Kateřina KONEČNÁ

Policy topics Kateřina KONEČNÁ is active on

What Kateřina KONEČNÁ has said (54)

• 2026-07-13 “(17:53:09 - 17:55:29): Thank you, Chair. Welcome, Minister. I have 2 questions. Number 1, to Ireland because recently you have adopted and you were number 11 the right to be forgotten for cancer patients. This is a legislative regulation on which we worked. I was a rapporteur for this. And you are unfortunately only the 11th member state who offers this opportunity to cancer patients. And you have only a 5 year period after remission in your regulation. In my country, that period is 10 to 15 years. And my question is whether you will try to push through this right to be forgotten as a priority on the European level for the remaining member states, in particular in the area of mortgages. And then 1 thing that was said by many colleagues, this committee adopted an across party position on multi annual financial framework and called for €10,000,000,000 to be set aside for healthcare. Now when we look at the budget as it is being negotiated by the member states, it does not look very hopeful. And therefore, I want to ask whether the Irish presidency is going to take up this opportunity and have the responsibility to rectify what Cyprus did on the European at the European Council on October 15, whether you will help us make sure that healthcare is not only spoken about, but that the money is indeed available.”
  EU funding and budget allocation for health programmes
• 2026-07-08 “(11:17:04 - 11:17:45): But, colleague, it's not a question of Ukraine. You weren't able even able to vote that you do not, agree with Donald Trump and his aggression in Iran, that uses the climate as well. You weren't able to say that you don't agree with genocide in Palestine. That also uses these arms that destroy the climate. So unless we agree that peace policy is the environmentally cleanest policy and you will only focus on 1 part of the economy and human activity, then this is really some kind of arrogance and you're just playing at something.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• 2026-07-08 “(11:15:12 - 11:16:07): Thank you very much to our colleagues. Thank you for accepting my blue card as well. Check. Alright. So once again, thank you for having accepted the blue card. And the question is aimed at all of you socialists, greens, and renew. You say that we should abandon fossil fuels. You are saying that Europe and the world is being heated by fossil fuels. Why not talk about the war? How many emissions are caused by your wars, the wars that you are starting? You support the purchase of arms that kills people and destroys the climate. Nobody said even a word about the effect of wars on the climate. Let's take”
  Military emissions reporting
• 2026-07-07 “(14:20:54 - 14:22:06): is, colleague, Konechna. This agreement is a sign of modernization. It is another step in terms of liberalization from the EU. Now this liberalization is damaging to our workers. It is not enough that we are losing places through the green transition in our automotive industry. Now we're making it easier to outsource to Mexico where there aren't the same strict environmental rules. What is the reason for this? What does it who does it benefit apart from the richest? For the people here in Europe who work in the automotive industry, it does not benefit them, and it does not benefit the environment either. It is really, shameful to go around the member states to achieve this and to, change this into an agreement that doesn't need the consent of the member states. What we're”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-07-07 “(10:27:02 - 10:28:05): Thank you very much, chair. Colleagues, do you know when the car industry stopped being competitive? At the same moment when Ursula von der Leyen and her henchmen have come to the top of the commission. That was the real, moment. The commissioner said, let's stop the deadly cycle. We owe it to our industry. And then he announces that they're preparing new legislation, new regulation, new definition of what is a European car. Ladies and gentlemen, before we define here what a European car is, there will not be a single factory left in Europe. The only thing we should do at this moment, commissioner, is to cancel, cut, and get rid of the humongous bureaucracy around the car industry and support our car industry in any way we could. For example, what you've been promising for 2 years at the commission, in other words, lowering energy prices, but you haven't put anything forward”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-07-07 “This agreement is a sign of modernization. It is another step in terms of liberalization from the EU. Now this liberalization is damaging to our workers. It is not enough that we are losing places through the green transition in our automotive industry. Now we're making it easier to outsource to Mexico where there aren't the same strict environmental rules. What is the reason for this? What does it who does it benefit apart from the richest? For the people here in Europe who work in the automotive industry, it does not benefit them, and it does not benefit the environment either. It is really, shameful to go around the member states to achieve this and to, change this into an agreement that doesn't need the consent of the member states. What we're seeing is the destruction of local industry and the sovereignty of the member states.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-07-07 “And this agreement is a sign of modernization. It is another step in terms of liberalization from the EU. Now this isolation is damaging to our workers. It is not enough that we are losing places through the green transition in our automotive industry. Now we're making it easier to outsource to Mexico, where there aren't the same strict environmental rules. What is the reason for this? What does it? Who does it benefit apart from the richest? For the people here in Europe who work in the automotive industry. It does not benefit them and it does not benefit the environment. I there it is really shameful to go around the member states to achieve this and to change this into an agreement that doesn't need the consent of the member states. What we're seeing is the destruction of local industry and the sovereignty of the Member States.”
