Debate contributions by Kateřina KONEČNÁ

My friend, apart from the defense, I would agree with you. I'd sign everything you said, but you're a member of the ruling party, and I'm asking you: When will the Czech government, under the leadership of your Prime Minister Fiala, come to the European Council and propose that the taxonomy be abolished or changed and that the system of emission allowances be abolished or changed in order to actually reduce the price of electricity? I thank you for what you're saying here. The Czech government does not yet have the courage to do any of this, not only in the Czech Republic, but also to transfer it to the European level.

Mr President, they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I think the Commission, led by President von der Leyen, is this old dog. Indeed, the action plan on affordable energy prices is a repetition of what we have heard since the start of the energy price crisis, even though we see that the Commission's plans to make them cheaper have not yet worked. Yet support for renewables is the only thing the Commission constantly comes up with. Energy will certainly not be more affordable and cheaper if the core is left behind. On the contrary, nuclear power must be supported at least as much as renewables. You do not have to look for a new source of cheap gas from abroad, because it already exists, you have just imposed sanctions on it for political reasons, and you are now buying Russian gas dearly. Abolish the sanctions! Support Member States in fully nationalising energy companies, because if electricity is treated as a commodity, we will not move anywhere either. None of this is in the Commission's plan, and if the Commission is not able to learn from the past, then it is time to think about whether there is time to replace it.

Madam President, based on what we have heard here today, I am concerned about the huge bureaucratic burden that will make the proposal simply unworkable. Speed must go hand in hand with efficiency. And we should also think about what we have approved here recently, because it has an impact on whether these companies will or will not go here, or whether any pharmaceutical industry will be able to stand up in Europe at all. We are constantly adopting more and more regulations, but then we wonder that these companies do not go here, or that even if we create public enterprises, we will basically not create the conditions for them to be viable on the territory of the European Union at all. So let's think about what we did. Let's cut, let's delete our legislation, let's create the conditions. And lastly, you've all been talking about needing money. We spend hundreds of billions here every plenary session. Let's finally put them on something useful! And this is a useful thing. These are life-saving drugs, not the weapons that kill.

My colleague, unlike you, I do not have to pay for any trips from Bahrain, where I claim to be an MEP and negotiate something there. I'm not meeting with the Russian MPs. But I'm glad you asked. Breton, Bank of America cooling-off periodBarroso, Goldman Sachs, Neelie Kroes, even a convicted lobbyist who was a clear lobbyist for Uber, are former commissioners. And I am simply asking the Commissioner how he will prevent this from happening, because it is obvious that the Commission that we have had here has been linked to financial institutions and to people who do not defend the interests of the European Union. And you don't mind?

Madam President, Mr Vice-President, after Donald Trump froze the funds flowing through USAID to other states, we have seen a number of political non-profits and supposedly independent media complain about a sudden lack of money. Clearly, under the guise of international aid, a foreign power has financed us with sometimes subversive political agitators and activists. In the interests of the transparency and sovereignty of the European Union, I ask you to find out who was a foreign-funded agent through USAID and to publish a list of these agents, so that it is clear to the public who is working for a foreign power, which, incidentally, the Czech ghastly government coalition has made a new crime. At the same time, I believe that this finding once again shows the acute need to combat foreign interference in our policy. Push for a quick adoption of the Foreign Agents Act and shine a light on funding for what comes from multinational corporations and private interest groups. I know that in the past a number of Commissioners were in fact mercenaries of foreign actors. So I ask: Are you mercenaries fighting for foreign interests or do you want to protect the interests of ordinary Europeans? Prove it and reveal who is behind whose money.

