Resoconto integrale delle discussioni

Martedì 13 dicembre 2022 - Strasburgo

6. Questa è l'Europa - Discussione con il Primo ministro della Slovenia, Robert Golob (discussione)

  President. – Dear colleagues, we have with us today the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob.

Prime Minister, dear Robert, let me start by thanking you for accepting our invitation to address the European Parliament as part of our ‘This is Europe’ series of debates. These have been difficult days for Europe, and it is time to re-affirm our values.

The war in Ukraine is continuing unabatedly. Pushed back on the battlefield, the Kremlin has increasingly turned its war machine onto innocent civilians, weaponising basic commodities in a desperate attempt to get Ukraine – and Europe – to concede. I am proud of our clear, united and unwavering European response, because our values – our freedom, our liberty, our democracy – are non-negotiable. The people of Ukraine are fighting precisely for these values.

And yet this does not mean that the consequences are not being felt. People in Slovenia are worried. People in Europe are worried. They are worried about heating their homes; about getting to the end of the month; about paying their bills. This is the time when European leadership is needed the most.

This means common actions, solidarity in gas supply, and the creation of the credible energy single market. This is how we address our citizens’ concerns in the short term. But we also need to be clear: our surest way of achieving full energy independence is by speeding up our green transition and this has become just as much about security as it is about climate ambition. This is not the time to backtrack.

Prime Minister, with two-thirds of Slovenia’s power generation being CO2-free and by further pledging to increase the use of renewable energy by 2030, your country is already showing leadership in this field. What is more, by increasing interconnections with its neighbours, Slovenia is well on track to improve its energy resilience. I look forward to see this same commitment reflected by all Member States within our Union.

Prime Minister, I also see Slovenian leadership when it comes to accelerating the integration process of the Western Balkans, and here I speak more specifically about Bosnia and Herzegovina. This year, we have already seen – with Ukraine and with Moldova – what a powerful message EU candidacy status can give. My hope for us is to have this same courage also with our friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dear Prime Minister, dear Robert, the floor is yours.

  Robert Golob, Prime Minister of Slovenia. – Spoštovana predsednica Metsola, spoštovane članice in člani Evropskega parlamenta, drage državljanke in državljani Evrope. Vem, da bo kasneje zelo polno, zato si bom vzel malo časa sedaj, da vas ogrejem za tisto, kar vas čaka ob dvanajstih. In upam, da bom dovolj zanimiv v svojem izvajanju.

V bistvu mi je v veliko čast, da lahko prav danes nagovorim Parlament, nagovorim vse državljanke in državljane, ker želim govoriti o skupni prihodnosti Evropske unije. Skupni prihodnosti, ki verjame v moč povezovanja, v moč sodelovanja in v moč enotnosti.

Sam, ker prihajam iz majhne članice Evropske unije, se natančno zavedam dejstva, da samo takrat, ko se združujemo na podlagi svojih moči in vrlin in ko vsak prispeva tisto, v čemer je najboljši, lahko tvorimo skupnost, ki bo najuspešnejša. In takrat, ko je ta skupnost enotna in odločna, takrat lahko ta skupnost premika meje mogočega.

In verjamem, da je ravno danes Evropa – Evropa kot celota, ne samo Evropska unija – na preizkušnji, ravno pri tem, koliko moči premore, da bo naslovila zgodovinske izzive, s katerimi se sooča.

Potem ko smo dve leti živeli v obsednem stanju s strani covida, in ne se bat, ne bom govoril o covidu danes, smo se zaradi ruske agresije morali soočiti s situacijo, ki je nismo videli po zaključku druge svetovne vojne na evropskih tleh. Soočamo se s situacijo, v kateri so kršene vse mednarodne norme, kršena je suverenost države na podlagi vojaške agresije brez razloga.

Ta agresija ima poleg vseh ostalih implikacij izjemne posledice tudi na nas, na vse državljanke in državljane Evropske unije in na naše gospodarstvo. Ne samo energetska kriza, ne samo energetske cene, vse to je pripeljalo do tega, da smo danes soočeni tudi z gospodarsko krizo in predvsem z zvišanjem cen na vseh področjih in rekordno inflacijo.