  Trade relations with Mercosur
• 2026-06-24 “Thank you very much. Thank you, dear chair. And I would like to thank the rapporteur as well. I hope she can still hear us. Thank you very much for this draft opinion. However, I have to ask the question whether the Digital Networks Act really serves its purpose. I mean, combining several provisions into a single act is not in itself a simplification. On the other hand, introducing new rules for a sector that functions well according to economic indicators might have an opposite result, especially at a time when the commission tries to assume an enormous amount of new powers. With the many implementing acts that are included in its proposal. Here I think that we will have to reduce them drastically. Moreover, it seems that the new measures are designed to be profitable for big players, and they don't really have the consumer in mind. For example, do we know what is the final Impact on the final consumer prices and the. And the quality and availability of digital. Digital products of the fair share regime. What is the impact of the fair share. And let me voice my surprise about one more thing that is included in the Commission proposal. And I think that the rapporteur doesn't pay enough attention to this. The Commission says that switching off copper grids will support the rollout of fibre optic grids. Why? Out of all measures, should this be the one that speeds up the fibre optic rollout? I mean, copper based grids have a lifespan until about 2039, and if fibre optic is better, then obviously it will be in more demand. So why do we have to switch off the copper network earlier than necessary? Why not leave this up to the to the grid owners? I see no reason why a ban would be an incentive to rolling out a better technology if the technology is better, that in itself is the main incentive to its rollout. So the copper switch off makes no sense to me, and it will only mess up a market that functions well. And again, it would make life more expensive for citizens. Thank you.”
  Senders-pay
• 2026-06-15 “(18:13:49 – 18:14:58): Thank you very much. Let me emphasize that the title of the debate is, and I quote, time for European economic independence. Yes. The time may be right for this, but unfortunately, the European Commission is the wrong 1 for the job. No 1 has done more to destroy the European economy than, the president of the European Commission and her commissioners and the majority in this parliament. It is Fond du Alliance commission who had decided for ideological reasons to strangle our industry with senseless green regulations. And because of that, development and production is shifting from Europe to other continents. And let's not forget the sanctions policy that cut us off from most of the world while tying us even closer to The US or our trade agreements that harm our agriculture and industry. Any talk of economic independence is completely removed from reality. We must scrap the green deal, lift most sanctions with the exceptions of those on arms, diversify trade relations, and support our economy. Only then we will be able to speak of independence. Thank you very much,”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• 2026-01-28 “E-000350/2026 Answer given by Mr Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is in regular contact with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to address its rental situation. As an autonomous legal entity, EMA is responsible for its relations with the landlords of its premises, including its former premises in London. The lease between EMA and the landlord of its former premises in London is a matter subject to English contract law. As such contractual issues are outside the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the issue is not discussed with the government of the United Kingdom in the framework of the implementation of those agreements. To fulfil the contractual obligations towards the landlord (Canary Wharf Group) of the premises in London, additional allocations from the EU budget have been granted to the EU subsidy to EMA: EUR 11.2 million were added to the EU contribution to EMA in the 2024 budget; EUR 13.3 million in 2025; EUR 13 million in 2026. For 2027, EUR 12.3 million is currently programmed to be included in the Commission’s proposal for the draft budget.”
  Accounting and auditing of EU budget · Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• 2025-11-13 “– Paní předsedající, moc se omlouvám, že jsem přišla pozdě, a dovolte mi, vážení kolegové, abych vysvětlila, proč jsem dnes nemohla hlasovat pro závazný klimatický cíl 2040 a proč si myslím, že celé to hlasování je špatně. My se tady bavíme o konkurenceschopnosti, bavíme se o konkurenceschopnosti, kterou všichni víme, že Evropa každým rokem ztrácí. Ztrácí nejenom z důvodu toho, že si dává závazky, které jdou i proti samotné fyzice, ale ztrácí i z důvodu obrovské byrokracie. A místo toho, abychom se na to podívali racionálně, abychom si dali možnost například za dva tři roky zhodnotit znovu, zda to, co jsme tady, nebo vy jste tady, odhlasovali, je opravdu účinné, tak vy se tady chcete zavázat k cílům, které budou znamenat pouze další problém pro průmysl Evropy, pro zemědělství a zdražování života lidem. Já jsem si opravdu myslela, že jsme se poučili, ale to, co dnes bylo odhlasováno, znamená, že jsme se nepoučili a že bohužel s Evropou bude jenom hůře.”
• 2025-09-17 “P-003571/2025 Answer given by Ms Albuquerque on behalf of the European Commission The Commission is aware of difficulties of cancer survivors to access certain financial services, including life insurances requested by mortgage providers, but does not have specific statistical data on this topic. The Mortgage Credit Directive 1 (MCD) has been effective in raising consumer protection and has helped to harmonise mortgage lending practices across the Member States. To date no decision has been taken on the need to revise MCD. Should the decision to revise the MCD be taken in future, the Commission would then need to assess whether or not it should address the ‘right to be forgotten’. One of the actions that the Commission presented in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan 2 is for relevant stakeholders - cancer and consumer organisations, the medical community and the financial sector - to engage in dialogue and develop a Code of Conduct that ensures cancer patients’ fair access to financial services. The Commission organised an event in May 2024 taking stock of the progress of this dialogue 3 . It is up to those stakeholders to continue the dialogue and find compromises. The Commission continues to encourage them to do so as a means to advance the ‘right to be forgotten’ across the EU. A code agreed by all relevant stakeholders would likely win swift traction in all Member States, while leaving freedom to adapt to national specificities. 1 OJ L 60, 28.2.2014, pp. 34–85. 2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2021%3A44%3AFIN. 3 https://health.ec.europa.eu/events/cancer-survivorship-advancing-right-be-forgotten-2024-05-14_en.”
