Speeches

Mr President, Slovakia, or my country of origin, is one of the countries that does not recognise the existence of a separate and independent Kosovo. Nevertheless, I wish that these two ethnicities in the territory, ethnic Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, can live side by side in peace and tranquility. Kosovo-Serbian relations have undergone further turmoil in recent days, and tensions in the northern part of Kosovo are very high, and firefights may occur at any time in the future. It should be noted that it is not only Serbs who are responsible for the unsolvability of this problem. And we should also take into account the frequent provocations faced by the Serbian minority living in Kosovo. When diplomacy fails, weapons are then used to resolve the conflict. War and armed conflicts have never solved anything and have only brought loss of life, misery and suffering. I therefore consider it important, in this context, that the two ethnic groups living on this territory return to dialogue and work seriously on solutions, as they claim to see their future in the European Union. But the price of becoming part of the European Union is that they really have to work together so that there is no further loss of life.

Madam President, the European Union was established seventy years ago as a cooperation of economic countries that were perhaps not the greatest friends. This economic cooperation has evolved to what we have today in the European Union. I am very pleased that today we are discussing an instrument to help perhaps the weaker members, or some of us who are being attacked in some way by the countries of the European Union in this economic and trade area, because together we are the strongest only when the weakest link is the strongest. I am glad that, in this way, we can combat coercion from these third countries in the area of trade or some economic cooperation, and that we will have the tools to help these countries, which in some way will be constrained by other countries, to move forward. I am very pleased that the rapporteur for this proposal was our colleague Bernd Lange. I would very much like to congratulate him on this proposal, because it is really very good and our political group absolutely supports it, and we consider it to be a great success.

Mr President, it is irrelevant whether this is part of hybrid warfare and whether it is Russian propaganda or whatever. But the fact is that we have a huge amount of grain flowing from Ukraine to the European Union, which, in fact, we cannot completely control. I would like to know, Commissioner, whether, as has been said several times today, we know how much grain has already arrived in the territory of the European Union and how much we have actually exported, because the so-called 'Goodreads' have been exported. Solidarity Lanes they were designed to support, in fact, countries that are suffering from hunger, such as those in Africa and so on. I think that in order to help, we need to be strong and we cannot weaken the eastern border of the European Union and the countries that are on it, and our farmers, because once after the war, these farmers will have to continue to operate. We cannot afford to destroy these farmers and destroy agriculture in the east of the European Union. It will also be very interesting in the debate we will have on the next programming period and also on the common agricultural policy. And colleagues, when today we were able to approve 300 million for weapons, for the joint purchase of weapons, I do not think that we should be somehow resistant to approving such an amount in support of farmers and in support of bread in the east of the European Union.

Mr President, we all know today how we can designate, for example, Tokaj wine, in which region it can be produced. Just as we know in which region bryndza can be produced. I am very pleased that we will be able to discuss today and that tomorrow, I hope, we will all approve this proposal, and we will also be able to geographically identify products that are of an industrial or craft nature. We protect people's work, we create new jobs, we support the intellectual property of these people and I am very happy that, I hope, soon we will all know where in Slovakia or where in the world, for example, Modra ceramics or Karlovy Vary porcelain can be produced, or our Slovak beautiful embroidery or lace, which will be protected in this way. We will thus support the truly handmade, traditional, regional handicraft products that these people have been doing for centuries, and such protection of their origin and geographical indications of these products can help against counterfeiting, against counterfeiting. And indeed, the people who will buy these products will know that they really come from the region as intended. And I am very pleased that we will finally adopt such a proposal as the European Union.

Mr President, dear colleagues, in Kyrgyzstan, we are witnessing a deficit of freedom of speech. Our colleagues, the Social Democrats, are being persecuted. Activist Aijan Myrsan, for her criticism of the president, was sentenced to a large sum. Deputy Kadyr Atambaev was fined heavily for his criticism and allegations of corruption towards capital city officials. It is unacceptable to hold trials against deputies for their opinions and statements. The media outlet Bishkek 24 was also convicted for airing the deputy’s opinion. The Koi-Tash events court case has been ongoing for four years and the statements of 1 700 victims during the military suppression of the civilian population are not being considered by law enforcement agencies. Women, deputies, people with disabilities have been forced to attend court hearings three to four days a week for the trials, and all of them have lost their jobs and ability to earn. The freedom of public organisations is also under threat. There is a continuing attempt to raid the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, whose computers, equipment, offices and bank accounts have been closed and sealed for over four years. This is unacceptable for a democratic state. Something must happen and Kyrgyzstan has to remain the democratic country we would like it to be.

