Andrey KOVATCHEV

What Andrey KOVATCHEV has said (16)

• “Comprehensive electoral reform is equally essential. In line with the recommendation of OSCE, ODIHR and the Venice Commission, the OECD's final report after the May 2025 parliamentary elections highlighted persistent shortcomings, a lack of a level playing field between political parties, widespread misuse of public resources and institutional power by the ruling party, allegations for vote buying and pressure on voters, including public employees, as well as cases of intimidations. Such practices undermine public trust and weaken democratic standards and institutions. Finally, I would like to underline that EU accession is an inclusive process that required broad consensus and the active participation of all political parties, civil society and citizens. I therefore call for the end of the political polarisation and for a return to constructive, inclusive dialogue within the Parliament of Albania. We support Albania's European future, but enlargement is a merit based process. It is built on results, on credibility and on an unwavering commitment to European values. I would like to wish Albania's success on its EU integration path and a process in benefits not only for the countries and the citizens, but also for the European Union, and looking forward to work with the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs to achieve our objective and useful report of the European Parliament for 2026. Thank you very much.”
  EU enlargement
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Dear Commissioner, dear Marta, thank you very much. I, I'm not jealous on your job because you need to satisfy so many people with different interests. But I'm going directly to one issue. What you said. I assume somebody prepared what you wrote. You said to us on bilateral issue, and that Bulgaria and North Macedonia need to sit down and find a solution. I mean, there is no bilateral issue. Please, you know very well there is a council conclusions on 2022 and the negotiation framework. And everybody, 27 member states agreed on this. And a candidate country also agree on this. And we need they should not lose the time of their own citizens of North Macedonia. And I'm so sorry about the citizens of North Macedonia that they lose so much time because the council conclusions from 2022 are not fulfilled. And I would really kindly ask you, do not refer any more that there is a bilateral issue. There is not a bilateral issue. There is a council conclusions from 2022 to be followed and this country to start negotiations, which is in favour of their citizens in favour of the European Union and of the stability in our region. Please, uh, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Thank you very much.”
  EU enlargement
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Andreas, for the presenting of your report. I also welcome Albania's recent progress in opening negotiation clusters and chapters in just over a year, becoming, as you mentioned, a frontrunner in enlargement together with Montenegro. This is a clear signal of the country's European ambitions. I welcome Albania's objectives. Objectives. To complete negotiations by 2027 and achieve membership to the European Union after. But ambitions must be matched by tangible reforms, particularly in the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and the protection of fundamental rights. The fight against corruption must deliver consistent and visible results. Institutions such as Sparc must operate independently and efficiently, free from political pressure. Albania has made efforts with the EU backed justice reform and the vetting process, but this momentum must continue. Investigations, including those involving senior officials such as the Deputy Prime Minister, must proceed without any interference. The rule of law. The rule of law cannot be selective. Handling requests to lift parliamentary immunity without delay is the responsibility of the Parliament. I am concerned about the suggested amendments to the criminal procedure to protect ministers and senior officials from suspension while they are under criminal investigation. Legislation must comply with comply with the international democratic standards. Laws must never be tailored to political needs. They must serve the public interest and ensure equality before the law.”
  EU enlargement
• “Well, thank you very much, Madam Chair. And this is indeed a very important topic when we discuss in the European Parliament the DMA. The basic principle was everything which is forbidden offline should be also forbidden online. That is very basic. This is why the discussion about freedom of expression should be also based on this principle. Everything which we are not allowed to do offline in our real life should be the same online. And uh, what we see unfortunately, in many platforms is, uh, that manipulations and uh, uh, algorithmic transparency is misused by third countries, especially Russia, for, um, manipulating and changing political narratives in the member states, especially in front of elections. This, uh, collaboration of big platforms to be transparent on how their algorithm is working, used by intelligence services and what we see. They are much cleverer as liberal democratic users of of platforms to know how they can increase the visibility of their manipulative content. I had many examples where we we see that the algorithmic content ranking of certain, um, manipulative content coming from. The narratives of, of the Russian Federation is a much more visible that the so-called like, uh, traditional democratic, liberal normal content, which sometimes if you register as a politician, your visibility is uh, and I would like this is my question about this, uh, shadow banning. It's much more lower than if you are like a influencer or content creator on, uh, especially on meta platform, uh, Facebook and Instagram. But, uh, my, uh, question is about your experience of our experts on this shadow banning practice of some platforms, especially, uh, related after this, uh, riots in capital. We we saw that meta is, uh, trying to to selectively, uh, reduce the visibility of certain content and, uh, unfortunately, uh, by. No, uh, I will not say by, uh, uh. That they are doing this by willing, but, uh, the third country's content is much more visible the Russian propaganda content on their platforms than the democratic content. Thank you very much.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Thank you very much, Mister Chair, Madam Commissioner. I would like also to support your balanced approach and what also my colleague Bourgallium just mentioned. I do not understand colleagues from the left who are using now to criticize why we are on an international forum which is extremely important for the peace in the Middle East, especially for the reconstruction in Gaza. We might not agree with the charter and not to be part, not be a full member of this board but we should talk with them. And in this board, like it or not, there are something like eighty percent of the Muslim country represented. How can we not be there to talk with them and especially also with Mister Mladenov? I would—I'm happy that he was here and you had the possibility on Monday to exchange with him for the next steps. And now on the action plan on the Mediterranean, we need few achievable goals and you mentioned one of these is Mediterranean University. We have the first Euro-Mediterranean University already. Do you coordinate this with the countries on these few goals and when you expect to have this action plan on the Mediterranean? Thank you very much.”