  EU competences on health
• 2025-02-04 “P-000495/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen On behalf of the European Commission The United States (US) Interim Final Rule on a Framework on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Diffusion 1 (‘AI Diffusion measures’) restricts the export of advanced AI models and semiconductors. Exemptions to the restrictions depend on the ‘Tier’ or ‘category’ of country. 2 The AI Diffusion measures go against the principles of the Single Market: the free movement of goods (advanced AI semiconductors) and services (AI-enabled services). The Commission believes that it is also in the US’ economic and security interest that the EU buys advanced AI chips from the US without limitations. The EU cooperates closely, in particular in the field of security, and represents an economic opportunity for the US, not a security risk. The Commission shared its concerns about these measures in a statement issued on 13 January 2025 3 immediately after the adoption of the US AI Diffusion measures. The Commission is committed to the integrity of the Single Market and ensuring that trade restrictions do not undermine its functioning or the EU’s legitimate technological ambitions in the field of AI. The Commission works closely with the Member States to prepare a reply to the US Bureau of Industry and Security within the consultation period until 15 May 2025, and will further engage in discussions with the US administration to find an appropriate solution. In its engagement with the US, the Commission advocates for a non-discriminatory approach for EU Member States, which is key to safeguarding the integrity of the EU Single Market and the future of the AI ecosystem. At the same time, recognising the strategic importance of building AI chip capabilities in Europe, the Commission already supports initiatives in AI chip design and is committed to driving their manufacturing, as set out in the Competitiveness Compass. 1 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00636/framework-for-artificial-intelligencediffusion 2 Tier 1: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Tier 2: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_25_255”
  EU policy on screening foreign investment in strategic sectors and critical infrastructure · EU-US trade relations
• 2024-11-13 “E-002512/2024 Answer given by Mr McGrath on behalf of the European Commission Article 9(5) of the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) 1 indeed requires that a product in its scope must bear identification information. As a general rule, this identification must be affixed directly to the product. However, if the size and/or nature of the product makes it illegible or technically impossible to provide this information on the product itself due to its physical characteristics or practical constraints such as its size, shape, or construction 2 , the identification must be provided on the packaging, if available, or in the accompanying document. The responsibility lies with the manufacturer to assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether the nature of the product allows for the information to be placed on the product itself. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the identification cannot be omitted or moved to the packaging or accompanying documents for purely aesthetic or economic reasons. Therefore, even in cases where a product also serves an aesthetic or decorative purpose, the traceability information must be placed directly on the product unless its physical characteristics or practical constraints prevent this. 1 Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on general product safety. 2 Section 4.2.2.5 of the ‘Blue Guide’ on the Implementation of EU Product Rules 2022.”
  Product passport · EU competences on consumer protection and product standards
• 2024-10-05 “P-001968/2024 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič on behalf of the European Commission The guiding principle of the work of the lawyer linguists in the finalisation process, in which the Commission has been closely involved, has been to ensure the legal coherence and clarity of the text of the Regulation on packaging and packaging waste, while avoiding any changes in substance. This is also the case with the changes referred to by the Honourable Members, which in addition pertain to a text that has been subject to further consolidation and checks of the quality of the drafting before finalisation. As regards the definition of producer, the reference to ‘any producer’ has been reinstated in the meantime. The new definition of ‘making available on the territory of the Member State’ was deemed necessary in order to unify the terminology used. It is in line with the definition of ‘making available on the market’ (Article 3(1)(9)) and its introduction does not result in changes in the substantive obligations laid down in the Regulation. As regards the use of the terms ‘consumer’ and ‘end user’, as well as the wording concerning the labelling of packaging with the identification of responsible extended producer responsibility schemes, the provisionally agreed text has been generally kept unchanged.”
  Circular economy · Sustainable packaging
• “Thank you, mister chair and commissioner. 30 days. That is exactly how long it took the commission to issue the first coordinated statement after the first person die bought m v Hondius. 30 days during which hundreds of European citizens traveled home without uniform quarantine measures, without clean formation, often without, protection. The coordination didn't exist. There was the flag stayed, the port stayed, the ECDC, and WHO, and they didn't cooperate. The result was confusion regarding disemerging conditions. Hera has been in existence since 2021, yet we were importing test kits from Argentina. Is that your preparedness? The commission is now selling us the activation of the early warning system as a success, but I say this is the minimum standard as success would be would have been acting before the WHO had to alert Brussels about the ship. This crisis turned out relatively well. But next time, I don't know.”
  EU competences on health (internal-competence axis, sharpened)
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. Dear colleagues. I believe that the rapporteur has very well identified what is missing in the proposal and what we could do about some of the problems. I believe that we should say what a great influence the addiction to social media has on the mental health of young children. Um, I think it's a pity that the test doesn't text, does not propose any recommendations to the commission. And I believe, just like the rapporteur, that we should ask the Commission to provide some specific, concrete steps, uh, what to do about all these problems, including addictive design of the online services. Um, Commission should not believe that the Parliament has given up. We will continue fighting against all the automatic notifications, automatic playing of videos, one after the other, etc. I would also like to warn that we should not allow privacy breaches, uh, especially when we want to verify the age of users. For instance, biometric scanning of users when they want to register for Facebook and YouTube. That's that should not be allowed. If we give this data to the technological giants and then live in the hope that they won't leak the data and there will be any abuses, that's in vain, and it will not make the internet a safer place.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thank you chair. Thank you Commissioner. Why we are talking about this. We are talking about this because we've come up with a digital euro and people are scared and they are justified to do that. It is good that we are having this discussion, and I'm happy that many colleagues agree that we have to have a right to pay in cash, and that needs to be constitutional and that needs to be laid down in EU legislation, because yes, people are scared and that is correct because you exclude some people, because you don't want to let them pay in cash. The way the banks behave, state institutions behave, pension funds, social institutions, that is all a proof that you are not able to make sure that we have a right to pay in cash. And I'd be really happy if we could rectify that. And let's hope that at the end of the mandate, that we not only have a full legislation, but every member state has a constitutional right that we can pay in cash. That is the only freedom and guarantee that we can give to our people.”
