Speeches

Mr President, dear colleagues, honourable Commissioner, in November 2023 we approved the resolution, with recommendations to the Commission, on quality traineeships, requesting more funding and stronger implementation for the Member States. Roma youth, whom I represent, are especially desperate for more opportunities because about 83% of Roma children are at risk of poverty, especially now, after the war and also the COVID situation. About 52% of them still go to segregated classes. The EU, with the Spanish Presidency, has made a big step on desegregation, but we have to go further. In Hungary a few years ago, we started to develop programmes for Roma children in afternoon schools, after school, and we paired them with music and talent support programmes – for example football and different sports projects. These were talent support programmes. EU programmes such as Horizon and Erasmus Plus are great and affordable opportunities for these students coming from very, very low strata of the European Union. We already have teachers and researchers who could be working on these projects. But in Hungary, for example, Erasmus placement opportunities are very limited now because we don’t get the monies, so the programmes are stopping. So … (The President cut off the speaker)

Dear Madam President, Schattendorf, mayor of the Austrian village on the Austrian-Hungarian border, closed the border crossing between the two countries in March 2023. His goal was to ban Hungarian commuters from the village during his election campaign. Under the new system, the border crossing will only be used for commuters with a €160 permit if it can be demonstrated that they have a particularly important economic or personal interest in doing so. However, to date, it is not clear exactly what this criterion covers. Of the 220 Hungarian and 220 Austrian citizens who applied for the permit, only 33 Hungarian and 126 Austrian citizens were granted the permit. It is clear that the mayor of the village openly discriminates against and deprives Hungarian commuters of their rights, against which neither the Austrian state nor the Commission is doing anything. Moreover, the Commission, which is currently absent, considered, at the request of the European Ombudsman, that the closure of the border crossing did not infringe the free movement of workers. We would like to thank the team of Nagy Legal, who have filed a lawsuit in this matter for six months, but the procedure does not start, so we call on the Austrian state to immediately put an end to the discriminatory situation and open the border crossing, and we call on the Commission to stand up for the interests of the workers. That is why it is so important that this document is heard in Counsil, thank you very much also in the Council.

Dear Mr President, Last week, the world commemorated the victims of the Holocaust, about a fifth of whom were Roma, according to recent research. The Roma are still the largest, poorest and most discriminated minority in Europe. In 2011, however, the Hungarian Presidency agreed on a framework strategy for Roma integration in the European Union. However, over the past 13 years, we have seen significant improvements only in Hungary. It is time to step up the implementation of the Framework Strategy and the National Convergence Strategies in other Member States. We were very happy that the Spaniards were able to come up with a serious Council conclusion, where we adopted the sanctions prohibiting segregation, the conclusion prohibiting segregation. But we call on the Belgian Presidency to go much further. In the coming months and during the elections in Europe, in Europe, it is very, very important for all parties to choose as many Roma as possible so that as many Roma as possible can vote for them. There should be 21 members of the European Parliament of Roma origin. There are three of us.

Dear Madam President, Dear colleagues, It is unacceptable, as you have said, that there is no stable energy supply and heating for all households in the EU in 2023. Disadvantaged people are particularly affected by the cost of living crisis. I represent the Roma in Europe and we have a lot of problems to face this winter. We therefore need very strong action by Member States, with very strong EU support. It is crucial that the Commission disburses funding for convergence and social objectives to all Member States. The partial funding was launched in December 2023, which we were very happy about in Hungary, and it is already showing its results. We have started the renovation of technologically obsolete dwellings and the heating system of houses. What is disappointing, however, let me say, Madam Member, that we would very much like to vote in favour of this report, and we consider it very, very important that the eradication of energy poverty finally begins, but the fact that the left continues to use such an important report to promote such ideological battles and popular ideological issues under gender mainstreaming is problematic. I think it is very important to collect good practices and force them on the Member States.

My next question would be: do you know how many segregated Gypsy classes there were in Hungary under your government and how many there are under the Orbán government today?