  Relations with Israel - Palestine
• “President, colleagues, free democratic societies are subject to constant attack, not only with the use of weapons, but through the algorithms of large online platforms. They are not neutral. They aim to keep your attention and to heighten your feeling of hate, and to provide you with false, manipulative content. This model has to do with negative feeling and is used purposefully, purposefully by different propaganda networks, including the Russian Propaganda Machine, which organizes aimed campaigns against Europe through their so-called troll farms in order to ruin the trust in democratic process and institutions. A lot of surveys can show that these algorithms have played a significant influence over the election procedures in different countries, including Bulgaria, Moldova, etc., and they provide far. They provide extreme content to the public without having any clarity how this is based on their own interest. The large platforms need to find and deal with systemic risks for freedom and democracy. Freedom without any responsibility is not freedom, but vulnerability. This is the reason why we ask the Commission to start implementing in a consistent manner the DCA for large platforms, especially when they pose our processes and elections at risk. We are not speaking only about regulation. We are speaking about protecting our main democratic values. The building blocks of our European Union. Thank you.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Comprehensive electoral reform is equally essential. In line with the recommendation of OSCE, ODIHR and the Venice Commission, the OECD's final report after the May 2025 parliamentary elections highlighted persistent shortcomings, a lack of a level playing field between political parties, widespread misuse of public resources and institutional power by the ruling party, allegations for vote buying and pressure on voters, including public employees, as well as cases of intimidations. Such practices undermine public trust and weaken democratic standards and institutions. Finally, I would like to underline that EU accession is an inclusive process that required broad consensus and the active participation of all political parties, civil society and citizens. I therefore call for the end of the political polarisation and for a return to constructive, inclusive dialogue within the Parliament of Albania. We support Albania's European future, but enlargement is a merit based process. It is built on results, on credibility and on an unwavering commitment to European values. I would like to wish Albania's success on its EU integration path and a process in benefits not only for the countries and the citizens, but also for the European Union, and looking forward to work with the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs to achieve our objective and useful report of the European Parliament for 2026. Thank you very much.”