Madam President, how can we make Europe an attractive place for investment? I think we need three components. Europe must be a good place to live. Europe must be assured of good laws and rights. And Europe needs to promote innovation and ideas. A good place to live for me means that the people who work are smiling. They are good employees. They are people who know what rights they have, what duties they have, they have sufficient education, they know how to do their job, they have good working conditions, they have protection and thus fewer problems arise, thus fewer injuries and fewer staff turnover. This is the certainty that investors are looking for. The certainty of good laws and law means that our laws and law will be predictable. The fact that the open debate on the legal changes that we are preparing in the European Parliament, in the European Union as a whole, is taking some time means that everyone can prepare for it. The involvement of citizens and civil society in such a debate is also very important so that the whole of society can prepare for it. Expertise and clear goals for the future are also what define the European Union as a good place for investment, as well as our strategic thinking and the fact that we are preparing these things very far ahead. Fostering innovation and ideas means investing in people, in their education, including in ways such as Erasmus, by investing in schools. This means conditions for schools to educate well so that they can make exchanges between their staff and students. Investing in research and education, investing in creating a supportive environment for start-ups and new companies, supporting digitalisation and technology. I think that our investors should be predominantly our citizens, our Member States. Only then can we look for investors from abroad. This is what we should focus on, because Europe is a good place to invest.

Madam President, when I look at this room today, it is after ten o'clock in the evening, but we can see who is really interested in young people in the European Union. We've got a year to go to the polls and we're the faction. It is a great honour for me to sit here today with my colleagues from a youth organisation who have been fighting together and working on this for more than a decade. I'm very glad that Alicia is here, that Brando is here, that Saul is here, that I can be here as a former representative of our youth organization. But it is a little sad that after ten years we are still talking about whether young people should be paid for their internship. I think it definitely does. I think we need a directive. The European Union must be a leader in this matter. We need to set these rules because we too have European institutions that do traineeships for free, and this is not acceptable in the 21st century. If someone works, they should receive a reward for their work. And the fact that we are discussing this is absolutely shocking and inconceivable to me. I am sorry that there are also colleagues among us who are still sitting here in this European Parliament, for whom trainees have worked for free. And that's really something that we, as an institution, have to fight against. We have to take the lead and we, as a faction, stand there.

Madam President, childhood is also associated with good food for all of us. For me, it was fresh tomatoes, peppers and lečo at one grandmother's house and boiled potatoes with sour milk at the other grandmother's house. These foods were healthy, homemade, and they were just great. Personally, I therefore think that what we can do for European agriculture and for its resilience is, first and foremost, to appreciate the hard work of these people farmers, who carry it out so that we all have something to eat. I think we need to motivate young farmers to stay in the regions to engage in farming, because it is a beautiful job. I think that we will also support our food sovereignty by promoting the local regional products that we produce in the European Union. For example, we will not import avocados from Mexico, but we will support healthy apples coming from Slovakia, Poland, oranges from Spain, parmesan from Italy, olives from Greece and so on. I also think that the very important thing we can do for farmers is to equalise payments to farmers in all parts of the European Union, because this will promote their equality and their equal support.

Madam President, batteries are such a big innovation today that they can store electricity or energy as such, which we really use in large quantities. We use them not only in means of transport, where we may use them more and more, but also for the various products and appliances we use. I consider it very important in this regard to increase the capacity of batteries and also their lifespan, because this is very important. And as they become more and more used, we really need to think about what we're making them from and how we can actually recycle that waste that comes from batteries, because it's really very dangerous. But also how we will use and collect the resources that we will use and need to produce batteries, because many of the elements that are found in batteries are very precious metals, precious materials that are often not even found in the territory of the European Union and that is why we have to import them from outside. That's why recycling is very important to me, and we need to think about improving recycling. And we also need to think about, when we import from third countries, whether this is not the modern colonialism that we are using, and whether those conditions are really beneficial for those third countries.