Zato bom danes naslovil predvsem tri področja. Največ bom posvetil – glede na moje ozadje – energetiki in zeleni tranziciji, zelenemu prehodu. Dotaknil pa se bom tudi vladavine prava in pa geopolitičnih prizadevanj, v katerih je Slovenija majhen, ampak vseeno pomemben kamenček v mozaiku.

Dear ladies, dear gentlemen, let me give you just a brief background on myself in order to fully understand why I will address energy as the major topic during my speech.

For the last 15 years, I was working at an energy company: a company that I founded and I was running as a CEO; a company that grew from zero up to 3 billion in revenue; a company that was the largest energy trader in southern and eastern Europe; a company that grew from zero to the largest supplier of electricity in Slovenia; and a company which in the latest years was also the largest provider of solar power plants, meaning that we did embark on investing in renewables as well.

Having said that, let’s switch to the main topic, and that is energy. It is totally clear to everyone that overdependence on one gas source, which is from Russia, led to the weaponisation of that particular energy source during the last year, and that we are facing the consequences of that weaponisation right now.

But even though the lack of supply was rightly addressed by the swift action both of the Parliament and Commission during the last weeks – meaning that just by combining the three factors which is being able to reduce the demand, being able to find new sources from friendly countries and being able to keep the pipelines open throughout Europe by implementing the solidarity clause, we were able to cover for the energy needs – it was not enough to address the prices. And this is one topic that I always emphasise whenever I speak to my colleagues at the European Council and that is that, yes, a lot has been done, but more needs to be done as well in the future. And this week is crucial in that regard.

So either we address properly the high energy prices and when I say properly it means decisively, and when I say decisively, we need to implement regulatory changes in the market mechanisms because the internal energy market at the moment, I will not say it is not working, I will say is being worked by the speculative money, but for their own profits and not for the benefits of the population of Europe.

And this is where the responsibility of the European Council comes into light, because it’s up to us to address this issue in the proper manner. And we already asked the Commission once to come up with a set of rules, set of measures, which will adequately address this issue and I cannot say that I am happy with what the Commission has come up with. It will not work. It’s not enough. We will need to be more decisive in order to reduce the volatility in the markets. We will need to be more decisive to eliminate price spikes. And we will need to be more decisive when it comes to the gas price caps.

The energy ministers sit in the council of today and I certainly hope and urge that they will come to a common decision by whatever means in order to show the unity not to the population but to the markets, because we need to show the unity to the speculative traders and, remember, I made my living by doing that, so I know what I’m talking about.

So we need to show them a clear message and unity that we will not be left drained. We will not let them drain our budgets. We will not let them drain the global competitiveness of our industry for their profits.

It’s a very important message, and that’s why I’m repeating it all over the place and I’m doing it right now.

But the future doesn’t stop today and doesn’t stop this winter, so we need to look forward, onward, and the green transition is actually not just the only way forward, but it is also the only way that addresses the three issues simultaneously. It does improve and it does bring autonomy, independence, energy independence to Europe. It is the only way to energy independence. It does mitigate climate change because that’s the only way how to reduce the impact of energy on climate. And it also, at the end of the day, brings lower energy prices. So we do address all three issues simultaneously and that means that, again, we cannot linger. We need to move as bold and as ambitious as possible.

If that means speeding up the permitting process, well, yes. If that means building more, not just interconnectors, but more gas and pipe and power lines, yes, we do need more power lines at all levels. We can put them underground, but we need them and we need more storage capacity as well to enable the grids to connect more renewables. And this is really the only way forward.

And if we act bold and decisively and if we link the wind potential of north with some potential of the south – put some hydro in the mix and some storage in between – yeah, in the next 10 to 15 years, we could be totally renewable in Europe. It is a vision that is doable. Okay, it might take us five more years than that, but it’s doable. And that’s the most important message. And for that reason, not just because of the energy crisis that we are facing now, we really owe it, we owe it to our children to do it now because it’s doable so there is absolutely no excuse that we wait with our next steps when it comes to that.

