Sunčana GLAVAK

Policy topics Sunčana GLAVAK is active on

What Sunčana GLAVAK has said (39)

• 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much. Commissioner colleagues, according to estimations, we'll need 5 to 10 years in order to stop lagging behind other countries that are doing well in artificial intelligence. But I think that we need sovereignty in order to develop artificial intelligence and technologies that would be also to the benefit of our citizens. We have to take into account our interests, the interests of our companies because we can't build our future on this position that we'll always have these technologies available and without any political risks. But this does not mean that Europe needs to do everything on its own. No. We simply means that we should not, be without our proper means, and we should not allow Europe to become somebody's digital colony. It's not only a question of sovereignty, but also.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2026-06-16 “(15:58:08 – 15:59:35): Thank you very much, commissioner, president. Unfortunately, it's a fact that the cumulative effect of so much regulation is still a problem. A concrete example, administrative burden, for example, for a small pharmacy that produces its own products in small packaging has to report on packaging, types of materials, paper, plastics. So check every single packaging, calculate the mass of this packaging and fill in the forms. So for small quantities, this can result in an absurd amount of administrative work with a couple of cents of administrative fee. So this is absurd. So for example, a 0.06 euro administrative tax was much less than the banking fee to pay it, not taking into consideration the work that got into this. But you said, think small first. So we need to apply this in regulation and in legislation, not to burden small businesses further, but to really help them, to send simplify the procedure. So one we we made. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you very much, Commissioner. Colleagues. According to estimations, will need 5 to 10 years in order to stop lagging behind other countries that are doing well in artificial intelligence. But I think that we need a sovereignty in order to develop an artificial intelligence and technologies that would be also to the benefit of our citizens. We have to take into account our interests, the interests of our companies, because we can't build our future on the supposition that US will always have these technologies available and without any political risks. But this does not mean that Europe needs to do everything on its own. No, we simply means that we should not be without our proper means, and we should not allow Europe to become somebody's digital colony. It's not only a question of sovereignty, but also.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• 2025-08-15 “E-003247/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Séjourné on behalf of the European Commission The reasons for excluding audiovisual media services and radio media services from the scope of application of Directive 2014/24/EU 1 are explained in its Article 10(b) and Recital 23. The Directive allows to take into consideration aspects of cultural or social significance when awarding public contracts for these services, which render the application of public procurement rules inappropriate. As announced in the 2024-2029 Political Guidelines 2 , the Commission will revise the 2014 Public Procurement Directives and it is currently evaluating them 3 . Once the evaluation is completed, the Commission will consider concrete measures and options to shape a new proposal, including on the scope of the Directives. More generally, supporting for and protection of independent media are one of the key priorities of the Commission as expressed in the Political Guidelines. This commitment was reinforced in the State of the Union address where the President announced the launch of a new Media Resilience Programme. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014L0024. 2 https://commission.europa.eu/about/commission-2024-2029_en. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14427-Public-procurement-directivesevaluation_en.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms · EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• 2025-06-25 “E-002557/2025 Answer given by Mr Hoekstra on behalf of the European Commission The Emissions Trading System for buildings, road transport and additional sectors (ETS2) provides safeguards for a smooth start. A major share of ETS2 revenues will accrue to national budgets and must be used for climate action, including social impacts. The Social Climate Fund (SCF) will address the impacts of ETS2 on vulnerable households and microenterprises, mobilising at least EUR 86.7 billion between 2026 and 2032, to renovate buildings and decarbonise heating and transport. As per Directives (EU) 2024/1275 1 and 2023/1791 2 , countries must preferentially target financial measures for energy efficiency in buildings to vulnerable households. The Commission also issued the Affordable Energy Action Plan and will issue The Citizens Energy Package by early 2026. National ETS2 revenues, the SCF, and many other EU programmes, can co-invest in charging infrastructure. The Energy Performance of Building Directive provides for the roll-out of charging infrastructure in buildings. To simplify the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and reduce compliance costs, the Commission recently proposed, and co-legislators provisionally agreed on, a set of changes 3 which would exempt around 90% of importers (mainly small and medium-sized enterprises) while keeping around 99% of emissions in the CBAM scope. 1 Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (recast). 2 Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (recast). 3 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) · Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Thank you very much. But could you please tell me, how do you plan to prevent what is happening every second on encoded online platforms where videos or photographies of sexual exploitation of children is being shared? Many children from schools have met in person with people who they've met for the first time online. They certainly do not have their parent's approval. Europol has also detected 2000 links to terrorist and extremist content directed towards minors who are planned targets. How would you deal with this?”