Debate contributions by Ernő SCHALLER-BAROSS

It is also very good that we speak Hungarian, because I want to be able to understand what I am about to say in Hungary without any interpretation. You've joined Manfred Weber's party, you've joined Manfred Weber's faction. You have been sitting in a faction that has allowed millions of illegal migrants into Europe in the last 15 to 20 years, because of which at the moment it is not possible to go to a Christmas market for children, parents, adults, the elderly, in peace and tranquility in Western Europe. And you stand up with your multi-tech history, stand up here in this House and attack the Hungarian government? Are you insulting the government in this House? I'll ask for it myself!

Dear Madam President, Child protection is a fundamental obligation. Among the dangers of the digital world, the role of the family is irreplaceable. The European Commission can coordinate, but it cannot replace parents, communities and national legislators. In particular, it is not able to carry out effectively the market surveillance tasks assigned to it. There are many dangers to our children today. I simply cannot say nothing, I apologise, the chief speaker of the European People's Party, the representative of Tisza, today talks about child protection, while previously he worked for the very tech giant that dragged minors into the world of addiction and online dangers for years. And let's talk about your party, the Tisza. Today, everyone is being educated on cybersecurity and digital issues in a loud voice, while the data of a simple application could not be kept safe due to their negligence. We want real and effective child protection online. Thank you very much!

Mr. President, please. Accession to the Union is not a matter of political bargaining, but of clear, transparent conditions. Each candidate country must comply with the same rules. Countries cannot be linked, packaged and politically pressured to push through decisions. The enlargement of the European Union is not an ideological playground, but a serious foreign policy and strategic decision affecting the common future of all of us. It should therefore be clearly stated: In foreign affairs, unanimity is the basis, and we do not have to, nor should we change that. This is the last true guarantee of the sovereignty of the Member States.

Dear Mr President, Today, the digital space is not only a technology, but also a foundation for freedom of speech and innovation. Unfortunately, the European Commission has recently moved in a direction of gold-plating that not only hinders, but also makes it impossible for our businesses to operate. Digital internal market rules are often so complex and burdensome that companies are unable to put them into practice and tend to suspend their previous activities. This serious mistake threatens fundamental civil rights, while hampering innovation and not providing real protection for European citizens. We Patriots are not asking Brussels and the Commission for more bureaucracy, but for an opportunity to work, to develop and to innovate. Ursula von der Leyen and her Commission, on the other hand, have taken these very things from us in recent years: jobs, investment, development, the future of the people of Europe.

Dear Mr President, The review of EU public procurement rules is highly timely. The development of digitalisation and the spread of new technologies all encourage us to modernise, simplify and adapt the framework to the real needs of the economy. However, we are saddened to see that the left is once again taking this process in a different direction. Ideological, green and often unattainable social aspects are smuggled into a fundamentally economic area. This attitude is not an answer to the day-to-day problems of businesses, but only creates new obstacles for them. It is difficult to expect the Commission to reform public procurement effectively when it has failed in all other areas. Ms Von der Leyen promised to increase the EU’s competitiveness. In reality, it is difficult and unpredictable for businesses to apply for anything, as they also face very high energy prices, the consequences of adverse agreements with the United States and excessive bureaucracy. In this review, the Commission is therefore expected to make a proposal that strengthens competitiveness and serves the economy.

Dear Madam President, Dear Madam Prime Minister, Dear Minister, The responsibility of the Member State holding the rotating Presidency is enormous. Its primary task is to facilitate coordination between the Member States, even when we are talking about socialist governments. Already at the beginning of the Danish Presidency, you have taken politically-based positions, which are particularly threatening to my country, Hungary. I don't get it. Europe now needs peace, real competitiveness. You want to accelerating the accession of a country at war to the EU. The Hungarian people clearly said no to this. With this step, you would destroy European security, economy and agriculture, while blackmailing Hungary's freely elected government and its electorate. In 2015, Hungarians once said no to their threats, to their education, to illegal migration, to integration difficulties, to imported terrorism and anti-Semitism, to the atrophy of the majority language in our schools and institutions. This may be the way to Brussels, it may be your way, but we are not asking for it, just as we are not asking for it now, for education, for incitement to war and for the destruction of the European economy. I ask the Danish Presidency to respect the democratic decision of my compatriots, the Hungarian people.

Dear Madam President, Since the COVID-19 outbreak, European aviation has been facing an increasing number of problems. Cancellations, long delays, missing baggage and, in many cases, airline liability-averse, often cynical attitudes all over Europe. Our citizens often wait weeks or months for legitimate refunds. This practice is not only unfair, but also profoundly unfair. The experience is clear: the current regulatory frameworks are outdated and do not provide adequate protection for travellers in the digital era across Europe. We must ask ourselves, how can it happen that citizens of the 21st century are still forced to travel according to the rules of the 20th century? This situation is not worthy of the European Union, the pace of legislation is not reassuring, more than a decade has passed without any real progress in this area. We are in favour of a modern, passenger-friendly and predictable consumer protection, where the rules are not only formulated but also implemented.