  Cash as means of payment
• “Thank you. If you want to make business with someone, we must behave correctly and as a trustworthy partner. When the United States announced a wave of restrictions on international trade, mainly on China. Nam. Ursula von der Leyen said the president was right. On other occasions, we criticise China for events in Ukraine with which China has nothing to do. We impose tariffs on the Chinese car makers and other technologies. This is definitely not conducive for free trade between the EU and China. We must realise that while China invested a lot into research and development, we have approved a silly legislation which makes us uncompetitive. China has the raw materials that we cannot replace. Okay, yes, let's diversify. But first we have to find those who can sell us something. And China must be a partner, not an enemy.”
  Chinese clean tech competition: trade barriers and investment caps vs. open market · EU-China relations
• “Thank you. Chairman. Colleagues. People have had enough of constant attempts to monitor their every move. And it doesn't matter whether you cover this up with a fight against a certain problem. Rejecting spying is not about protecting perpetrators, but about protecting all citizens. Police will have to investigate many reports. Chat control can make things only more difficult. We need to abandon shameful attempts to mask nefarious intentions, such as the dystopian control of the internet and our communications. We've seen this in the Patriot Act in the United States. Let's not make the same mistake. I'm happy that civil society is responding to this issue and telling the commission not to stick its nose into every single form of private communication and not see every citizen as a suspect. We need to support citizens and protect them. Thank you.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Thank you for coming. Madam Secretary of State, you have mentioned the fit for 55 package, which, however, impacts on the living conditions. Of many families and households and it will continue to do so even more. I have a very specific question. You have seen the impact of the allowances on the electricity prices. Are you not afraid of what this allowance is going to do in other energy prices? Or is there a possibility to cap the prices? You are responsible for energy policy as well. Would it be possible to do something about energy prices so that the wealthiest people just don't don't get even richer and the poor don't pay for it.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Thank you. Commissioner. You're speaking here about competitiveness of industry. Everybody is a competitive industry. But there is no competitive industry without energy. Without sufficient energy and without dependence on whether there is any sun shining or whether there is wind blowing. You received four questions about Nuclear Energy Commission already. Four people asked the question and they asked, how would you like to place it in clean industrial deal or in the action plan for available energy? And you haven't answered. You haven't provided any specific answer as to how to deal with nuclear energy. You haven't mentioned a single measure. You haven't said anything about life cycle and renewal of life cycle of current nuclear resources. So you're silent about nuclear energy, and you probably find it uncomfortable to speak about it. But please believe me, most member states cannot do without nuclear energy. And if you fail to set rules, then you will be the one held responsible for lack of competitiveness, for poverty, of workers in Europe. Because what you are proposing in Green Deal will have impact on European population, and everything will just stay on paper. Please, please don't avoid the question that was asked by 5 or 6 even MEPs. Sasha Vondra asked the question. Spanish colleagues ask the question, please answer.”
  Nuclear energy
• “Thank you. Chair. The carbon border adjustment mechanism is a key instrument for ensuring a level playing field for European producers facing unfair competition from third countries. The proposed simplification of Cbam is a step in the right direction. However, the main issue with Schubert. Sebum is its interaction with WTO rules for sebum to be truly effective and to protect European industry, concerns related to WTO must be overcome. It seems that the EU will, in the end, be the only one not protecting its domestic production due to strict adherence to WTO regulations. While we protect the production of other countries, steel plants at home are shutting down and the automotive industry is collapsing. What drove European prosperity for decades is something we cannot protect now. There are countries which are capable to protect their prosperity, but we are not able to do so. And I see no will for change.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “Colleagues. As of now, it seems that there is no trade deal in sight, even though Trump said how the commission and von der Leyen how nice they were to him, this is no surprise to me that they behaved nicely. But for me it is important that the European Commission behaves nicely to European citizens. 10% tariff across the board mean 5% increase on average tariffs. Citizens and industry will pay for this. I understand that we cannot change the American administration, but the agreement will not be ideal. But we can choose our business partners. Let us try to seek the best agreement with partners, and let's look for other partners. Without meddling and without reprimanding. It's better to have several partners rather than one master to whom we are a yes man and we have to cozy up to. Thank you.”