  EU enlargement
• “Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon colleagues and warm welcome, Commissioner, for being with us again. Let me first, of course, welcome the message that we heard from President Von der Leyen in the State of Union address to create a Center for Democratic Resilience. This is also something that we have outlined in the working paper that I have prepared as a rapporteur. But I would like to take the opportunity to highlight that for Parliament, at least if I have understood also my colleagues correctly, it is important that this new entity will be independent and that it basically will be that it has autonomy. Because I think if we don't have the feeling of independence, this kind of center would otherwise perhaps have a risk to be a bit undermined from the start. Against this backdrop, Commissioner, I would like to ask you perhaps if you have already started to think about the center's financing and if this is reflected in the new proposal for the MFF and which budget lines that are foreseen. And not only how you, how we can make sure that we will have a sustainable and long-term support for this institution, I mean both financially but also institutionally. Another point that I would like to raise is, of course, that what we want to achieve and which was one of the core assignments, of course, is that we want to have fair and resilient elections. And here I would like to underline that the European Cooperation Network on Election is extremely important and also that I would like to ask you, Commissioner, if you could perhaps clarify the Commission's intention regarding the financing of this vital network going forward because that should also be part of the discussion of the MFF. Thank you.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Andreas, for the presenting of your report. I also welcome Albania's recent progress in opening negotiation clusters and chapters in just over a year, becoming, as you mentioned, a frontrunner in enlargement together with Montenegro. This is a clear signal of the country's European ambitions. I welcome Albania's objectives. Objectives. To complete negotiations by 2027 and achieve membership to the European Union after. But ambitions must be matched by tangible reforms, particularly in the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and the protection of fundamental rights. The fight against corruption must deliver consistent and visible results. Institutions such as Sparc must operate independently and efficiently, free from political pressure. Albania has made efforts with the EU backed justice reform and the vetting process, but this momentum must continue. Investigations, including those involving senior officials such as the Deputy Prime Minister, must proceed without any interference. The rule of law. The rule of law cannot be selective. Handling requests to lift parliamentary immunity without delay is the responsibility of the Parliament. I am concerned about the suggested amendments to the criminal procedure to protect ministers and senior officials from suspension while they are under criminal investigation. Legislation must comply with comply with the international democratic standards. Laws must never be tailored to political needs. They must serve the public interest and ensure equality before the law.”
  EU-Albania relations
• “Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Andreas, for the presenting of your report. I also welcome Albania's recent progress in opening negotiation clusters and chapters in just over a year, becoming, as you mentioned, a frontrunner in enlargement together with Montenegro. This is a clear signal of the country's European ambitions. I welcome Albania's objectives. Objectives. To complete negotiations by 2027 and achieve membership to the European Union after. But ambitions must be matched by tangible reforms, particularly in the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and the protection of fundamental rights. The fight against corruption must deliver consistent and visible results. Institutions such as Sparc must operate independently and efficiently, free from political pressure. Albania has made efforts with the EU backed justice reform and the vetting process, but this momentum must continue. Investigations, including those involving senior officials such as the Deputy Prime Minister, must proceed without any interference. The rule of law. The rule of law cannot be selective. Handling requests to lift parliamentary immunity without delay is the responsibility of the Parliament. I am concerned about the suggested amendments to the criminal procedure to protect ministers and senior officials from suspension while they are under criminal investigation. Legislation must comply with comply with the international democratic standards. Laws must never be tailored to political needs. They must serve the public interest and ensure equality before the law.”
  EU enlargement
• “Madam president, thank you very much, Mr. Gill, and welcome here in the European Parliament. I'm also in the Foreign Relations Committee. Our rapporteur on the recommendation to the General Assembly. And this week we are going to discuss with my colleagues, the shadow rapporteurs from the different political groups. Our recommendations to the Council for the next General Assembly, but are now going to the Global Digital Compact. As the digital environment has become an integral part of the lives of people worldwide. There are several principles I believe must be at the core of global digital governance. What is illegal offline must be illegal online. Online profiles must be verified with actual identifiable people or organizations behind them, and minors must be protected online while safeguarding high privacy standards. While the compact rightly emphasizes safeguarding children and young people, online policymakers including US in the European Union, are currently debating what are the most effective regulatory tools to do this responsibly. Questions are emerging around the possibility of establishing clear international standards for age appropriate access to social media. We observe what's happening in Australia, for example, and the discussion in France, Spain, Ireland and for verifying user identity identification online. This is very important. Online profiles to be identified in order to better prevent and counteract abuse, exploration, manipulation and the spread of hate and disinformation in digital space especially, we see this in Europe, but not only in Europe. Before elections. How active are disinformation campaign in this context? I would like to ask you a few questions. The global Digital Compact set important objectives on digital safety, child protection, countering disinformation and protecting human rights online.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Thank you very much, Mister Chair, Madam Commissioner. I would like also to support your balanced approach and what also my colleague Bourgallium just mentioned. I do not understand colleagues from the left who are using now to criticize why we are on an international forum which is extremely important for the peace in the Middle East, especially for the reconstruction in Gaza. We might not agree with the charter and not to be part, not be a full member of this board but we should talk with them. And in this board, like it or not, there are something like eighty percent of the Muslim country represented. How can we not be there to talk with them and especially also with Mister Mladenov? I would—I'm happy that he was here and you had the possibility on Monday to exchange with him for the next steps. And now on the action plan on the Mediterranean, we need few achievable goals and you mentioned one of these is Mediterranean University. We have the first Euro-Mediterranean University already. Do you coordinate this with the countries on these few goals and when you expect to have this action plan on the Mediterranean? Thank you very much.”