Madam President, Commissioner, almost a month ago, the United States announced restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips to most Member States, including, for example, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece and Luxembourg. Ten other Member States are not concerned by these restrictions, i.e. the EU Member States have been divided into two categories, despite the existence of the European Union's single market, in which the Member States should be equal. Yet, to this day, there has been no strong response from the Commission, and you told us today that you are concerned, that you are assessing the impact and that this is a breach of the single market. Commissioner, you have come up with the Compass for European Competitiveness, where you write that you want to place large AI factories in Greece and Luxembourg, but you will not do them without a chip. And instead of making it clear that Europe just needs a chip factory and will do everything it can to do so, some colleagues are looking for threats again. Please, let us recover, we are not sovereign, and if we want to become sovereign, it will not be by always looking for the inner enemy.

Madam President, after decades of blatant neglect of vocational training in Europe, we are finding that we lack a skilled workforce not only for the industry we are destroying. I hope that this debate will really serve to change the approach of the European Union and its Member States to education, with particular reference to vocational schools, which have always been overlooked or looked up to by elites. Not only gymnasiums, but also apprenticeships need more investment in the equipment of schools and in the salaries of their employees. At the same time, a person who learns must be sure that he or she will then be well paid at work. However, pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff must also be well paid so that European apprentices are taught the skills and knowledge of real masters in their fields and that their schools and workshops are in good condition because almsgiving is difficult to motivate.

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, cryptocurrencies carry a promise of innovation, but also a number of risks. Millions of people see them as an opportunity, but unfortunately there are also many who have already lost their lifetime savings due to fraud and unclear rules. And this requires great caution from states and their institutions. Cryptocurrencies cannot be rejected a priori. It opens up new opportunities in finance, independence and investment. However, it is essential that their development is anchored in clear principles. One of the key ones is the right of citizens to pay in cash, which I consider to be a fundamental freedom that we must protect. New methods of circulation of funds cannot lead to the disappearance of existing ones, which serve precisely as a backstop to the entire system. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain can threaten, for example, the rapid development of quantum computers. We have to be prepared for all of this. I therefore call for the establishment of global standards that ensure the protection of users, their possible redress in the event of fraud, market transparency, taxation rules and, at the same time, respect for citizens' financial rights.

Madam President, few people can see such a detachment from reality as in the European institutions. That the Czech prime minister began to delude, who now promises us that his radically incompetent government will catch up with German wages, even though until now wages have actually stagnated or dropped, we all laugh at that in the Czech Republic. But when I read, at the invitation of the European Council, on the one hand, the recognition that we are in a multipolar world and have to expand our network of partners and, on the other hand, that we are to achieve this by deepening transatlantic relations, I see that the new President of the European Council, António Costa, is also beginning to delude. We cannot act in the international sphere by tightening the collar around our necks and asking the United States to lead us further. Especially when we can see that we are just an economic rival to the United States. Remember, colleagues, at Inflation Reduction Act. All that was needed was a dysfunctional policy of dumping weapons on Ukraine! This brings us closer to the threshold of nuclear war. Demonstrably dysfunctional policies are enough! All it took was the destruction of our own industry and agriculture! Please start appearing in front of the world on your own and not as obedient dogs.

Do you still think that Russian missiles killed two innocent people in Poland? That was your tweet and the clear misinformation that you yourself used. So when we're talking about this information and you're testing us for this misinformation, just remember that sometimes it's just that the truth comes out later. You caused fear and panic in the Czech Republic with your tweet. You never apologized for him. Please, when you talk about misinformation, also talk about your misinformation.

Thank you for this question and thank you for the explanation I can give to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court did not cancel the elections the first time, only after the intervention of the United States of America had to happen to cancel them. And I understand that because Romania has the largest military base. In addition, the Constitutional Court overturned the ruling, saying it essentially referred to 700 accounts on TikTok, which were allegedly created in 2016. Do you know when TikTok was created? In 2017! You're ridiculous yourself!