Before entering politics, while I was still the executive, I was also the EU Climate Pact Ambassador. I was promoting, and sincerely promoting it, because for living I was doing energy trading but for my soul I was promoting the self-sustainable home energy systems – the systems where each of us that owns a home can become totally independent on himself, on him, on hers or his energy needs, for all energy needs. Electric vehicle, sunroof, solar heating, heat pumps and storage. By doing that, we helped thousands and thousands of households in Slovenia to become totally independent from the existing crisis. So they are not just helping the environment, at the moment they are totally independent on the energy crisis.

The one thing that we are addressing all the time when it comes to the energy transition, we are always addressing the how do we deal with the energy for our machines, for our technologies.

But we are overlooking one important thing. This is my second message. We are overlooking the how do we address the energy that we need to fuel our bodies, which is food. The food system that we are utilising right now is totally unsustainable for our future, totally. Unless we change the food production and food consumption in a very thorough way, we will not be able to meet any of the climate goals. Because if the rest of the world would follow in our steps, we would need seven planets just to sustain the food consumption, which is obviously not something that can be done.

Now, of course, each of us can start a change in himself or herself. Changing the diet. Of course, that’s easy. Just switch from less meat – I’m not saying no meat – but that’s consume less meat, let’s consume more plant-based food. Anyway, it’s healthier, but this is not the story today. But in that way, we will help the planet and we will help our children as well. Not just by teaching them how to be healthier, but also in teaching them how to be sustainable.

But that’s an individual choice. What is the responsibility of the government or of the authorities? The main responsibility is the building of the awareness, scientific facts when it comes to food plus – and this is important – to enable the choice, enable the choice of healthier food to be available in public systems.

That’s what we did on a small scale in Slovenia back home. And results are amazing. We didn’t have to force anyone and 50% of consumers at a particular facility switched within a month on a totally plant-based food. It was an individual choice that was enabled by the authorities. Not enforced – this is very important.

Going back to the other thing where the responsibility of the government or the authorities is even more crucial is, of course, the rule of law. And when it comes to the rule of law, I would share a personal story with you. As you already remember, most probably, I was minding my own business, earning lots of money and being quite happy, up to a certain point when I realised that the rule of law in Slovenia is just being eaten away. By the previous government. The judicial system was slowly being weakened. The freedom of speech and the media – especially freedom of media – was being taken away. And a certain point in time, again, being happy, I just realised I don’t want to live in a country where the rule of law is non-existent. This is why I stepped into politics. This is why I stepped out of my comfort zone, not in my comfort zone. And this is why I stand here.

And this is so important and that’s why I realised that the rule of law is not something to be negotiated about, but is something to be enforced. And that that is the responsibility of all of us that are in the political system.

By saying that, the first thing that come to your mind once you have to make a decision on whether you step into politician role or not, is okay, how do we deal with all the exposure? The fake news exposure. Hate speech exposure. Because that’s immediately what you get once you decide to step into politics. And I’m not speaking about uncoordinated or spontaneous fake news or spontaneous hate speech, I’m speaking about hate speech, which is financed and instigated by the existing political forces or lobbies – it doesn’t matter what you call them.

So I urge and I know that you’ve already done some steps when it comes to hate speech, Parliament, I know it’s been the Council, the European Council again, who was blocking, who is blocking it. And I urge you to find new ways, new ways how to address the issue of paid-for hate speech with a clear, clear goal. And the goal is, you know what, to keep the dissent people out of politics. That’s really the goal.

I know there is a fine balance between the freedom of speech and the hate speech, the measures against one and the measures to really improve the freedom of speech. And I’m pretty much sure you will know how to strike the balance because the freedom of speech, especially social media, they do play an important role when it comes to really bringing things to our awareness that would otherwise stay hidden. And, in this regard, I would like to especially address the Iranian situation, which would not be noticed by anyone in Europe because of the censorship unless there would be social media. And all the efforts done especially by the Iranian women and with their inventive, non-violent ways of protesting against the brutality of the regime and for their human rights , their women’s rights is something to be really proud of and to give them support as much as possible. So I urge you to be loud, to keep staying loud, and to keep pointing the way forward, where they will be heard also within this particular Parliament. I know lots has been done and I urge you to do more. Let’s show them that we do know what our geopolitical responsibility is. Even though most of the time, again, within the European Council, that’s not the case. Okay, I’m switching back to Slovenian, sorry.