  EU-US trade relations
• “At the same time, I identify two clear priorities for improvement. First, Ecdc must make its public communication more accessible and understandable for non-experts. Second, it needs to make more determined progress towards gender balance in senior management. Regarding Emma. I recognise its strong scientific and regulatory performance in assessing new medicines supporting innovative therapies and addressing medicine shortages, including through work on on the Union list of critical Medicines. These are core contributions to the European Health Union. However, I also underline two structural concerns. The first is the agency. Very high depends on fees from a limited number of pharmaceutical companies, which raised long term questions about both actual and perceived independence. The second is the unresolved situation in the London premises, which continue to impose a financing and managerial burden. For this reason, I call for strong safeguards against conflicts of interest, including strict rules Of on revolving doors and for durable political solution to the London side. On this basis, I recommend the Parliament grant discharge to both agencies. While at the same time setting clear expectations for further improvements in transparency, independence and human resources management. I invite you colleagues to consider these findings carefully, to contribute your views in today's discussion, and to support this report as a balanced and credible signal to our agencies and to EU citizens that Parliament recognises good performance but also insists on firm oversight and continuous progress. Thank you very much.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner. Now that US aid has been stopped, we see how many NGOs and media are complaining of loss of funds. It's quite clear that in the name of development aid, we've financed a shady, uh, foreign interests. I think you should be more transparent about the agencies that you fund so that citizens know, uh, who is working for foreign powers. It's also important to oppose foreign interference in our politics. So do something about it. And look at what uh, foreign businesses are financing. What private groups are financing? Uh, in the past, um, uh, you know, you've financed mercenaries abroad, so we need transparency.”
  Foreign interference in Europe
• “Colleague. Unlike you, I don't receive money from Bahrain or Russia. You speak of Goldman Sachs, bank of America cooling off period. There is a lobbyist who was accused here. I'm speaking of an ex-commissioner. I would like to ask the commissioner how to prevent all of this from happening again. In the past, the commission was linked to all of these financial institutions and people who were not in favor of the interests of the EU. Do you not care about this?”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “Thank you, dear colleague. I would agree with you. Except for the defence at sign of everything you said. But you are a member of our government. And I am asking you, when will the Czech government under Fiala will come to the European Council with a suggestion that we should change taxonomy and that we should change the EU ETS system so that we reduce the prices of electricity. Thank you for what you are saying. However, the Czech government doesn't have the guts to do that, not even in the Czech Republic, but they do not even escalate it to the European level.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “Commissioner, I have two questions. One is the concerns the future of the cbam. You have talked about predictability and Cbam should help. Our industry is now very unpredictable. Clearly doesn't function as it should be, in particular in the new world of customs, wars and. Breaches of WTO rules. How do you see this system? How do you intend to revise it so that it can really help European industry, as was the goal in the parliament? My second question I put to all of your colleagues, nobody has ever answered, I think the word itself is banned and it's nuclear. Why? How do you see the future of nuclear energy in your climate efforts? Thank you.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “Thank you very much for the presentation. I just wanted to ask a simple question. Why are we still not succeeding? Why is still not a success? These things we've been hearing for the past five years that we've been discussing the action plan. I understand that it has not been fully approved that member states are still discussing it, but all the problems that you've alluded to, including the proposed solutions, well, those are things that I have personally heard at least 20 times over the past five years. Why do you think it is not a success yet? Why? Why are we not moving it forward? Sitting here, say, three years from now, I'd be worried that I'd be hearing the same. Of course it is in our hands as politicians and policy makers. But I believe there are lots of technical barriers and legal barriers. I'd like to hear more on that.”
  EU public communication strategy
• “Thank you, Madam Chair. After this discussion, I'm asking myself, will there ever be a situation when we stop believing that creating stronger defense or militarism will solve all our problems? We've been arming for all those years. Look at how many social spending cuts that have been made to pay for the weapons, and how the military complex increased. The social gaps have increased, and you made all these dirty word, and our so-called ally can threaten us. It is not about how many aircrafts we get. This strategy needs to change. We pretend that billions for arms will solve our problems. You have made this into a union of military complex. Industrial complex? Let us bury our sword. Don't play Rambo to follow the script of the weapons industry.”
  Disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons
• “Thank you chair. The colleagues we can see cyber bullying on the increase in the last years in the Czech Republic. We have an increase by 4.2% in four years, and many cases are still in the hiding. We have to solve this problem also on the level of the EU, and we must push the platforms to do something about it. So not allowing download and copying of private photos and so on. Also, we have a design that leads to that leads to being dependent on them. So this problem but should not lead to following all people in the European Union. But it is about our health. It's not about the profits.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “Thank you very much, president. The Commission is submitting an initiative for global health today. Sounds great, but what's behind it? First of all, the money. €6 billion. That's not new money, is it? This is only new appropriations repacked. And your cuts are being made in health systems. And that money is being sent to to the war in Ukraine. That doesn't worry you at all. Where is profiting from this? The commission talks about a partnership with the private sector. We know what this means. Pharmaceutical companies get access to new markets paid by public money, the same model as we had in for Covid vaccines. Private profit. Public risk. This Parliament. Got a communication from the Commission, not any legislation or codecision. This is a geopolitical chance for the EU, not a business for pharmaceutical companies. If the. There is no transparent budget coming from the Commission without company partnerships, without a role for the Parliament, I can't support this initiative. Thank you.”
  Public and private sectors role in healthcare services
• “Thank you very much. This is a small step, but what I regret is that the commission doesn't want to go further. We all know what saving steel making means. The steel industry pays five times more for energy, three times 3 to 5 times more. And energy prices are going up. And in the Commission and also colleagues in Parliament and doing everything so that there is no more steel being produced in Europe and that our children won't have any steel industry. What you're doing is a small step. And if you don't take further steps straight away, the. In the steel industry. We'll hear about the steel industry in fairy tales. It'll be your mistake and the mistake of miss von der Leyen. Your mistake for voting as you did here. You've only spoken about steel industry saving from Ukraine. So is it about the Europeans or the people in Ukraine?”