Mr. President, please. One of the most important achievements of the European Union is our single internal market. However, the competitiveness of the Union is constantly declining and our global competitors are increasingly ahead of us. Excessive bureaucracy is hampering European businesses and especially producers, while success sectors are increasingly abandoning production on our continent. Our market is flooded with unsafe products of dubious origin and unhealthy agricultural products are pushing down our domestic producer prices. Instead of focusing on strengthening the single market and making it more efficient, decisions are now under threat to allow third countries to enter this already damaged single market. This is irresponsible and dangerous. Such a move could further increase economic instability and ultimately reduce the resources available to Member States. Honourable Members, this cannot remain the case.

Dear Mr President, We Hungarians know well the horrors of communism and the Arrow Cross dictatorship. Our ancestors and we remember how they deprived people of their freedom, their faith and their national identity. During the communist Arrow Cross dictatorship, political repression, forced labour camps, the secret police and the suppression of freedom of speech were commonplace. The government brutally suppressed all resistance. On the Day of the Righteous, we remember with respect all those who have sacrificed their lives in defence of human dignity and in the struggle for freedom. Unfortunately, we see that democratic values in Europe are still at risk. In some cases, we drift in the direction of arbitrariness. In Europe, elections are cancelled and politicians are banned from democratic elections. This day should therefore not only be a memory of the past, but also a warning. Europe can never again afford to drift in the direction of arbitrariness. We must fight for freedom, for justice, and defend what the victims of communism and fascism have tried to defend, national self-determination and genuine democracy.

My colleague has visited Hungary several times, perhaps for the last time at the event of the Tisza Party. May I remind you: In Poland, Constitutional Court rulings are ignored, fellow party members have taken over public television, MPs are arrested on the open street. On the basis of a statement by your representatives, I have printed it here, and you have received support from the same left-wing NGOs that have actively intervened in Hungarian domestic politics. I would like to ask you, is this why you are attacking the constitutional rights of Hungarian parents and children? Is this why you want to force NGOs spreading gender and transideology on Hungarian families? We protect our children!

Mr. President, please. The European Consumer Day is an opportunity to take stock of the current situation, the responsibility of the Brussels administration. We rightly expect the European Union to assert the protection of its 440 million citizens firmly and consistently. Instead, however, we see the internal market flooded with dubious products of uncertain origin, while being plagued by excessive bureaucracy in their own businesses. We need to build a Europe where regulation in the internal market is genuinely in the interests of citizens, not at the mercy of poor-quality products.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Family law issues are deeply rooted in the legal systems and social traditions of the Member States and it is therefore essential that EU legislation in this area respects the principle of subsidiarity. With this proposal, you want to crush with one foot the democratic decision of the Member States, our common treaties and the Fundamental Law of my country. It is not possible to regulate the issue of parenthood and parenthood at Community level, as advocated by my left-wing and liberal colleagues and NGOs. It is important to respect the cultural and legal traditions of the Member States. It is important that the European Union does not again exceed its competence and that the Member States are free to decide on family and parenthood matters. It is not Ursula von der Leyen who decides who is a parent in a Member State. Luckily for you.

Dear Mr President, Europe is lagging behind its American and Asian partners in developing strategic communication tools for the 21st century. Of course, we need to change that. This question, this idea, is clear. European left-wing decision-makers were not particularly interested in this House until Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America. He eliminates left-wing media hegemony, which is partly financed with public money, public funding of political pressure organizations without electoral authority, lying to NGOs, and unilateral left-wing censorship of social media, including Facebook. It is feared that in this House, under European sovereignty, not the development of indispensable infrastructure and technology, but the evacuation of left-wing NGOs and dubiously funded media products, self-proclaimed sensors that despise democracy, would be financed.

Dear Mr President, Particular attention was paid to Mr Freund, who seemed to be a fortune-teller, but perhaps later. So the European economy is weakening, European decision-makers cannot find a solution to mass migration. Germany's left-wing federal government has also allowed millions of people into Europe. In Western Europe, in the complete absence of cultural integration, immigration is tearing societies apart. Europe is losing its global competitiveness. There is a terrible war going on in Ukraine. And what do we see today? In this House, an imperial posture is assumed by a left-wing pact elite. It's you. And for a newspaper article without a source, funded by George Soros, in the midst of the mud-throwing, he initiates a umpteenth debate on Hungary in this House. Yes, you are again. What's next? Do you read from your palms or do you pour fish blood over yourself? You think that you can divert the attention of the European people, but what you are doing is that Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, the United States, and, I might say, they will suffer further defeats. Next time in Germany, in federal elections.

(Start of speech when microphone is switched off) ... gladly ask: Have you forgotten what democracy means? Donald Trump won a democratic election in the United States. Mr Kickl won a democratic election in Austria. Hopefully he will be able to establish and form a strong Austrian government. You are not a Democrat. You are insulting voters, you are insulting democracy, you are insulting democratic elections. Shame on you!