To me pripelje do zadnje točke na agendi, do geopolitičnih prizadevanj, tudi Slovenije. Če kje, je Evropska unija pokazala odgovornost in enotnost v primeru ruske agresije na Ukrajino. In zato sem hvaležen vsem institucijam, tudi Evropskemu svetu, ki je pokazal, res, da takrat, ko je potrebno, znamo biti enotni.

Znali smo bili enotni tudi na točki, ko smo uporabili najmočnejše orodje, ki ga ima Evropska unija, in to je širitveni proces. Pozdravljam odločitev vseh institucij, da smo tako Ukrajini kot Moldovi – Moldaviji – priznali status kandidatke za članstvo v Evropski uniji in pozdravljam vse napore, tudi Parlamenta, zato da se proces pridruževanja pospeši.

Kajti pridružitveni proces oziroma proces širitve Evropske unije je v resnici orodje, ki se ga v Sloveniji zelo močno zavedamo, ker smo sorazmerno nova članica. Zelo dobro se spomnim upanja, upanja v boljšo prihodnost, ki nam jo je dajal ravno ta širitveni proces. Zato zelo dobro razumem, kakšno upanje v boljšo prihodnost s tem dajemo državljankam in državljanom Ukrajine in Moldavije. In zato pozivam, da se na tem procesu ne zaustavljamo.

Enako velja tudi za področje Zahodnega Balkana. Zahodni Balkan je od začetka ruske agresije izpostavljen velikim pritiskom s strani propagande. Pritiskom, s katerimi se želi razbiti enotnost Evrope kot celote v obsodbi ruske agresije in predvsem v podpori Ukrajini.

In ravno zato mora danes Evropska unija se zavedati, koliko lahko s tem političnim orodjem prispeva ne samo k stabilnosti regije, ampak prispeva tudi k temu, da bomo vsi skupaj ostali enotni pri podpori Ukrajini.

Ne gre samo za Bosno in Hercegovino, pa se bom vseeno navezal nanjo. Gre za celoten Zahodni Balkan. Ampak Bosna in Hercegovina je tista država, ki je bila v preteklosti žrtev agresije. In Bosni in Hercegovini smo ravno zato dolžni danes pokazati, da nismo pozabili nanjo. Tako kot ne želimo, da bi kdaj pozabili na Ukrajino ... čez leta.

Ker je ravno to zgodba, ki jo moramo pokazati, da ne dajemo signalov samo na začetku, ampak da smo v stanju zgodbe tudi zaključiti. In v Bosni moramo zaključevati zgodbo, zgodbo, ki se je začela pred dvajsetimi leti in ni še naredila nobenega koraka.

In vem, spraševali se boste, „Kdo naj naredi prvi korak?“. Ampak s tem, ko je Slovenija mlada članica, bi rad povedal naslednje. Efekt, ki ga ima vstop v Evropsko unijo, je transformativen. Mi smo se spremenili. Članstvo v Evropski uniji spremeni državo, spremeni pogled najprej ljudi, potem pa ljudje poskrbijo, da se spremeni tudi politika. Ne more biti drugače.

Računati, da se bodo politične strukture spremenile same od sebe, je iluzorno in ne daje rezultatov. Delati moramo ... Kot evropski državljani moramo delati na tem, da naše sodržavljane iz Zahodnega Balkana prepričamo o tem, da je njihovo edino mesto v Evropi. In da potem oni poskrbijo za spremembo tudi v političnih strukturah, da bodo politične strukture to dejstvo sprejele kot nekaj, za kar se morajo boriti. In potem bodo sprejele tudi vladavino prava in demokracijo.

Sam ne verjamem v obratni vrstni red. Zato v Sloveniji vse politične strukture močno podpiramo, da se v Bosni in Hercegovini ta proces res prestavi v višjo prestavo in da damo Bosni, da damo predvsem prebivalcem in prebivalkam Bosne in Hercegovine priložnost, da postanejo enakopravni evropski državljani.

Čisto za konec. Slovenija je ponosna članica evropske družine in v veliko zadovoljstvo nam je, da bomo lahko skupaj gradili evropsko prihodnost ne samo z obstoječimi članicami Evropske unije, ampak s celotno Evropo.