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Thank you very much dear Peter, dear colleagues. I will speak in Croatia. Ms Jordi, dear colleagues, I agree with what Ms Jordi has said, and this is that we need a stable and predictable framework, which is a necessity for any investment into any economy. I agree that this is the crucial precondition. What we need to get rid of is disinformation and something that has no place in political space, and that is that EPP wants new taxes for citizens and the business community because this is simply not true. What we want is to go towards realizing our climate objectives, but the Commission is facing a great challenge, and this is our challenge: a communication challenge. You're speaking about huge amounts that member states have had at their disposal but have not used. This might be a mistake of communication. You need to say it clearly. Obviously, the citizens do not understand this; the business community, the SMEs do not understand this and should understand this. Also, ETS too can be an important tool for the future of Europe, but only coupled with solidarity and support for citizens and the economy. So the economic and social burden is something that has to be taken into account, and the EPP is taking account of this if we want to remain competitive. So my question is, namely Croatia has also done some estimates, held focus groups, held public discussions. We have targeted all the actors that will be involved. So in this context, we need to monitor real economic and social effects. Does the Commission have any mechanisms for changing the policies if some of the groups turn out to be under income or incommensurate pressure? Sorry about taking over the time.”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Thank you very much. Thank you. President. Dear colleagues. Commissioner. This is a question that we're asking not because we don't have rules, but because we do have rules. But unfortunately, there are so many systemic risks now out there. You know these. They're not just the ones that convey content. They also shape the content and disinformation, you know, clickbait, trying to get as much engagement, trying to make as much profit as you possibly can. And of course, there's the question of electoral interference. And I don't know, our European citizens don't really believe in democracy anymore. It is a difficult situation. You know, we've seen how Russian propaganda operates. We've seen various incidents. We've seen, you know, certain content being promoted, other content being played down. It's no coincidence. Now, if you look at article 34 of the DSA, you'll find that there is an obligation imposed upon online platforms. They have to check these things and they have to. If the content is not right, they have to take it down. And there's also article 36, I believe. Why don't we use these instruments? So dear colleagues, this doesn't have anything to do with freedom of expression or any other kind of freedom, freedom of expression. Freedom of opinion doesn't mean to say that the owners of these large online platforms can manipulate things using their visibility as a tool. That's why we want to send them a message today. We want to make sure that these platforms are not left without any kind of responsibility for their actions.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Yes, thank you very much. I will speak in Croatian. Sorry, sorry about that. Um, first of all, I believe we should never give up. And I think this is my main message. But now, as we are entering into the second new phase of implementing the Green Plan and ets2 and cbam. We need to ensure that this transition is efficient and just, and that we manage the transition without creating social or new geopolitical tensions. You have also said that it has to be safe for the environment, for citizens and for the economy. One problem that I need to point out to in border regions like in Croatia and it is pollution does not stop at the borders of the EU. There are no borders for pollution. So in industrial and climate strategy, we need to deal with the problem of cross-border pollution coming from from countries across the border who do not apply to cbam. So we should maybe consider what we can do about this, for example, in the cement industry. Secondly, there is a Uh, always uh, a problem of, uh, possible, uh, leakage of industry to less demanding countries, uh, especially to European neighbors neighborhood. So will the clean, uh, plan for clean industry include some provisions in this respect? And, uh, furthermore, we need to explain to our citizens what the Climate Transition Fund, Social Fund for Climate Transition will, uh, bring to the citizens and what will be, uh, the compensation measures. And we need to communicate them clearly. So we need we must avoid any excessive burdening or additional burdening of households or micro companies. Uh, colleagues have also mentioned nuclear energy. We need to see it as a stable energy source without CO2 emissions in the context of safe energy supply. And I support this idea. Thank you.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “Dear colleagues. Women read reports, they follow statistical data. And in many countries there are more educated than men and they make up half of the world population. That is true. There is no equality in pay. And it is true that we speak of that every year around the International Women's Day. But it's also true that we have to work on women's financial independence, because this is a prerequisite for gaining respectable station in society and in the family. And this also reflects our demographic values. Of course, inequality does not end when leaving the labour market, but it also follows women in their old age and we need to address the causes and provide solutions. Of course, there is also the issue of women's unpaid labor and also the glass ceiling. But we cannot measure all this in averages. But when looking whether women have the same financial security and if they have dignified pensions. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Uh, furthermore, young people, the young people we talk to are very concerned about politics. They wanted a stronger regulatory framework. So I would like to know, uh, at what stage is the, uh, mini wallet, uh, which is supposed to check the age of people. Uh. So could you please prepare for one of our future meetings? Uh, this is still in the pilot phase, uh, in five countries. Uh, people are asking how you are you going to help us? So there's no point in member states, uh, having different solutions for the age limit. How can we say that, uh, in one member state, maybe they can vote, uh, when they are 16, but they are not digitally of age when they are 16. So this is another dilemma that the young people pose. We have to talk to the young people whose future we are deciding about. Uh, I welcome the action plan. I'm glad that after four years, we finally have a common definition of cyber cyberbullying, and I hope that you will be able to work faster because I'm afraid otherwise AI will do the job instead of us. Thank you.”