Dear Mr President, Today's leaders have isolated the European Union. Unfortunately, the EU economy is weak. Just think of the Draghi report. The Union cannot stand up for peace, stop migration and even support immigration, and it does not give European agriculture a perspective. For about a decade, every left-wing politician in the European Commission has been crying out for the 45th and 47th Presidents of the United States. US voters re-elected Donald Trump in a democratic election. We don't learn, they don't learn. They're not trying to reduce our isolation, they're continuing to attack our American friends by ignoring the will of the electorate, even though it's time to wake up. Donald Trump is just doing what he promised. Protect your country's borders. I know it's from the devil. It stops unrestrained illegal migration, curbs the toxic ideology that is poisoning society, and once again strengthens the American economy. Let's not isolate ourselves from the new American leadership, let's work together. For them, America comes first, and for us, our nation-states, through which Europe can be stronger.

Dear Madam President, Let's call things by name. The DSA in its current form can also serve as a tool for political censorship. Mark Zuckerberg also said that content was unilaterally censored at political request and under political pressure. Many in the United States have succumbed to pressure, but there the law does not prescribe censorship, and it seems that they have learned from their mistakes in the United States. Not so in Europe. I am afraid that in Europe the left is not learning, it is not learning again. But this DSA must be eliminated in this form. We do not need more officials in Europe who are censoring. Let's spend it on border protection, but they don't want to spend that much money on it. Freedom of expression and a level playing field must be ensured. This is the foundation of our democracy. Say no to political censorship.

Oh, Mr. President. The EU Digital Services Regulation is key. At the same time, it is essential that any such regulation also takes into account the fundamental right to freedom of expression. We cannot allow a distinction to be made between investigations on the basis of political influence, because regulation must and must remain impartial and transparent. The European Union is not a censor. Central restrictions on freedom of expression must be avoided in all circumstances. The European Commission's criticism of Elon Musk on digital regulation goes in the wrong direction. These attacks are not only about digital regulation, but can also be interpreted in a broader political context. Protecting freedom of expression and managing the digital space responsibly are not mutually exclusive, and one provides for the other. In a democratic society, both elements are necessary for citizens to be able to exercise their rights freely without being subjected to manipulation. Dear fellow Members, Every effort must be made to strike a balance between freedom and responsibility and to keep freedom of expression as a fundamental democratic value in mind at all times. Ensuring freedom of expression for the Union must be the basis for all our actions. And after I speak for the last time in this room this year, allow me to wish you all a blessed Christmas.

Dear Mr President, Product safety is an increasingly pressing issue in Europe, especially with the rapid growth of e-commerce. Let's be honest, today's market surveillance system is not efficient enough to keep pace with the challenges of the digital world. This lack of action poses a serious risk to the security of our citizens and threatens Europe's competitiveness in the long term. Due to the fast pace of e-commerce and cross-border sales, Member State authorities have a difficult task to control every single product. As a result, consumer safety is often at risk and faces challenges in maintaining regulatory transparency. The European Parliament can no longer block trilogue negotiations and start work. Start discussing proposals on product safety, including rules on toy safety. Let us not let the price of delay be the safety of European citizens or of our children. Let us take the necessary steps together so that Europe can continue to be a continent of innovation and safe products. To the members of the TISZA party present or not present, I would like to say that they should not be afraid if they ask a question in this House, it is possible to answer it in this room.

Dear Madam President, The internal market is the economic engine of the European Union. It faces serious challenges. While our competitors are well ahead of us in terms of innovation, digitalisation and technological developments, the EU is lagging behind. Why is that? Because the European Commission is not reacting in a timely and decisive manner to these international changes. The wrong approach to the green transition, the slowness and rigid regulation of bureaucracy are extremely hampering the ability of EU businesses and citizens to adapt quickly to the digital transition and the new requirements of global competition. Let's say: Our economy is on the road, energy prices are rising in Europe and businesses are suffering. The quality of services and services in the EU is declining. Europe is lagging behind in the digital race. This is particularly challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises. Our SMEs could also be viable on the global market if the EU were to effectively help them keep up with digitalisation and new requirements for sustainability. Stop the over-regulation. The future of the European Union is at stake. We need quick and effective action.

(beginning of speech when switched off microphone) ... obligated. I understand, but I still ask you the question: Why don't you deal with your green federal government? Why don't you question the mass and uncontrolled migration to Germany advocated by the Greens? Why don't you talk about the catastrophic energy transition – the Greens? Why don't you say why your green government threatens the once powerful German auto industry and cuts thousands of jobs? And don't tell me you're dealing with Europe. You are only concerned with my home country in this House. We've had enough! Their Greens flew out of the German state parliaments. They fly out of state parliaments. People have had enough of you. They are single-digit nationwide. Go home!

Thank you so much esteemed colleague, I want to raise a very short question. I just read that in 2023, your country, Spain, issued 92 401 and Portugal over 70 000 visas to Russian citizens. Are you afraid of that? Do you want to have a political debate here in this Chamber about this issue? Are you afraid that over 200 000 Russians got visas in France and more than that in Germany. Should we have a debate about that in this Chamber? So that's a very simple question.