In verjamemo, da je to tista pot, ki bo dejansko pripeljala ne samo do miru, ampak tudi do blaginje za vse državljanke, vse prebivalke in prebivalce Evrope. Naprej Evropa!

  Paulo Rangel, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, dear Prime Minister Golob: let me warmly welcome you in such a bitter moment for this Parliament. Slovenia was the first country of former Yugoslavia to join the European Union.

This stands, and should stand, as an example and a role model for the Western Balkans. And I must congratulate Slovenia on its great integration process that you have just described as a great example for the whole region and for all Europe. Secondly, congratulations on your new president, the first female president, despite she is not from our political family. This is always a very positive and progressive step towards equality, and that should be here naturally, point of order.

We have all have some concerns, including on rule of law, which we must share and which is also the point of these debates. First, Slovenia itself has suffered from internal border checks before. But now we hear that you may consider introducing internal border checks of your own after Croatia joins Schengen. This would send the worst possible signals, especially after the council rejected the accession of Romania and Bulgaria.

If it happens, the European Parliament will be ready to scrutinise any individual violation of our freedom of movement in Slovenia or elsewhere in Europe. Second, there are some concerns regarding the rule of law. We are paying close attention to the changing of laws ruling the media landscape in Slovenia, in a rather unusual and urgent procedure. And let me tell you that the resignation of the interior minister after allegations of political pressure regarding the police is also troubling.

We have so often criticised recent developments in Spain or even in my own country regarding concentration of the power of police. I have to mention this case here as well. Does this not trigger a rule-of-law alert when we speak about interference in police commands?

Finally, Slovenia is an example in the support to Ukraine in the current war in humanitarian, financial and military aid, as you have pointed out. However, it is concerning that the Members of a European Parliament that support your government did not support the resolution of this House recognising Russia as a regime sponsor of terrorism. How do you assess this reluctance to support Ukraine in all possible ways?

Your fellow Slovene Slavoj Žižek, famously satirised the geographical divisions in Europe by pointing out what separates the Balkans from Mitteleuropa. But those divisions must be behind us. The Sava or the Danube do not separate us. Just like that, the Dnipro does not divide Ukrainians.

Europe is large enough for us all. Europe is more than a continent; it is an idea. And it is also an idea in Slovene and loved by the Slovenians. Even though today we meet in Strasbourg, let me recall a small piece of Brussels: near the Schuman roundabout, not too far from the European Parliament stands a memorial with the first line of your national anthem, Žive naj vsi narodi. God’s blessing on all nations.

In this difficult winter, in these difficult times, let these words, these Slovenian words, this anthem by the great France Prešeren echo throughout Europe. May all our nations thrive, žive naj vsi narodi.

  Milan Brglez, v imenu skupine S&D. – Gospa predsedujoča, hvala za besedo predsednica. Spoštovani predsednik vlade, komisar, kolegice in kolegi. To je Evropa. Veseli me, da je Slovenija in vlada doktorja Roberta Goloba s to razpravo in svojim udejstvovanjem na evropskem parketu dokazujeta, da je Slovenija del jedrne Evrope in prizadevanj za bolj povezano ter bolj solidarno Evropsko unijo. Za Evropsko unijo v službi ljudem.

Iskrena zavezanost tem vrednotam se najlepše pokaže v času velikih preizkušenj, v času po pandemiji, vojne na našem pragu ter energetske krize. Slovenija se je aktivno vključila v iskanje skupnega evropskega izhoda iz energetske krize, kjer kot mala država še kako dobro razume, da je rešitev lahko le skupna, solidarna in evropska.

Spoštovani predsednik vlade, s tega mesta vas želim spodbuditi k nadaljevanju teh prizadevanj ter da se Slovenija doma in na evropski ravni pridruži dodatnim ukrepom za zniževanje stroškov gospodinjstev ter pomoči malim in srednjim podjetjem.

Hkrati pa je breme solidarnosti z najbolj ranljivih v tej krizi potrebno prenesti na vse sektorje, od energetike, farmacevtskih podjetij do bančnega sektorja, ki so jim ta in pretekle krize prinesle velike dobičke.