  Electronic identity
• “Thank you, Commissioner. Mr. Lennox. Dear colleagues. Protecting children against sexual abuse is not an issue for jurisdictions or an ideological issue. It is a question of common sense and it's how we should view it. Only in 2023, in the European Union, more than we had more than 30 reports of contents that showed sexual abuse of children. This is frightening. The digital space is a battlefield. Over 85% of material, including sexual abuse of children, is uncovered on platforms. Let me show you an example from Croatia. This is one of the rare countries that has adopted its legislation to adopt multinational protocols for intervention. However, no single member state can do it alone. Our duty as Lawmakers is to create an environment in which no children will be victims of abuse, because institutions were unable to work swiftly or because algorithms did not notice such material. So this directive is extremely important. We need to criminalise it. We need to abolish the statute of limitation and this is our responsibility.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Colleague. You speak about our country. But it would be good to check your numbers again because you're not right. Uh, the average difference in pay in the EU is 11.1%. Do you know the difference in Croatia? You don't know because you're lying in Croatia. The difference is 6.6% in trying to portray Croatia in a very negative light. You, uh, mention wrongful numbers. And as regards the pensions, uh, in the first since the first mandate of the government, they have risen 107%. Uh, 107%.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much for giving me the floor. Mr. Commissioner, I believe that the European Democracy Shield should be much more than an administrative measure. It should be a geopolitical answer and a protective mechanism of the European Union. Therefore, it is very important to see how this centre for Democratic Resilience will function. Why? Because we live at times when democracy is not attacked by weaponry, but instead propaganda, false narratives, manipulation, cyber attacks, and economic extortion. Finally, we have understood that we shouldn't be naive any longer. This is the first and all comprehensive framework that protects us from foreign interference, which are trying to undermine our institutions and polarise our society. We need to strengthen the media. We need to have transparency of political financing, but we also need to work on cyber security and defence of our way of life. I would like to welcome your announcement of Of introducing digital literacy and in schools and also for informing citizens. Thank you.”
  Foreign interference in Europe
• “Much, Madam Vice President. Dear colleagues. Digital networks are equally strategic as energy or defence. Of course, that without connectivity, safe connectivity, there is no modern industry and there is no real European sovereignty. This is our opportunity to boost investments into 5G and six G networks, and to speed up the modernisation of the infrastructure. However, I'd like you to answer a very concrete question, and this is resilience to information in this age of mobility. Uh, I initiated a question ten, ten days ago. Many colleagues supported me. So thank you for answering this. Uh, I, uh, sent a letter to Vice President Virkkunen, uh, and I was talking about, uh, radios in cars, which is in article 1.1. So every every radio, which is going to be marketed in Europe, needs to have a receiver that can receive and reproduce radio services through digital terrestrial systems. Thank you very much for taking this into consideration. I believe that we practically succeeded today. Cars are computers on wheels, and this proposal is closer to the goal of keeping a radio in it. This is not a question of culture. It is also an issue of security. If there is a power outage, radio is quite often the last medium that is available to the citizens. I believe that this is a European value that we need to maintain. So the DNA also needs to protect the public interest for radio to remain Accessible in the new cars. Thank you for doing that.”