I apologize for my voice. Do you agree, my fellow Member, that the Roma in Hungary, who have gone through a very significant development in recent years, and the Hungarian Government has set an example to the other Member States in this regard, and we expect them to do the same, do you agree that, because of your unfounded accusations, these Roma are losing out on their programmes? The kindergartens, the schools, our university programs, the CSOK are endangered by you. They gave hope and jobs to many poor people in Hungary. Do you agree that the Roma in Hungary, despite the fact that the European Court of Auditors... (The Chair interrupted the speaker)

Dear Mr President, We are delighted that the 16th European Platform for Roma Rights will be held in Madrid on 30 November, organised by the Spanish Presidency. We welcome the fact that the Spanish Presidency has been able to reach a Council conclusion prohibiting segregation, and we consider it very important that the next member of the trio, Belgium, also does its part. In this European Parliament, there should currently be 21 Members of Roma origin, instead of the current three. So with the Belgian Presidency, we want as many Roma as possible to be elected and as many Roma as possible to be elected in the European elections. The next task in the European Presidency will fall on the Hungarians. As during the previous Hungarian Presidency, we are preparing to promote the integration of the poorest in the other Member States with the help of concrete good practices, so that we can move forward and achieve new results, as we have made two steps in poverty eradication in recent years and, unfortunately, one step back in the past year, due to inflation, war and covid.

Dear Madam President, The series of crises in recent years has hit our states extremely hard, and even those Member States that have performed very well in the past ten years, such as child poverty, have seen poverty rise by 20% in those countries, and 83% of Roma children in Europe are now living in poverty. In 2011, this was the House and the European Commission, which launched the pan-European Roma strategy, and we are very pleased that the Spanish Presidency has taken this task forward and launched anti-segregation measures. The reinforced monitoring and feedback system, the complex management of the various policy areas, as already stated at the time, education, housing, employment, health care, and the concrete commitments have stalled since these last two years, when the pandemic, war and inflation have had a very negative impact on our communities. Therefore, we are particularly pleased that the current trio presidency has finally started to initiate a change, the right school provides close-to-school housing, we offer kindergarten education, and the elimination and elimination of segregation in housing, education and the workplace. We need to support poor families.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Roma are in the worst position in terms of housing conditions in the EU. Therefore, as previous speakers have said, we need a very integrated approach for disadvantaged communities. We must prevent discrimination in the search for housing against the poorest, parents living with children, young people or even pensioners, the elderly or foreign currency lenders. We have started such a change in Hungary. We started with jobs, cheap home loans, very discounted financial help coupled with childbearing discounts, we repaired the roads to the Roma settlements, and in this way we try to eliminate the segregated settlements one by one, slowly, so that the segregated education can also be abolished. At the time, we hadn't yet talked about the social housing system, which is desperately needed, as the colleagues said. It is very important to start a real dialogue in order to eliminate prejudices against landlord agencies and private landlords, those living in residential segregation. I hope that the Spanish Presidency will be able to make a very strong proposal on this subject in the "Council conclusion".

Mr. President, please. Joining the speakers before me, not repeating the same thing: Roma are the most outcast and poorest in the European labour market. However, we were able to significantly improve their employment rates in Hungary. In addition to discrimination in the workplace and the lack of vocational training programmes, the poorest receive jobs that are even worse than their qualifications. Even if a Roma living in poverty has managed to cope with these difficulties, they still face the difficulties of undeclared work, short-term precarious work and work in worse conditions. In many cases, such as undeclared work, hundreds of thousands of people do not have pensions. This is how many Roma people have cleaned our streets, built our countries and become economically integrated over the past forty years. Therefore, in 2011, during the Hungarian Presidency, the Roma strategy initiated the process of whitening jobs and putting Roma into work. It is therefore very, very important that the Commission does not do the opposite, that it does not withdraw funds from the poorest, but that the Member States receive the right amount for catching up in equal proportions and in an equal and fair manner.

Mr. President, please. We are a few days after the commemorations of the Holocaust and International Roma Day, and we are almost 20 years after I first had the opportunity to speak for the Roma here in Parliament, and then in 2006, 10, 14 and 21, we adopted reports in various committees so that the European Commission can put as much material as possible before the European Council as the European Roma Strategy. However, since then, not only has the Commission not fulfilled all the elements of our proposals at that time, but our situation has become very difficult. It is not only war, it is not only COVID, and it is not only inflation that further reinforces educational problems, housing problems, the issue of jobs. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost and there is hunger in the Roma settlements, so I think it is very, very important that, as we do every year, next week, we hold the European Roma Day in this Parliament, and I would be very happy if all the parties were represented and could make their proposals in this difficult situation so that the next Presidencies can strengthen the Council with another report so that we can start eradicating poverty again.