  Energy (green transition)
• “I, I will indeed be very brief. Commissioner, you have been here with us as an MEP. And my question is, are you aware that the Commission should come with studies and with detailed analyses? Will you make sure it happens? Will you motivate your commission or will you come with them, as was the custom? And the second thing is the delegated act. I consider them to be a grave mistakes because that means the commission has everything under their hand, and often the regulation is being made more severe, more limiting. I would prefer them not to be used at all, because the demolition of our internal market happens with the help of delegated acts, which do not benefit anyone, including the investors.”
  EU political integration
• “Madam president, dear colleagues, I would like to look at our position once again. We want to see the, uh, the EU, uh, heading to Berlin? And we want to work with different continents. We've had 30 years of climate efforts. We have ten years of the existence of, uh, global climate agreements. We're seeing, uh, greenhouse gases have hit new highs in 2024. You're asking, what can we do? Well, nothing, because we've already done too much. Now it's the rest of the world that needs to, uh, needs to do more. We can't just keep increasing our ambition by 2040. We need a new authority within the aegis of the UN. That's going to do nothing. It's just going to, um, be more wastage in an effective mechanism which is spending our taxpayer money.”
  Climate efforts
• “Thank you Commissioner. I have one question at W.H.O. in Geneva. Beyond your mandate from the council, you negotiated with w h o about tobacco related measures, and you know that member States are not that ambitious as you are. And today, we have heard that you are working on a new regulation on tobacco. So my question as a commission, are you going to respect the opinions of Member States and the scientific knowledge, or are you going to take the side of those who do not have scientific knowledge, but think that everything should be banned? I'm very surprised, as an ex-smoker, that all types of smoking are the same, because this is the way back to regular cigarettes, and what I want is to have an alternative. So are you going to respect the mandate given to you by member states, or are you going to pursue your activism? Thank you.”
  Smoking regulation
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. Dear colleagues, I've noticed that Mr. Rapporteur focused on Cutting red tape and previous debates means that this is perhaps the only objective of all political groups. But his problem is that he missed one most important element, and it is also neglected in public procurement. This is employees and their rights. I think it would be shameful if we have an opinion that will neglect these rights if, as a committee, we would not challenge the current legislation that, for example, trade unions are ignored, that there is mistreatment of employment only for the purpose of cheaper products or services. So it must be based on people, our workers, and we should reflect all this. Public procurement should be offered only to those companies that allow collective bargaining and they respect the rights of their employees.”
  EU policy on social criteria in public funding
• “Mr.. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, if we are to talk about protecting democratic processes in the EU, then let us finally talk about completing the directive on transparency of foreign interest representation, so commonly the registration of foreign agents. Transparency is the best weapon against foreign interference, not censorship of foreign opinions and labeling them as disinformation, which is what the European Democracy Shield does, as well as the newly planned European Center for Democratic Resilience. Democracy is not about canceling elections if an opposition candidate wins and then blaming that victory on foreign interference that happened in Romania, let us finally show whose money is behind whom and leave the decision to the citizens. Our democratic processes have been threatened by the money of oligarchs, corporations and interest groups, not by videos on TikTok. I ask you, let us truly protect democracy, not suffocate it.”
  Transparency requirements for interest groups
• “Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you very much to the rapporteur. Thank you for what you've mentioned. Specifically, we know that there is a lot of funding for various projects that are intended to support these regions that have been affected by. Mines closing down and steel mills closing down. But a lot of this money has been wasted, basically. So I'm glad to hear that there will be clear conditions. I also come from the Moravian-Silesian region, not far away from your region. So I'm glad to hear that this this money will go to regions that really need it. But even this money is not enough to save the Europe of coal and steel, unless we realize that we need to really change our legislation a lot. Because even if a steel mill receives money, given the emission permit prices and the energy prices, it won't be competitive. In Czechia, for example, we have got so far that mines, coal mines, which we really need, are being discontinued, even though we need them because they are not competitive enough. So we really need substantial measures and we need to also take a look at legislation.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Distinguished colleagues. Well, I seem to be in the wrong world, as if what we've managed, under the pretext of protecting minors against sexual exploitation, we managed to introduce across the board monitoring of the internet we and and a lot of other things. And now there is a real problem, um, a real failure. And the commission doesn't know what to do. You seem to view every internet user as? A gangster who requires to be supervised all the time. Yet, on the other hand, you allow large corporations to make money on sexual abuse. There is something completely wrong. And one colleague has already alluded to this. We are able, within our political campaigns or countries, are able within political campaigns, brutally limit the right to political competition. And we've been witness to this in many countries over the past few years. And now we talk about not being able to switch off applications which make our children being pictured as nude. That's not possible. You cannot take this seriously in the 21st century. Let us stop pretending that we're doing something, because the commission has done nothing to protect our children, only to spy on them. On them? Yes, but they haven't done anything to protect them. And you need to take measures immediately. Otherwise, we'll be a laughing stock to the whole world.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Thank you. Do you accept that every situation is different in each country in the Czech Republic? Even if we had thousands of windmills and photo panels, it wouldn't be enough. We are an industrial country. We need stable electricity supplies for our industry. Otherwise we will have to close down the last steel plant we have already closed down. A lot of industry because energy prices are so high. And you as Germans, after you've been sending your extra energy and causing blackouts, do you accept that every country has a different situation? And do you let the individual countries do what they need to ensure sufficient energy for citizens and industry?”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you very much. I must say that the European Parliament for some time looks like one big chaos. Nord stream provided us with cheap gas. And instead of investigating the vicious attacks on Nord Stream one and Nord Stream two and lowering prices for our businesses and consumers. We talk about further barriers for Russian imports to increase gas prices or import even more expensive US gas, or repurchase the Russian gas for even more money. But even more bizarre is that we're talking about energy independence of Europe. But it is the Commission and Mr. Séjourné who's blocking the completion of the Dukovany Nuclear Power plant in the Czech Republic, instead of helping your damaging the energy sovereignty of the Czech Republic and the Union, just because the procurement was won by the Koreans and not the French. And all of this leads to a long term discrimination of the nuclear energy power source, even though it corresponds to all green standards. I request that this pressure be taken off and that French companies not be protected as opposed to any other competitors. Thank you.”