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am frankly appalled that we have a situation where a court in Romania, as a Member State of the European Union, cancels the results of democratic elections and instead you are dealing with so-called disinformation on the TikTok platform. For years, we've been hearing talk about threats to democracy. Tomorrow we will vote on the establishment of a special committee on the European Shield for Democracy. Do you adopt one resolution after another criticizing the internal affairs of Slovakia or Hungary, and when the election results are cancelled in one of the Member States, you do not even want to beep about it? Isn't that a threat to democracy? In Romania, once again, it turned out that people are fed up with politicians who do not deal with the rising cost of living. And your solution is not to address these problems, but to limit the ability to talk about these problems through censorship or even banning social networks. Do you realize what a problem you are creating for the future? I don't want to live in a Europe where elections are cancelled unless an establishment candidate wins and where public debate is censored. I call on you to do everything possible to ensure that the example of Romania does not become a precedent.

Mr President, we have heard from the new President of the Commission since the beginning of our mandates that the main thing is to arm, to invest more in armaments, to buy arms and ammunition together, and to remove existing restrictions on the armies of the Member States. This is now being parroted by some Commissioners-designate, such as Mr Kubilius. Healthcare, education, workers' rights, salaries and pensions, science and research, all this is and should continue to be marginalized, and some states led by obedient dogs, among them the Czech Republic, are already implementing this policy. In practice, this leads to undignified and insufficient salaries, rising costs of living, the workload of workers not only in education and health, the reduction of pensions or the postponement of the retirement age. This is the practical result of favouring armaments – the destruction of the welfare state. I therefore call on the future European Commission to reconsider its priorities. The welfare state and workers' rights must not be sacrificed for more weapons. Be aware of this, colleagues, when you vote here.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, according to the organisers, COP29 is supposed to be the moment of truth for the Paris Agreement. I believe that at that point there was already an election in the United States of America. At COP29 this time, virtually none of the major polluters arrived. Moreover, it is highly likely that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Treaty again in January. We have simply woken up to the world of trade wars, and it seems to me that here, in the European Union, we simply have not understood it. As part of yesterday's hearing of Mrs. Ribera, we learned that she hopes that Trump will not withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Wish is the father of thought, I'm afraid. Its responses to the future of nuclear power have also brought no relief. We cannot leave coal unless we move on with the core as a source. Europe should decide whether to wage war through Ukraine in the east, which produces as much emissions as the European Union saves, and push the third world to decarbonise for our money. Or we'll recover and take an interest in our legitimate economic interests.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I confess that I do not understand very well the need to talk here about defence against foreign interference. After all, the European Union is indeed a world champion in foreign interference. Look at all the resolutions that have been passed here on Moldova, where we are pouring money just to support the administration of the current head of state. Look at all the texts we have recently adopted on Georgia, where, on the contrary, we are annoyed that the current government wants to defend itself against foreign interference. Remember the recent resolution on Venezuela, or just remember that tomorrow we will be voting here on a text meddling in China's internal affairs. Instead of censorship, let's focus on transparency and comprehensive regulation of algorithms on social networks, while putting an end to our own interference in the affairs of other states and spending more time here dealing with crises with rising costs of life and housing or the crisis of industry and agriculture that we have inside the European Union. And if we spent as much time on them as we do on the various resolutions, maybe it would really help the citizens.

Madam President, colleagues, two weeks ago, we were dealing with the automotive industry here. Today we are dealing with the steel industry, which is strategic for the entire European Union. And why are we dealing with him? Not because of cheap imports. This is only part of the problem, because here this Parliament has passed legislation that is desperately damaging the steel industry, and has been silent when the steel industry has been screaming. If you want to take more action plans, hold conferences, take pictures with anyone, do it. But besides that, you have to do a single, immediate revision and suspension of the ETS, a reduction in the price of emission allowances, because steel, that is energy, and European steelmakers will never be competitive unless they have cheap energy. And at the same time, you have to start talking about how to get the industry back on track. Not by the Commission determining who can buy what, which Indian can buy which European industry, but by the industry being ours and valued by Europe.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, toys for toddlers that break easily into small pieces that are at risk of inhalation, gas alarms that do not work or toys and cosmetics containing dangerous chemicals - in short, products that endanger consumers and are prohibited from being manufactured and sold in the European Union. But until now, e-shops have been able to skirt our rules and manufacturers from outside the European Union have also skirted them. These health and life-threatening products, which often target children, continue to flood the European market thanks to e-shops and the low cost of producing them. I will be glad if we finally remove this loophole, once and for all. Online platforms must also be responsible for the products they offer on their websites. Their downloading must have clear rules. Information systems must be better prepared and the penalties for selling them must be considerably higher than they have been up to now. I am glad that, at least here, things are going in the right direction with the new rules.