Mr President, every country, and of course everyone in the European Union, has the right to sovereignty over its own territory and to pass laws that it thinks are right for its people. And I do not like to comment very much on one of the Member States of the European Union, but I think that the adoption of this law, which we are currently discussing, in Poland, is not exactly the right step towards democracy. The creation of a special commission that can prevent people from running for democratic elections, for example, is absolutely wrong. For example, if we look at it only from a legal point of view, one commission cannot make a decision by, for example, doing an investigation, examining whether someone is an agent of a foreign country, and at the same time making a decision. This requires that the special courts designated for this purpose be targeted. I think that Poland should consider this decision because it is not entirely positive. But at the same time, I would like to add that when we are talking about the removal of Poland's presidency as a Member State of the European Union, I absolutely do not support this, because the Presidency is something that is symbolic, which is given very far ahead, and I do not think that this is a decision in the right direction.

Madam President, it is said in vain that Ukraine is the grain of Europe. And above all, this grain, which we are all still talking about here, should have been destined for Africa, and indeed for people who are poor and who are starving. We in Eastern Europe or in Central and Eastern Europe do not really want this cheap uncontrolled grain, because we do not know what its very specific origin is. And as has already been said. We have samples in Slovakia that prove that this grain is not suitable for consumption according to our standards. Commissioner, you said that the Slovak Republic has received around 800 thousand tonnes of grain over the last period. But the compensation according to the new approved schedule is some five million euros, which gives me about 6 and a half euros per tonne. And that doesn't seem quite right to me. This is Eastern Europe, we have to say. This is Eastern Europe. If it were France, Germany, Italy, we would all talk differently. As has been said, also by several speakers. You know, our countries that are most affected now by this problem of grain from Ukraine are also countries where there are now very many Ukrainian refugees. Where our people really aren't at their best, and I think we should take care of their health and what they want. These countries, these five countries, make up one-fifth of the European Union and one-fifth of its population. This is how we should approach it.

Madam President, in 2015 the experts described the Dieselgate case as groundbreaking and they were right. The case sparked mistrust of diesel engines and put a sharp strain on the transition to electric vehicles. All this must be added to the increased traffic and operating price of the vehicles, because every new diesel car has to refuel AdBlue, the price of which is constantly rising. Compared to last year, when it was 20 cents, today it is 70 cents and more, because it is produced from natural gas. In addition, a new study shows that emissions manipulation is still a reality. Three quarters of European diesel cars are likely to have equipment installed that influences emission test results and artificially shows lower emission values. It's a huge number of vehicles. These are the tens of millions of cars that are still in circulation. We clearly see this as a betrayal of consumer and public confidence, and the authorities cannot continue to let car manufacturers slip away with impunity. In many cases, in the context of this case, car manufacturers in Europe were neither punished nor held accountable. Something similar can happen with the introduction of the new Euro 7 emissions standard under discussion and with electric vehicles, where the environmental impact is artificially reduced, and ultimately only consumers will pay for it.

Madam President, Commissioner McGuinness, first of all I would like to thank you for presenting today the Commission's proposal, or what you think should be a digital euro. It is also important to stress to the citizens of the European Union that this is actually the first debate we have in the European Parliament on the digital euro, and it certainly does not mean its introduction, nor that we agree or disagree with it, but it is really a debate. We are really seeing the growth of cryptocurrencies around the world, and this is actually our answer to that. But is it really enough for us that it's because everyone does it, will we do it too? I think it has been said many times in today's debate that we need a clear definition of what makes the digital euro better than the euro we use, so that we can actually explain it to the citizens of the European Union. It is also very clearly important for our political group that the digital euro is safe, easy to use, deposit protection and the protection of users of this currency, as well as the protection of buyers, and especially their privacy, when they use this euro. So I see positively that we are discussing it, but we should definitely define what the added value really is and why we are going to use it, why we are going to use it and whether our citizens will really perceive it positively. This is certainly important, because we as politicians can have an opinion, but citizens are the ones who will use it.

Mr President, this week in Slovakia we are celebrating the so-called Day of Daffodils, which is a symbol of the fight against cancer. Cancer is not just one, it has different forms and affects different parts of a person's body. It is an insidious disease, which in the beginning does not need to hurt at all, and therefore it is often revealed only at an advanced stage. According to the latest findings, there are up to 40,000 cancer cases per year in Slovakia, which is a huge number. It is still one of the most common causes of death in the world, but also in Europe. Therefore, it is important to appeal to preventive examinations and not to neglect them. Early diagnosis can prevent the development of the disease in many cases. Prevention has been neglected in recent years due to coronary measures and overburdening of the health system. I think it is necessary to appeal to the Member States to support and encourage people to visit, including by supporting the campaigns of organisations working with cancer patients and their families. Each of us has a person close to us who fights, fights or overcomes cancer. Let's support each other and we in Slovakia will attach a flower of daffodil as a symbol of support.