Mr. President, please. Promoting the chances of women, especially women from disadvantaged backgrounds, is one of the most important issues we have in common. We must strive to eliminate all forms of discrimination and discrimination, and it is very much to be welcomed, as the Commissioner said, that in the area of digitalisation, in the area of start-ups, we can further promote the social inclusion and participation of women and girls with this European strategy. It is very important to obtain and access information, especially in the poorest environments. However, it is very important to point out, and this is the weakness of this report, that at many points it also intends to bring elements falling within the competence of the Member States under a uniform scope of action, thereby infringing or infringing the primacy of the right to decide on matters falling within the competence of the Member States. Respect for these powers, I think, is paramount. We must take united action to promote equal opportunities for women and girls.

Dear Mr President and fellow Members, Last week, we paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, including the Roma families who were victims of this incomprehensible violence, many of whose descendants still experience certain forms of discrimination and exclusion. Therefore, in 2010 and 2011, this House forced the Hungarian Presidency to adopt a European Roma strategy, and then in 2020 this House will review this European Roma strategy, which also affected the poorest non-Roma. But now, after COVID and the war, what we need is for the Swedish Presidency, which has been strengthened by us, by parties, by all parties, to be able to bring this issue to the table of the Council. There is hunger in these communities. In fact, we are starting from zero, which is why I am asking everyone, including the Swedish Presidency, to support the all-party Roma isolation on 8 April, International Roma Day.

Dear Mr President, With the current economic outlook, there are few more pressing and important issues for the Union than the employment policies of the Member States. And the situation is much worse among the very poorest, who have managed to pull themselves up somewhat in recent years, because the COVID crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian war have brought economic uncertainty, daily struggles, and it is very difficult for us to protect the jobs we have created. In 2010 we promised one million jobs in Hungary, 700,000 of which we have been able to achieve so far. At the time, 3.8 million people were working, and now 4.5 million people are working. Yet it is a huge task now to keep these jobs, to keep these families safe. I therefore suggest to you that, as we changed at the time, you also change. Instead of aid, it is necessary to provide an alternative, not a minimum income or various types of aid to the most vulnerable, but a job. This is the most important thing now, and remember to consider these poorest groups as a strong resource, their integration will bring a return on GDP.

Dear Madam President, 95.4 million people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2021, according to Eurostat data, in the European Union. This means that almost one in five EU citizens struggles on a daily basis to earn their livelihood or social esteem. However, the economic stagnation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war at the EU borders make this situation even more difficult, reaching the most vulnerable groups and families first. These include, for example, the Roma in Europe, whom I represent. In the light of the above, I propose to the European Commission and the Member States that some of the Hungarian best practices should be taken away and taken over in this difficult situation. Thanks to these factors, we have been able to reduce the number of Hungarians living in severe material deprivation from 27% to 8% in the last ten years. The number of Roma decreased from 78% to 31%. By making kindergarten education compulsory for children at the age of three, we have broken the vicious cycle of poverty, and it is very, very important that we would like to extend these tax benefits to parents, young people under the age of 25, mothers with many children and soon mothers under the age of 30. Please consider these actions, because they greatly alleviate the situation of the poor.