  Radio equipment (common charger)
• “Yes. Thank you very much. Continue, please. Yes, of course I will continue in Croatian. So very briefly. I just want to say, as a former journalist, the times have changed. And nowadays there are both political and economic pressures exerted on journalists. And we are witnessing this in a number of countries. And this is why the traditional media is now becoming less dominant, because there is also the wave of new digital media. But I would also like to point out misinformation, because there is an 80% higher chance for misinformation to be shared than the facts. And I think this definitely contributes to the speedier propagation of false news. It has been proven that the countries with the weaker laws and the lower level of media literacy are more prone to such influences. Therefore, I would like to encourage us all to be proactive. Let us not just react. Once the journalists had already been attacked, which was the case, for example, with the murder of the Maltese journalists. I believe that we should focus on the protection of journalists and the protection of media freedom proactively. In small communities. It is important to see how we can financially aid the smaller media and broadcasting houses to see how they can contribute to the media literacy in young people and in senior citizens. Thank you.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• “I think we need to start by looking at exactly what the Court of Auditors said. And secondly, we shouldn't be spreading false information. If funding hadn't been available, how do you think Croatia would have recovered from the earthquake, for example? What would have Zagreb have looked like if your party had been responsible for the recovery? I would ask you to provide data and to have a look at some of the data. What you're saying is not correct and it's not right to lie or not right.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Dear colleagues. Women read reports, they follow statistical data. And in many countries there are more educated than men and they make up half of the world population. That is true. There is no equality in pay. And it is true that we speak of that every year around the International Women's Day. But it's also true that we have to work on women's financial independence, because this is a prerequisite for gaining respectable station in society and in the family. And this also reflects our demographic values. Of course, inequality does not end when leaving the labour market, but it also follows women in their old age and we need to address the causes and provide solutions. Of course, there is also the issue of women's unpaid labor and also the glass ceiling. But we cannot measure all this in averages. But when looking whether women have the same financial security and if they have dignified pensions. Thank you.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much, dear Commissioner. Dear colleagues. When digital systems go down, schools, public institutions, citizens hospitals, the whole system is under attack. And Nissan has registered almost 5000 serious incidents in the EU over the past year. It shows that the threats are daily, sophisticated and ever increasing. And thank you, Madam Commissioner, for announcing the strengthening of Enisa, but also simplification. The Cyber Security Act strengthens Enisa and introduces a single certification system in order for the market to be safer and for trust to be greater. We also have the director directive that introduces more responsibility, including fines for serious irregularities. But we have to face reality. The enforcement is not. Even less than half of the member states transposed the directive by mid 2025. My conclusion Europe has to be open in the digital sense, but in the cyber sense, we have to be really strong and there should be no compromises there.”
  Scope of EU cybersecurity obligations
• “Thank you very much. Dear colleagues, we're talking about the joint European response when it comes to ever more frequent climate incidents of fire. Uh, wildfires are certainly one of such important incidents. Europe has lost 500,000 hectares of forest last year. The rescue fleet had 28 planes and four helicopters last year. It will play an important role to help member states. I come from Croatia. Unfortunately, Croatia has been facing an ever greater number of wildfires, so I strongly support this. Last year we signed a contract to buy two new Canadair planes from this mechanism, which should be delivered in 2027 to 2028. We have shown a great operational readiness facing different threats so we can share our experiences. We have also invested €634 million into firefighting efforts and additional 55 million to buy additional equipment, but the union of preparedness must be more flexible. It must have a targeted support which is adjusted to local needs. In conclusion, we need prevention and operational plans. Rational investments in security and safety.”