Mr President, none of us supports deforestation. Trees and forests are the lungs of the planet and we all need to breathe. We must support revitalisation, restoring forests and preserving diversity and improving the climate. But not only by the foolish proclamation of, for example, national parks, but also by the proper management of the forest. And people live in and with the forest, and we have to think of them first and foremost when adopting any legislation. For example, when we legislate on the energy efficiency of buildings and ban the use of energy from fossil fuels, we are de facto banning gas heating, and people who are poorer and live in such forest areas need to deal with their heating, and so often they are curing wood. Also, the current pressure to limit nuclear power will result in a lack of electricity and people will again heat more with wood. We must therefore be aware that, when adopting any legislation, it is necessary to think sensitively, to look at all the impacts, and above all to think of the people who will use it.

Mr President, I consider the adoption of this directive on pay transparency to be historic. Finally, we will have legislation in the European Union that will genuinely support the reduction of the pay gap between men and women. Defining what equal work actually means is important so that we can compare, so that we do not encounter the notion that women still do less, easier, easier work and therefore do not deserve equal pay. I am pleased that we have succeeded in promoting greater transparency in pay and also improving the position of trade unions in collective bargaining. The obligation to publish the level of pay not only for the positions offered, but also the mandatory publication and comparison of the level of pay for men and women will make it clear what the real situation is in the European Union. We'll see who's really trying and who's just looking at equality. Unfortunately, this will only apply to large companies and I believe that this is the way for the future so that we can move on. Countries have anti-discrimination laws, but practice shows us that this can be circumvented by various surcharges and the like. In this way, we will be able to effectively apply the existing laws, which are not used enough today, and we will see who is really trying and who is just looking at equality.

Madam President, I totally disagree with what everyone is saying here that we should procure weapons together. We can see how it went with the joint procurement of vaccines. But first and foremost, I think that we are not an institution to deal with military and defence matters at all. After all, we ourselves have written in our treaties that our defence policy is peacekeeping, conflict prevention, military advice, disarmament and humanitarian aid. We're going against something we shouldn't even do. How do we explain this to the public? I agree that there is a need to help Ukraine, but I do not think that by now jointly starting to procure weapons, the European Union is doing something that is a solution to this conflict that is currently taking place in Ukraine. I don't agree with that. I think the military institution is NATO. The countries of the European Union that wanted to be in NATO are there, those that wanted to cooperate militarily, they cooperate, and it is not our place and our right to deal with such issues at all. That's not what the citizens gave us.

Mr President, I would like to ask you about transatlantic relations, Mr Borrell. We have always had very good cooperation with the Americans in terms of humanitarian aid and support to the countries that were most vulnerable, which had various problems. Today, for example, we are discussing critical raw materials that are needed for both us and Americans, and for other countries, such as China, to produce and develop various products. I would like to ask, where is the current discussion with the United States on this issue? Which regions do we consider to be so important to us? But also in relation not only to what humanitarian aid we are supporting and how we are supporting people in these regions, but also to how we are protecting these people? And since we are friends, but also competitors, how do we actually help these countries to fight climate change? Because very often these exploited resources, which we use and extract, cause various environmental problems.

Mr President. Commissioner. Today, for example, we have approved a document here that talks about how we should have energy-efficient buildings. It mentions, for example, that we want fossil fuel to no longer be used for heating, which only implies that we can use either solid fuel or more electricity. I come from a country that has more than fifty percent of its energy mix of nuclear electricity or electricity from nuclear sources. So we have Russian reactors and we use fuel from the Russian Federation. I would like to ask, since there is currently a debate on the eleventh package of sanctions against Russia, which also mentions the possibility of banning the import of fuel from the Russian Federation, how the Commission intends to deal with assistance to these Member States, which will then have to source these resources for nuclear power plants from other countries, which will be more energy-intensive, but also more financially demanding, because it is not a completely simple matter. And it will also potentially increase the price of this electricity for people. And yet it is really about the self-sufficiency of the countries that we can talk about renewables, which are beautiful, but they are not always usable, and of course it takes some time to start them.