  EU relations with the Southern Neighbourhood
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I will be short. I agree with my colleagues. We need to wake up. Uh, especially what, uh, just was said that the algorithms are supporting the Russian narratives. We have thousands and tens of thousands of, uh, interactions when it's, uh, pro-Russian narrative and very few if it's a Normal, so to say, a pro-European narrative in the social media, especially those which are used in Eastern European countries. My country, Bulgaria, for example. Most used is still Facebook. And uh, this is, uh, absolute against our pro, uh, how to say democratic European, uh, spirit, uh, how the algorithms are working. But I would like also to repeat the question how, uh, other intelligence services in the European Union are coordinating their actions against, uh, such, uh, so-called media. And this is not media. We need to be very clear. They're not media. They are propaganda tools of the regime of Putin, and they are not covered by the media freedom principles and by the democratic values. They should be, uh, these people immediately expelled from the territory of the European Union. They should be on our web, uh, blacklist. Their assets need to be frozen and even not only frozen but confiscated. Also, their families need to be removed and we need to take very serious measures against them. And this is covered under the immunity system of the democracy. If you like to preserve our democracy, we need to take immediately these steps on the algorithms, but also to be very rude on the list of people who are not welcome in the European Union and to be also their families, also their children. They should not enjoy our educational systems even if they pay millions of dollars, uh, to to Switzerland or to the private schools in Europe, they should be expelled from the European Union. And I'm fed up that we are so slowly and that the Commission is taking no measures. Thank you very much.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Thank you very much for giving me the floor. Madam Vice President of the Commission. Not with tanks, with algorithms, with bots. That democracy is being attacked. These are algorithms that attract attention. They don't protect truth, they do not defend facts and this is the door used by Russian propaganda in order to invade our public space. The mechanisms that are used to manipulate our emotions and so that platforms win us. European sovereignty is important if we allow, um, algorithms that are not clear to model the opinions on important topics, we will lose control over our democratic process. That is why the DSA has to be applied without any exceptions, very transparently, with checks and balances and sanctions. We cannot allow for citizens to be manipulated in order to have some, uh, likes in social networks. We should not allow for the society to be manipulated.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “Could you explain how this commitment will be translated into practice with stakeholders, governments, international organizations and digital platforms will be responsible for implementation, and there are concrete or other concrete regulatory measures and advice. How binding are those commitments expected to be, and what monitoring or accountability mechanism does the United Nations plan put in place to track progress. Do you see a score within the implementation of the Global Digital Compact to move towards common binding international standards for the protection of minors online, including minimum age? Are access age and their verification for certain digital platforms, particularly for very big ones. You know that our digital single act in Europe, we consider very big platforms, those with more than 45 million, uh, online, uh, uh, users in, in the EU. How do you see, uh, assets, uh, the need, how do you assess the need and the readiness of the global community to move towards such standards? What is the thinking on the EU regarding achieving a balance between protecting children and preventing privacy and fundamental rights, particularly when discussing tools such as the age or identity verification online and what are the platforms? And we, we we observe also the discussion in the United States, the big tech, uh, opinion on, on this. And finally, do you expect major digital platforms to formally commit to the global digital compact since the actors currently shaping the digital environment most directly are still only loosely engaged? Thank you very much and appreciate a lot your work. It's an extremely important topic.”
• “Comprehensive electoral reform is equally essential. In line with the recommendation of OSCE, ODIHR and the Venice Commission, the OECD's final report after the May 2025 parliamentary elections highlighted persistent shortcomings, a lack of a level playing field between political parties, widespread misuse of public resources and institutional power by the ruling party, allegations for vote buying and pressure on voters, including public employees, as well as cases of intimidations. Such practices undermine public trust and weaken democratic standards and institutions. Finally, I would like to underline that EU accession is an inclusive process that required broad consensus and the active participation of all political parties, civil society and citizens. I therefore call for the end of the political polarisation and for a return to constructive, inclusive dialogue within the Parliament of Albania. We support Albania's European future, but enlargement is a merit based process. It is built on results, on credibility and on an unwavering commitment to European values. I would like to wish Albania's success on its EU integration path and a process in benefits not only for the countries and the citizens, but also for the European Union, and looking forward to work with the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs to achieve our objective and useful report of the European Parliament for 2026. Thank you very much.”
  EU-Albania relations