  Management of EU forests
• “Colleague. You speak about our country. But it would be good to check your numbers again because you're not right. Uh, the average difference in pay in the EU is 11.1%. Do you know the difference in Croatia? You don't know because you're lying in Croatia. The difference is 6.6% in trying to portray Croatia in a very negative light. You, uh, mention wrongful numbers. And as regards the pensions, uh, in the first since the first mandate of the government, they have risen 107%. Uh, 107%.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Dear colleagues, we have identified the problems. I'd like to thank the Commission for doing so, but I would like to say something on behalf of farmers, small and medium entrepreneurs and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce. Europe should not be a continent of Eurocrats. This is why we need real solutions for workers, entrepreneurs, farmers and families throughout Europe. Let's have a look at our industry. Producers are facing high prices of energy and complex regulations. The clean industrial deal is important, but we must cut the red tape, improve and fasten the issuing of approvals for clean energy. If we want to be a frontrunner in energy, we must invest. This is not just to support big high tech companies. We must help startups and entrepreneurs in the next steps. Let's not forget structural obstacles to competitiveness have been identified, but we're still waiting for action now and not in one year's time.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Uh, furthermore, young people, the young people we talk to are very concerned about politics. They wanted a stronger regulatory framework. So I would like to know, uh, at what stage is the, uh, mini wallet, uh, which is supposed to check the age of people. Uh. So could you please prepare for one of our future meetings? Uh, this is still in the pilot phase, uh, in five countries. Uh, people are asking how you are you going to help us? So there's no point in member states, uh, having different solutions for the age limit. How can we say that, uh, in one member state, maybe they can vote, uh, when they are 16, but they are not digitally of age when they are 16. So this is another dilemma that the young people pose. We have to talk to the young people whose future we are deciding about. Uh, I welcome the action plan. I'm glad that after four years, we finally have a common definition of cyber cyberbullying, and I hope that you will be able to work faster because I'm afraid otherwise AI will do the job instead of us. Thank you.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you. Thank you Commissioner. Colleagues, today is a moment of truth for European democracy. A European Media Freedom Act is not just a simple legislative act. It is a tool against authoritarian regimes. Media freedom is not merely decorative. If both the left and right are unhappy and we're in the middle, then perhaps this means that we are doing good work. This regulation should protect citizens independence of editors, of journalists, transparency of for shareholders, and independence of journalism. And that's something that is crucial right now as it is fighting disinformation and allowing the media to be used as tools. It allows us to fight political filters in. Boards and amongst editors. The European Union is based on values, respect, human dignity, democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights. If these values mean anything, then the M4 regulation is not a luxury but a necessity. In my own country, there is a piece of draft legislation that would focus on implementing infra. Colleagues, we have to protect journalists and their independence and ensure that they are allowed to have financial independence as well.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• “Thank you madam. Executive Vice President Dear colleagues, cyber bullying is today part of the European digital space and an integral problem of this space and not only a byproduct of internet, 97% of young people, some of them are perhaps here in this house, live on a daily basis on the internet. 1 in 6 children in the European Union have been a victim of violence on the internet. This is why I congratulate you on this action. Eu action plan on against cyber bullying. The introduction of a common definition of cyber bullying is a good starting point. Without it, we cannot ensure in implementation and joint and shared responsibility. And this was quite clear from the consultation public consultation process. We also need to criminalise cyber bullying. Violence does not stop with the school bell. It travels 24 hours a day on mobile phones and everywhere. We need to focus on prevention, protection of victims, responsibility or accountability of platforms. We need to invest into digital literacy, and we need to make sure that the schools, parents, police and the government cooperate and across the borders because violence does not stop at the borders. And to conclude, we need to send a clear message. Online violence is real. If I tell you you have a horrible tie, your Your glasses are horrible. Would you say this to someone directly? This leaves a permanent marks.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Yes. Thank you very much. Colleague. You mentioned Montenegro. It's good that you were there. Can I remind you that Croatia provided support to Montenegro, and that Croatia is one of the perfect examples of how you can invest in prevention and protection? Croatia has invested €650 million in this, and I think this is a message that we need to get across to others. There is a big discrepancy between the readiness of governments Uh, to to invest in prevention of forest fires. I think we need EU solidarity and we need to strengthen our resistance. And I think there we agree.”