Mr President. In the current economic and energy crisis, our citizens are suffering the most. The Commission undertook to present at the end of the year a proposal for a ban on caged animal husbandry and how it will be phased out. I don't think it's right for us to deal with this right now. The prices of basic food are rising, we have a shortage of vegetables and proteins, and this is when the huge inflation is bringing all the prices to the stratosphere. While I may find it sympathetic to think of the citizens who signed the citizens' initiative to end cage farming, we must think first of all about people and their well-being and not about the psychological survival of hens or pigs. In litter farming hens die three times and in free breeding up to five times the animals, which is a really high number. However, our people need to eat, they need access to healthy food and have enough. Now is not the time for such fantasies. However, if we finally approach the ban, we need to have a sufficiently long transition period, enough funding to help farmers and, above all, to think that we also need enough people to implement these much more demanding farms, because there are really few of them today.

Mr President, I am very sorry that there are so few of us here on such an important subject, and that it would be much better if he were really here, that full house and everyone would sit here and listen, because it is very important how we look at the European Union. And when we talk about the future, I have great respect and I want to say that I appreciate the European External Service and all our colleagues who work in European diplomacy, as well as in the diplomacy of each country. But I think we need to think about whether we really want a majority vote in the Council, which we are talking about tonight, because I, coming from a smaller member country, is something that is unacceptable to us and we cannot support it, because we feel that we are omitting small Member States. Today, the European Union has the problem that its support is steadily declining, that people feel that someone else is deciding somewhere else in Brussels, that it is not about them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that contributes to it. If we really suppress that slightly different view, because that consensus is what brought us together, what makes the European Union better, and therefore the consensus on these issues, where it is, is very much preserved.

Madam President, the situation has taught us, unfortunately, that we need to look for alternatives and other resources so that we can support our farmers and use fertilisers. It is therefore important to promote the use of more organic and organic fertilisers and the use of nutrients from recycled waste. I think that it is necessary to support domestic producers in the European Union and also to include them among the strategic sectors. I think that we need to encourage livestock farming, because this natural fertiliser that they produce is very appropriate and natural and we should allow it to be used more widely. If we can allocate and reallocate the European Union's resources in the current crisis to other issues, I think we can reallocate them to our farmers and growers as well. We must not destroy our soil, because healthy soil means healthy food, and healthy food means healthier people. Fertilizers are costly and therefore these natural ones are much better, and indeed, because of this scarcity, we should really seize the opportunity to make more use of them.

Mr President, I am fascinated at the outset by the fact that on a subject such as the year of the war in Ukraine, colleagues from the EPP are using it embarrassingly to attack us as their political opponents. But I think it is also necessary to talk about things such as the victim of European Union citizens living on the border with Ukraine, namely, for example, citizens of the Slovak Republic, Poland, but also Romania, who opened their homes and helped as volunteers and helped refugees coming from Ukraine, women and children. And indeed, often they were people who didn't have much of their own, and they gave the last one to help these refugees when the government couldn't. So I want to thank them very much and also mention them in this discussion, because it is very important to see that really what people think. And I think these people don't want to talk about guns, they want to talk about peace. That is why I think that we, too, as politicians, should also talk about the fact that a peace project such as the European Union should also offer peace in the fight in Ukraine and help to end this war. Because the death and suffering of those women and children who die every day in Ukraine is terrible.

Mr President, on 1 January 2023, we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia and thus the establishment of an independent Slovak Republic. I consider this an important milestone that deserves not only a celebration, but also a look back and appreciate what we have achieved in the era of independence. Slovakia gradually became a member of all important international organizations and in 2004, almost twenty years ago, also of the European Union. Thanks to the work and commitment of the left-wing government, we joined Schengen in 2009 and have been using the euro since that year. We have thus significantly protected our citizens from economic fluctuations, and even today we are benefiting more from this common currency than the countries that have retained their currencies. I am delighted that this year Croatia has joined us in Schengen and the euro area, allowing our citizens to travel freely without borders to all the seas in Europe. The Slovak Presidency of the European Union in 2016 is still perceived as very successful, which is also positive. We may not always have the same opinion and attitude on the issues we face, but we have always been a constructive partner in the discussion as a country.