Dear Madam President, Commissioner, Poor and Gypsy settlements and Roma settlements in Slovakia are no different from Western European segregated ones, unfortunately. If you are not born there, it is difficult to imagine with what difficulties and inequality of opportunity the lives of those who are born in such a settlement begin. However, intergenerational extreme poverty can be stopped by making better use of EU funds. However, for this to happen, the funds must first be called up and then left to be spent without corruption and with the involvement of Roma and non-Roma leaders in the local community. Today, the war and the post-COVID recession have hit the poor in Europe, including the Roma in Europe, at their earliest and most severely. Today, there are starving European, Roma and non-Roma families as a result of COVID and the war. That is why I propose to all Member States the best measures of the Hungarian Government. I am speaking from practice and experience, which is why I am asking Member States to introduce compulsory pre-school education from the age of three into their national strategies, prior to the integration in crèches, the family home creation programme, in which, for example, a Hungarian citizen receives a 10 million HUF discount for buying a home. Large families received car purchase discounts, mothers with many children received eternal tax relief, as did young workers under the age of 25. So these incentives, in addition to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can hire Roma, are the development of Roma entrepreneurs so that they can set up larger companies. We must encourage these, because hunger and unemployment are again threatening this poorest group.

Dear Mr President, My fellow Members! The reality of war has been with us for more than two months. Ukraine, exposed to Russian aggression, needs full humanitarian assistance, and I am proud to say that I am part of a country that does help. And there is no dispute between us that the most important thing right now is help. I represent the most vulnerable. I am a member of a minority, but besides that, children and women are most exposed to the insecurity caused by the war. However, I must say that this report does not accurately illustrate the vulnerability of the situation of women and children fleeing Ukraine towards the EU in the sense that it opens a campaign against a Member State, and even against several Member States, which are being systematically attacked for political and ideological reasons. By welcoming women into our hospitals every day and helping their children. For this reason, I am compelled to systematically refute what has been said in the report, as many people are consciously distorted in relation to Hungary. We believe in the sanctity of the family, in our country, contrary to what is stated in the report, there is emergency contraception, which is available to anyone within a limited period of time, but its prescription can be justified from a medical point of view. Abortion is legal for 12 weeks. We also have 20- and 24-week cases where we can help you. Gay communities in the country are not subject to negative discrimination. We welcome all those who seek refuge in our country. Ukraine needs help now, and Hungary is helping. Help me, too.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The fight against cancer belongs not only to science, not only to society, not only to politics, but to all of us. Cancer kills more than 1.3 million people each year, including 6,000 children. 3 million new cases are diagnosed and more than 12 million survivors struggle to return to normal life. It is important that the results of scientific research are communicated to everyone in a comprehensible way. There are many misconceptions, unsubstantiated, inaccurate information in the public consciousness. If we are afraid of beliefs, we do not take part in regular self- and screening tests. Therefore, it is very important to act actively in prevention, to develop a healthy lifestyle and to regularly take part in screening tests. There can be no difference in cancer treatment. The fight against cancer must be centred on the human person and the preservation of human dignity.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Gender equality is a key issue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We regret that EU-wide lockdowns and economic stagnation have only increased the sense of insecurity and thus the differences between women and men. It is important to finally understand that the poorest, those at risk of poverty, and especially the Roma in Europe, face similar cumulative disadvantages. There, in the case of women, these differences, believe me, are even more striking, their proportion is greater, and their problem is much more serious. We cannot turn a blind eye to the rights of the poorest women. Here, however, in this report, using the issue not as an end, but rather as a means, I feel that they are trying to emphasise ideological elements – we are very far from a solution. Making them mandatory for the Member States is, in my view, unacceptable and goes beyond the scope of competence, as one of the colleagues has already mentioned. Since 2010, we have achieved many results in Hungary with the tax allowance for mothers with many children or with the unique family support system. Please follow these.

The next item is the debate on the report by Sandra Pereira, on behalf of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, on equality between women and men in the European Union 2018-2020 (2021/2020(INI)) (A9-0351/2021).

The debate is closed. The vote on the amendments will take place today and the final vote will take place on Tuesday. Written declarations (Rule 171)

We now continue with the debate on the report by Elissavet Vozemberg—Vrionidi and Sylwia Spurek on combating gender-based violence: cyberviolence (A9-0338/2021).

Before continuing with the debate, let me open today’s voting session. We will vote on the files as indicated on the agenda. The voting session will be open from 18.30 until 19.45. The same voting methods will be used as during the last part—sessions. All votes will be held by roll call. Explanations of vote may be submitted in writing. Explanations of vote containing a maximum of 400 words will be accepted. I declare the voting session open. You have until 19.45 to vote. The results of the vote will be announced on Tuesday, 14 December at 9.00.