  Management of EU forests
• “Thank you. Chair. Dear colleagues. This fine is not an end in itself. This is a tool to reopen the markets, to enable the media and publisher to access freely the market. Let's look at the real situation. Small local media, radio stations, newspapers. They live on the ads. And when a platform favors its own ads and does not allow room for other options, they simply cannot survive. This sends a strong message that we are deciding to protect our autonomy, and this is a message to our transatlantic partners. Yes, to dialogue, but with respect of our cultural diversity. This is not a decision against the US. This is the decision for Europe. This also strengthens the stance of the European Parliament that this is an issue for the European Union, and not a matter for negotiations. And this also confirms our cultural diplomacy of the European Union. In this way, we are trying to strike a balance in with the in the relations with American soft power policies, especially concerning the influence of American platforms such as Netflix, Netflix, Disney and Prime. They have strengthened their power in. Promoting the their content. But we must protect our diversity. This fine now has to be enacted, and small and large players have to play by the rules. If they don't, then there will be fines and structural measures. We cannot tolerate this concentration of power in the digital space. Thank you.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Thank you very much, Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues. Criminal Networks use the vulnerability of young people, poverty, economic status, exclusivity, the need to belong. Our children at the age of 12 or younger become victims of social, sexual exploitation, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking, violence, and nobody is protected. This type of recruitment does not happen on the street anymore. It's on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, video games, encrypted apps. And when talking about easy money, they usually use harmless words like snowflakes, that means cocaine, or trees that's marijuana and so on. And they use other techniques used by influencers on social media. They use their language. And this is why, dear colleagues, this is not a topic to be politicized. We really need to work together on this topic and act.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you. Dear Commissioner colleagues, the platform on this information documented 20,000 cases of disinformation campaigns which were focused on our elections, our media and our health systems. Every day we are exposed to five new disinformation. And I'm afraid that some of the colleagues who spoke in the Parliament today even contribute to this disinformation. This is very alarming, and we have to agree that the invitation to set up the European Democracy Shield is urgent, and it is necessary. That means defence of the independent media, strengthening of civil society and making sure that citizens can trust the information space where they live. Democratic shield needs to be European, comprehensive and permanent. It has to cover the exchange of, uh, of intelligence data. And it has to.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Yes. I'm here. Thank you very much. I will continue in Croatia. I would like to thank, first of all, our colleagues who presented this report. We must be proactive since we saw inactivity during Covid and what I considered important, and I think you will agree, are the objectives and equal opportunities, for example, as concerns the capabilities of the Member States budgets. So we need to take that into account in the future budget of the EU. If I understood the colleague well, the crisis centre of the European Union already exists, but the crisis centre would have a wider responsibility. So could you clarify that, please. And how did you imagine the public private partnership that wasn't described in detail so far? I come from Croatia. We have 200 year old firefighter societies. We have a very good civil protection, and we've had two devastating earthquakes over the past five years, and we had forest fires and floods, and we're dealing with that very well. But our citizens need to know what to do in such crisis. And our task as MEPs is to give a response to that question. Thank you.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• “Thank you, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, for me DMA is actually goes beyond the fight for the European technical sovereignty. If Europe adopts rules, then it has to have the strength and capacity to enforce those rules. This is related to the protection of citizens online. Let's not forget about that and the situation of European media protection of data. This is why I believe its implementation must bring real results. More choice for citizens, better conditions for SMEs, more transparency, and less dependency on closed systems. We heard that the biggest players do not even come from the EU. Digital markets change very fast, especially with the development of cloud, AI and data ecosystems. If implementation is late, the market closes even before legislation comes into place. This is why Dmaa must establish balance so that a few big players cannot control the digital markets as they do now. Thank you.”
  EU rules on digital competition
• “Colleague. You speak about our country. But it would be good to check your numbers again because you're not right. Uh, the average difference in pay in the EU is 11.1%. Do you know the difference in Croatia? You don't know because you're lying in Croatia. The difference is 6.6% in trying to portray Croatia in a very negative light. You, uh, mention wrongful numbers. And as regards the pensions, uh, in the first since the first mandate of the government, they have risen 107%. Uh, 107%.”