  Nuclear energy
• “Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much everybody. Once more. And so welcome to commission. Uh, because I uh, just just the beginning, uh, I will speak very openly that the deadline for a transposition of a new directive ended on 20th of November. And it's absolutely unacceptable that only three member states have so far transported into a limited extent. Uh, I will not name anyone specifically here, but it's a shame, I think. And, uh, in any case, I'm very happy, uh, for the possibility of this debate. And I have a two question for you as a commission. Firstly, does the Commission intend to issue any interpretative opinions on certain provisions of the directive in order to unify the already rather divergent practices. And secondly, according to article 46 para two of the CCD, by 20th November 2025, the Commission shall assess the necessity of protecting consumer borrowing and investing via crowdfunding platforms. Those who negotiated the directive with me know very well that the issue of crowdfunding was very problematic and had to be addressed separately, even to its closely related to the issue of crediting and the percentage of the loan market it occupies across the EU is growing every year. I would like to ask the Commission about this missing assessment of crowdfunding, crowdfunding and which stage the assessment is if it has Take taken place and if not, I asking why? Thank you.”
  Financial regulation
• “(10:18:56 – 10:21:22): Okay. I will speak thank you very much. I will speak in Czech, if I can. Miss Randy Wagner, I would like to thank you for your presentation, but it is not all as it seems to be as you described. You talk about excellent cooperation with Spain, with The Netherlands on Hunter virus crisis on the ship that was in European waters, but I see it really differently. 30 days. It took 30 days since the first death before, the commission, voiced its opinion on the situation. It took 30 days for hundreds of Europeans who were traveling back home without quarantine, without clear information. Very often, they were not protected whatsoever. So coordination really broke into, pieces. So there was the flagship country, the port, WHO. So it was a total chaos. People were supposed to, get out, on soil in Tenerife, but it was not really clear who was responsible. Hera exists since 2021, but we have test kits that were imported for Argentina. So I'm I'm not sure whether we can talk about, preparedness. So ECDC and the commission were criticized at the beginning of COVID 19 that we were prepared too late. So now we are selling the activation of the precautionary warning system as a success, but it is the minimum standard. It is not really a reason for any celebration. So, again, we have, individual patients even from third countries. They are going to individual hospitals in European countries. And, again, it raises question whether we can spread, Ebola in Europe. So my question is, where do you see the mistake that so far we are reacting way too late and it's chaotic? So what is wrong in the system? How can we help you so that this doesn't happen?”
  EU competences on health (internal-competence axis, sharpened)
• “Colleague, I have two questions. If you know that someone else finances our, uh, law. Uh, Fara, are you going to support it here in the European Parliament so that we know who finances whom? And if you are talking about financing, how, uh, many legal actions have you, uh, come up due to unfair financing? Because I think that you are only trying to present yourself well in front of the media instead of presenting facts.”
  Transparency requirements for interest groups
• “On the basis of what we've heard today, I'm very much afraid that we're going to have a huge administrative burden which will make this totally unworkable. I mean, we have to be efficient in what we do, and we have to think of all the things we've approved recently, because this has an impact on whether or not these companies are going to be in a position to operate in Europe or not. We are adopting new rules and regulations, and then we're surprised when these companies, you know, even we have public limited companies, we don't create the right conditions to ensure that these companies are going to be able to survive in Europe. Just think about what we're doing. Let us be careful and create the right conditions necessary in our legislation. And you talked about money. Everybody's been talking about money. But, you know, billions are being thrown out of the window every plenary. Medicines save lives, not arms.”
  Overall simplification of regulation in the EU
• “Thank you very much. And good afternoon, everybody. Colleagues, I'm pleased that after years of not having the time and space to do so, in the end, the committee, we can now truly discuss the Commission's management of health, budget and budget spending of two key EU agencies in the field of health the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency in detail. This was precisely the reason for establishing a separate Senate committee. First, I would like to speak about the Commission's discharge. Let me start with the difficult part. According to the European Court of Auditors, the 2024 budget is materially affected by error, with an estimated error rate of 3.6%. In my report, I therefore clearly regret this situation and call on the Commission to take corrective action, including much better monitoring of how EU funds are used in the Member States, for example, in the digitalisation of healthcare, where we still lack a comprehensive overview. At the same time, I acknowledge the added value of EU action, in particular under EU four health. I am worried that only 64.5% of commitments and 29.3% of payments were implemented, and I strongly regret the planned €1 billion cut to EU for health for 2025 to 2027, which goes against our political commitment to make health a priority after Covid 19. Nevertheless, I welcome the strong investment in crisis preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, cancer, rare diseases, mental health and digital health. I am very critical of the Commission's decision to eliminate operating grants for health NGOs from the EU for Health Work Programme.”
