazi prosecutor demanded the death penalty for her. However, she was not executed until 1950 in her own homeland. Despite the demands of world personalities for her pardon, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Milada Horáková was executed on June 27, 1948 by hanging. The fabricated trials against several hundred opponents of the communist regime across Europe were accompanied by a massive media campaign. Learned from our own history, let me be a little more critical of what journalists can produce. The fabricated trials of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia were also initiated by Dr. Rudolf Slánský. An example, however, is the life of Milada Horáková and her similar precious souls.

Commissioner, you said today that everyone must be treated equally, without exception. Thank you for these words. I am especially grateful to you for this, because I do not consider what happened in your interrogation to be dignified. Not you, but us. I want to apologize and ask you to accept this apology. But let me remind you that, as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So don't forget it and keep it in front of you every time you make a decision to stay fair. At the same time, I want to remind you of what you promised me at the hearing, that you will apply multidisciplinary negotiations and that you will not forget the question of ageism. So that everyone is really treated the same way. Now that there are fewer women in the Commission, be the voice of those whose voice is not heard. You have the opportunity to continue the actions of women who not only talked about equality, but also lived equality. To bring together the importance of the effort, for example, Luise Weisz, in the building we are standing in today. We Slovaks have a really warm relationship with her. Her love for life was General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, one of the most important actors in our country. I therefore hope that the motto of the EU will really bring us together. The generation before us has done it. Will we be as good as them?

Mr President, I apologise very much. My tooth hurts a lot, but I think it's really important. There have already been a few names, and let me add one to them. Today I'm going to tell you the story of a brave woman, a policewoman who acted legally and who, in return, her male colleagues wanted to dig up – so as not to fall to their level – so as to dig up her genitalia, pour gasoline on her car and set it on fire. When they found out they weren't going to break her, they started prosecuting her illegally. Do you know how it feels to sit at home sick and wait for your esteemed colleagues to come knocking down the door? You don't know, and thank goodness for that. When Dumbledore gives out the final points in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Neville Longbottom gets the least number. But they are the most valuable, because the hardest thing is to tell your colleagues that they are wrong. So please remember the name Diana Santus, who was brave when courage was very expensive. She and her team acted in a purely legal manner, despite the fact that her own male colleagues wanted to physically dispose of her.

Madam President, colleagues, in the case of the assassination of a journalist, we are talking about the death penalty for carrying out an activity. Europe got rid of the death penalty about 40 years ago. Thus, the history of the protection of life rightly is not long. A culture of material rule of law needs to be more effective than before. Whoever goes to court to have his case judged fairly must have a guarantee that the courts are independent, impartial. Judges are the backbone of the material rule of law as the only purely professional power in the state. Mr Reynders' unprecedented behaviour has left citizens and legal entities in Slovakia without the guarantee of independent courts. We are not looking at corruption in Malta or corruption in the Netherlands, where journalists were executed in broad daylight. Mr. Reynders, look in the mirror! Robert Fico goes the legal way, and if someone lies about him, he has chosen the judicial path in a dispute with journalists. And this despite the fact that Robert Fico himself was shot four times for doing business, he tries by his own example to show confidence in the material rule of law that you, Mr. Reynders, helped to destroy in Slovakia in 2020. Only Plato's care for his soul, his devotion to the truth and his desire for justice can save our Europe.

Madam President, "I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod. My shadow makes it better.” The quote from Plutarch includes the need for a sincere friend. Honestly, it doesn't mean understated. An honest friend is a mirror, and we don't always have to like what we see in that mirror. A friend points out the mistakes we make. We are all human and we make mistakes. Őszintén? I disagree with Viktor Orbán on many points. Democracy is about dissent. Otherwise, we would be in a dictatorship where the leader dictates to us what we can think. Since the time of Thomas Haxey, since 1397, we have been talking about freedom of speech, namely freedom of speech in parliament. But have we ever talked about freedom after this speech? Viktor Orbán has different opinions on many things. These other views are communicated in his speech. It is his free choice and it is his holy right. It's up to the rest of us to convince him that he can be wrong, too. But we won't know the views of Viktor Orbán or anyone else if we don't give him freedom of speech. Therefore, refusing to communicate with Hungary because of the speeches of Viktor Orbán, refusing to communicate with Viktor Orbán is not the right way to go. Rather, it demonstrates our own need for argumentation and, above all, cowardice. Everything can be said about Europe, but please do not let them say that we are cowardly.

President-in-Office of the Council, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen. In 2019, you became Commissioner and I kept my fingers crossed for you. You were the culmination of women's struggle for political rights. In my eyes, even the follower of Emmeline Pankhurst. I expected you to make the most of the opportunity. When I think of the successes of Eleanor Roosevelt, who was ‘only’ a wife. You are a great disappointment to me today. And this is not because of the decision of the General Court of the European Union. I am disappointed by the Commission under your leadership. In Slovakia, lawyer Ľubomír Krivočenko suffocated in custody during COVID. The state had more than 30 pulmonary ventilations, but he didn't get one. And I'm sorry because you're a doctor in the first place. If a state deprives someone of their personal liberty, it must ensure that the detention is for the necessary time and protect life. Or have we adopted the death penalty as a form of punishment in the EU and only I do not know? Krivochenko was not the only lawyer who died from the state’s fault between 2020 and 2023. Not once has the Commission, under your leadership, drawn attention to violations of human rights and freedoms in Slovakia, not once. The crackdown on the law by today's opposition in May 2024 resulted in the assassination of Robert Fico. Mrs von der Leyen, neither I nor my colleagues can vote for you. This would be disrespect for those women who have contributed to the development and protection of human rights.