  Gender pay transparency
• “Thank you. Chair. Colleagues, when talking about culture, we are not talking about trade. We talk about language of the way we see the world and of who we are. European identity in the digital area is threatened. More than 65% of profits is gained by three European non-European services Amazon Prime, Netflix and another one. European content makes 30% of offer in the catalog, but it's only 16% of screening time. This means that a huge amount of time the Europeans spend to watch non-European content. This directive is not an obstacle on the market. It's a tool with which Europe will protect its culture in Italy, Poland, Croatia and so on. Without this directive, the authors and directors would be overwhelmed by international content which already dominates our screens. And this directive must be seen as a tool which opens the door. The directive requests to have 30% of content of European origin. And this is not a bureaucratic obstacle, it's a promotion of culture. So this is why I invite the Commission to strongly defend the provisions of this directive.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• “Dear colleagues. Women read reports, they follow statistical data. And in many countries there are more educated than men and they make up half of the world population. That is true. There is no equality in pay. And it is true that we speak of that every year around the International Women's Day. But it's also true that we have to work on women's financial independence, because this is a prerequisite for gaining respectable station in society and in the family. And this also reflects our demographic values. Of course, inequality does not end when leaving the labour market, but it also follows women in their old age and we need to address the causes and provide solutions. Of course, there is also the issue of women's unpaid labor and also the glass ceiling. But we cannot measure all this in averages. But when looking whether women have the same financial security and if they have dignified pensions. Thank you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much. I will continue in Croatia. Thank you very much. Well, first of all, I'd like to refer to what this tool was meant to be for recovery and resilience at the beginning. And we must bear this in mind. So my position as a Croatian is different from German. Germany, where there were clearly problems as regards transparency of the spending of the funding. The situation in Croatia is drastically different. In January we asked for a payment and this payment was specifically put in certain areas green, green transition, digitalization. It was very clear where it was going. Now, what my colleague, uh, has said, and I would also like to thank my colleague who worked on this report. There are certain weaknesses that we have to highlight, and the report of the Court of Auditors is something that we need to bear in mind as well as the results. Now, there are complexities when it comes to implementation and delays in implementation. We need to be aware of the fact that not all member states have the same possibilities or absorption possibilities. So these are weaknesses that need to be borne in mind. As regards the future, I agree that we need to focus on what's most important, particularly given the current geopolitical situation and the world, which is changing so quickly.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget
• “Thank you very much. Uh, chairperson and Commissioner, dear colleagues, thank you very much, Commissioner. We have, uh, already heard how we want to structure our action plan. And we have to say that we are speaking here about a moral, social and ethical dilemma when we talk about bullying on the internet. And I'm not only talking about young people. Yesterday in Zagreb, there was a large conference with ministers, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Justice and 100 young people aged 15 to 18. And we discussed this topic. They posed an interesting question, which we haven't put anywhere. They want to know how they can teach their parents to protect themselves in a world they don't understand the digital world. This is their moral dilemma and it shows their empathy, which we in this committee often thought did not exist. We keep saying that we need a digital and media literacy, but I wish to repeat that. Unfortunately or fortunately, this is in the remit of the Member States. You told us that we need this, but how and with what? Financial instruments, and this is what we need to get the answer to.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you very much. Thank you colleagues. You are disgusting. You are looking at me in a disgusting way. What kind of hair do you have? These are the statements. Why? Cyber bullying needs to be criminalized. These provisions are provisions only in a few member states, and it is not defined what cyber bullying is. Children in the European Union need to be equally protected regardless of where they live. This is not a virtual problem. This is a real problem and it is connected with depression, anxiety and other disorders. This is why I call on the commission that they don't stop with recommendation, but that they work for targeted legal provisions. In Ireland we have Now um prison, um sanctions for perpetrators of cyber bullying. We know how many children are the victims. These are real lives. These are not only numbers and violence does not have an ideology, but it does have consequences. And we have heard what these consequences are. And this is why we need a common clear framework. Because cyber bullying leaves a digital trace forever. We need to act now and we need to criminalize cyber bullying. Thank you.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you, Madam Commissioner. Dear colleagues, more than half of GDP of the European Union is generated by small and medium sized enterprises. These people employ almost 100 million people. Colleagues, to my left, you say that we don't need the omnibus package. Well, tell it to these people who have to find the money each day to pay their workers and to ensure manufacturing. Of course, the omnibus package will not solve everything, but we will liberate resources which are trapped in bureaucratic labyrinths and excessive bureaucracy. This will enable our companies to have the same environment as some other countries, such as the United States, have innovation, growth and competitiveness. To conclude, simplification is not an end to itself. It is a tool to strengthen our entrepreneurs and to ensure a more competitive European market. This is not an ideological issue. It is common sense. Thank you.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you. Dear colleagues. Online. Online piracy of sports events. But other live events such as music events and cultural events, is an unsolved problem of the European digital and cultural space. Us data show that 12% of citizens have access to such illegal US contents, and among young people this percentage is 27%, which means that a whole generation is getting used to watching events illegally. There are huge losses due to this and Sports alliances are therefore at a loss for the production of content, but also for intra infrastructure. We do have consequences. But of course, the consequences are also a consequence of the distortion of sports rights, of sports transmission rights. And when we need to interact with actors from outside of the European Union, then things become very dangerous. Illegal sports transmission bring billions of euros for illegal better betters. This is organized crime. The percentage of illegal access to a web streaming portals means great losses in money. And, Commissioner, we need to act.”
  Broadcasting of sports events