Mr President, colleagues, the year has come to an end, and once again we have a debate on World Mental Health Day. Again, it's full of optimistic plans and challenges, what needs to be done. I'm afraid, like every year, there won't be much of it. How is it possible to deliver on these ambitious plans when we are constantly reducing the amount of European funding spent on health? For the last time, we preferred to send this money for a senseless war in Ukraine. President-elect von der Leyen’s actions in relation to the strange election of the Commissioner-designate for Health and the definition of his mission are rather embarrassing. So I ask: What do we want to reform, colleagues, when the current political leadership of the Commission has neither the money nor the will to do so? I am very sceptical about the Commission's current plans and activities in this area. He is constantly doing the opposite of what he is talking about here and what he writes in his ambitious plans.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have heard a lot here today. The automotive crisis, Euro 6 reform, reform of internal combustion engines and CO2, both AFIR and Euro 7. Colleagues, it was not only the Socialists, the Greens and the Left who approved of this. These were the European right-wing politicians who, together with the Commission, tried to make these regulations apply here. We were already warning at that time that the only thing that would mean would be the liquidation of the European car industry. You laughed at us then. Many of your colleagues do not sit here today and bear no responsibility for the decision, do they? We have caused huge potential unemployment, we have caused the destruction of other industries. And if someone said today that employees should not be the victims of managers, then European industry must not be the victims of bad decisions by the European Parliament. Take an example of this. The only thing that will help now is the immediate deregulation of the sector and the revision clause, which we will speed up so that we can make the change and examine conscience.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been exactly one year since the flags of a regime that has occupied the territory of Palestine for decades were hoisted at the European Parliament, without anyone asking us Members. Since then, we have witnessed disgusting war crimes in the war Israel is waging primarily against Palestinian civilians, and Israeli attacks on the territories of Syria, Iran and Lebanon. For every such crime, the EU pretended not to see it. The unbridled support of Israel from our elites has resulted in 12,000 dead children, over 700 under the age of one, and an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The joint EU statement calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been vetoed by immoral individuals from the government of the Czech Republic who enjoy every human suffering and who make my country an outrageous disgrace. Let's call for a ceasefire, at least. Let's not participate in another crime. Let us not allow Lebanon to become another Gaza. Let us stop supplying arms to Israel and force it to end the genocide it is committing in Gaza. You have a chance to show that your lofty words about human rights are not just empty bullshit.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, what has happened in my country in recent days is a disaster. The floods have hit us and our citizens very hard and continue to suffocate the already impoverished country by the government of the current liberal-right government. People have died and the country has suffered massive infrastructure damage in the tens of billions. We will need all the help we can get, and one of the few common instruments that makes sense in Europe is the Solidarity Fund. The European Union has the last chance to show citizens in the Czech Republic and elsewhere that it is not here to finance senseless wars, purchase weapons and support non-profit organizations that further aggravate the situation, but that it is here primarily to help in the difficult moments that citizens are experiencing in these countries today. Colleagues and Commissioner, when voting on the disbursement of aid, please consider that who pays quickly pays twice. Billions on paper that do not reach people directly and quickly will not restore their devastated homes. Finally, let me thank all the rescue services of the Czech Republic. They did an incredible job, and without them, there would have been so much more of the dead and the destroyed infrastructure. Thank you, firefighters, policemen, paramedics! We couldn't have done it this weekend without you!