Debate contributions by Jaroslava POKORNÁ JERMANOVÁ

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I must respond to the scandalous and activist intervention of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and other EU representatives in the sovereign decision-making of the authorities of one of the EU Member States – Hungary. Hungarian authorities ban celebrations Budapest Pride. It was a sovereign decision of the institutions authorised to do so, which did so on the basis of the laws in force adopted by the national parliament. The fact that Mrs Ursula von der Leyen and others do not like the composition of this democratically elected parliament and have problems with the prime minister resulting from free elections is clear to us. But this does not give anyone in Brussels the right to call for violations of the laws in force in a sovereign member country. Once again, it is confirmed that the President does not understand, or rather does not want to understand, her position and her boundaries. And that's unacceptable. EU leaders must respect national specificities and the views of member countries. These states should have the right to decide freely without being scolded by EU leaders.

Madam President, Europe is at fault in a difficult situation that will test our ability to respond properly to fateful challenges. We must act pragmatically, be united, but at the same time respect the sovereignty and interests of individual states. Security policy cannot be developed in Brussels, but must be based on the needs of the Member States. Europe's chances lie in transatlantic cooperation. NATO has defense mechanisms that have evolved for decades. Creating a parallel European structure is a path in the wrong direction. Let's focus on strengthening the NATO alliance. Let's invest diplomatic efforts and financial resources in this project. We need to stop and think about defence policy with a cool head. We are now limiting our relations with the United States of America to the question of Ukraine and letting them be defined by this conflict. However, there are many other problems on which we need to work together. We should make every effort to ensure peace and create functioning security guarantees. A smart and responsible solution is to ensure the competitiveness of our economy, to maintain favourable transatlantic relations for Europe and to pursue a pragmatic diplomatic policy.

Madam President, Europe is now facing a major challenge and should demonstrate its capacity for cooperation. We need a strong, self-sufficient and competitive technological base, more robust industrial capacities and reliable information sharing mechanisms between the public and private sectors. Instead, industrial production is moving outside Europe, where bureaucratic and green rules do not apply, where energy is cheaper and taxes are lower. In times of crisis, a rapid and coordinated response in contemporary Europe is virtually unnegotiable. We have to change that. We need to pass on information faster, evaluate it and make competent decisions based on it. Therefore, responsibility must be clearly defined in advance. The European Council decides, the European Commission acts and the European Parliament scrutinises. It's that simple. We must finally take care of the future of the continent ourselves. This will not happen without a fundamental change in the European institutions. But you chose the wrong European leader for this task, and in a few days you will approve the Commission, which may not be able to do so.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Czech Republic, including the ANO movement of which I am a member, is on the side of Ukraine and has always supported aid to the attacked country. But we cannot agree that someone from Brussels should order help. The European Union is still composed of sovereign states, which have the right to help other countries decide according to their capabilities. Each of the member countries has its own problems, specifics and can help in different ways. The Czech Republic is one of the most active, but in principle no one can dictate the volume of aid to us in the way that the resolution adopted by this Parliament in July seeks to do. Similarly, I cannot agree with the European Parliament calling for countries to allow the use of weapons originally acquired for the defence of Ukraine to attack Russia. Such a decision may be taken by NATO or individual countries. And we respect that! I also want to stress that I absolutely reject any labeling and labeling of the Patriot Group for Europe as a pro-Russian faction. Labelling for a different opinion of anyone is unacceptable. On the contrary, the discussion should take into account different perspectives and none of them should... (The Chair interrupted the speaker)