  Discharge of EU institutions and agencies
• “Thank you very much for this debate, colleagues. We have a chance to change the dysfunctional rules in public procurement, and we can make sure that we do not reward those companies most treading on their workers rights and who do not tolerate the creation of trade unions. Currently, a procurement can be awarded to just such a company and the EU and member States therefore are basically financing the fight against trade unions and they ignore the workers rights. We have a chance to reverse this trend. We have a chance to make sure that public procurement will only be awarded to those companies that respect trade unions and their demands. Those companies that do not just try to make savings on wages, the environment, or their workers safety. Unfortunately, the current compromises do not address this issue. They keep ignoring it. I do understand the effort to reduce bureaucracy, but please, let's not forget the people who actually end up doing the work in the end. I request you, rapporteur, as a Non-attached member, to please consider amendments that improve the protection of workers. Please include them in your compromises. Thank you.”
  EU policy on social criteria in public funding
• “Thank you. Chair, I have three remarks to make. First of all, I'd like to say a big thank you to the rapporteur for the report. You use a lot of statistics, which is excellent, but there are no links to those studies. Can you please add that information? It would be interesting for us to be able to look it up and perhaps read a bit more about this. Number two, you speak here about financing, but this is a worry for me. I think this is wishful thinking. In fact, this is on paper. This is not going to come true. An hour ago we spoke about Becca report. We spoke about cancer plans, and this is in fact the same story. Here we are speaking about consequences. And in fact, prevention seems to be more expensive. We have to look for that money. We have to be able to help member states finance it. Otherwise in ten years time, we will still be here talking about this very same issue. If we fail to find that money, it will indeed stay on paper only. And this is something that has been worrying me. The chair is from Poland. I am from the Czech Republic. We both probably like to eat Mediterranean food, it's not possible. However, perhaps, in fact, Poland does have sea. We don't. And we don't grow olives. But still, we should have alternatives. We shouldn't be so strict and say that 27 member states have to eat the very same thing. Because we have our specificities, we have our conditions. We also have a way, a different way of agriculture. There are different habits in every single country. And it's not always a bad thing, is it? But what I don't appreciate in this report is that the rapporteur seems to be saying that this is what we should do everywhere, and this sometimes is counterproductive. Please trust me. I would love to eat Mediterranean food, but you know, I like Czech dumplings, too. And I don't think it's a bad thing if it's reasonable. Thank you.”
  Nutrition
• “Thank you. Do you accept that every situation is different in each country in the Czech Republic? Even if we had thousands of windmills and photo panels, it wouldn't be enough. We are an industrial country. We need stable electricity supplies for our industry. Otherwise we will have to close down the last steel plant we have already closed down. A lot of industry because energy prices are so high. And you as Germans, after you've been sending your extra energy and causing blackouts, do you accept that every country has a different situation? And do you let the individual countries do what they need to ensure sufficient energy for citizens and industry?”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)
• “Thank you. President. Commissioner. The words about clean and accessible energy for all citizens. That sounds good, but it guarantees nothing. How many times have we heard similar slogans, packages, action plans, strategies and what is happening? Where is the price decrease for households in the EU? Nowhere. The energy crisis impacts the low income households most because low income people feel the impact differently than people who don't care how much they pay. We don't have details about financing. You told us nothing about it. And this, again, will be important to make sure that it's not the poorest people who pay for it again, instead of those who pay no taxes and just use the Energy Prices and Competitiveness Commissioner without limiting or getting rid of the Green Deal and removing bureaucracy, there will be no Competitiveness for European industry. **Nicolae ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ @Chair: Dariush is the last speaker.”
  EU approach to electricity market and prices
• “President. Commissioner. Protection of minors online has. Been something that the commission and some member states have abused in order to implement certain policies. It should be something that brings us together, but not an excuse to prevent anonymity or gather data from online. Protecting minors has can be done from a number of angles and the commission has not solved the problem. The internet, of course, has to respect certain laws, but the issue of biometric data is not being handled in a way that respects privacy, confidentiality or prevents certain risks. So this is something that we need to reject. We need to not cause do more harm than good.”
  Privacy & detection of online child abuse
• “Thank you. Colleagues. Commissioner, they say that you can't teach new tricks. An old dog, new tricks. And I think that our commission led by Mr. Lyon is such an old dog. The action plan for affordable energy prices is the same thing that we've been hearing since the beginning of the energy price crisis. Even though we see that so far, the commission plans have not brought cheaper prices and yet support for renewable sources. Another thing that the Commission keeps rising again, raising again and again energies that will not be more affordable if we ignore nuclear energy. On the contrary. Nuclear energy needs to be supported as much, at least as much as renewables. You don't need to search for a new source of cheap gas from abroad because it is already there. You are just for political reasons. You have placed sanctions on it and you are buying Russian Russian gas only more expensive from others. So just abandon the sanctions. Support member states in full in achieving full government control over energy companies. If we treat energy as a commodity. We will not progress. None of that is in the commission plan. Perhaps we should replace the Commission.”
  EU approach to energy security (home-made vs import sources)