Prepričan sem, da skupaj zmoremo, pa tudi, da lahko državam, ki čakajo na vstop Unijo, pokažemo, da smo in kako smo na njihovi strani. V resni situaciji na Balkanu in vojni v Ukrajini mora biti naše sporočilo jasno. Evropa in s tem Evropska unija je in bo domovina vseh, ki želijo v njej živeti v demokraciji, svobodi in miru?

  Stéphane Séjourné, au nom du groupe Renew. – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Premier Ministre, chers collègues, depuis mai la Slovénie a impressionné par son nouvel engagement européen. Elle est aussi devenue un modèle à suivre, y compris dans l’intégration, vous l’avez dit, Monsieur le Premier Ministre.

Nous sommes fiers de vous compter dans notre famille politique à Renew. La transformation écologique et la nouvelle attractivité économique sont au cœur de votre action et de votre gouvernement, en pleine adéquation avec les objectifs européens climatiques et de souveraineté. Vous avez remis en quelque sorte la Slovénie au cœur de l’Union européenne.

Votre bilan institutionnel est unanimement salué par la société civile et les organisations de droits civiques. Les dérives illibérales et autoritaires ont enfin cessé en Slovénie. La télévision publique redevient indépendante. La justice peut statuer dans un climat beaucoup plus apaisé, depuis ces quelques mois de gouvernance. Les Slovènes, vote après vote, ont confirmé que l’expérience populiste de votre prédécesseur, Janez Janša, a été un échec politique, sociétal et économique.

Monsieur Rangel, ce que vous venez de dire dans vos déclarations ne m’étonne pas. C’est dans la ligne droite, d’ailleurs, des quelques calomnies qu’a pu proférer le PPE sur la Slovénie depuis la défaite de mai. Vos eurodéputés PPE, pourtant officiellement pro-européens, ont en effet souvent soutenu et excusé toutes les insultes de M. Janša sur les réseaux sociaux contre les partenaires et les parlementaires que nous sommes – nous en avons profité assez largement. Vous avez également insinué que l’élection était sous influence étrangère. Pendant cette élection, vous avez aussi défendu le harcèlement d’un certain nombre de journalistes, qui ont été notamment vilipendés par le gouvernement en place.

Monsieur le Premier Ministre, je voudrais juste, au nom de mon groupe, vous assurer du soutien de la plus grande majorité des parlementaires ici à l’égard de votre détermination à soutenir et à encourager le débat démocratique serein dans votre pays. Mon groupe et tant d’autres espèrent d’ailleurs que la Slovénie soit au cœur de l’Europe et que cette voie qu’ont choisie les Slovènes puisse inspirer d’autres peuples – je pense notamment aux Polonais et aux Hongrois. Merci de votre intervention. Vous aurez toujours le soutien de Renew Europe.

  Philippe Lamberts, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, welcome to the European Parliament, Prime Minister. It’s good to hear sincere words of, I would say, a decent person who is in politics. We have at least two things in common. I started my career in the private sector as well for 22 years, and what made me enter politics was the fact that in my municipality, the same party, held a majority, an absolute majority for 65 years, they considered power as their property. And this is why I said, well, I need to step in because a former prime minister in Belgium once said, you know, in politics, once all the disgusted people will have left, only the disgusting ones will remain. And so we don’t want this to happen. So welcome. And it’s such a relief to see Slovenia under your leadership stopping the slippery slope and reversing the slippery slope on which it was. We are witnessing within the European Union enough of trampling on the rule of law and European values not to see it happen in one more Member State. And that was exactly what was happening in Slovenia. So for all this, thank you. I am really happy that you are there.

I have also been touched by the fact that you have been tearing down fences. You know, asylum and migration are serious challenges, but you understand that indeed it is beyond the capabilities of any single Member State to find a solution, certainly not with barbed wire, and that we need a common response to that in solidarity with each other. And again, for that, thank you.

Now, you said a lot about energy and about the green transition. And of course, there is a lot with which we agree. You are remarkable because you are the first head of government that I hear asserting that there is speculation on the energy market. You know, when I engage with the Commission on that, their answer is no, no, no, no. the price reflects market fundamentals and only market fundamentals. And yes, we have to go after that. I totally agree with that. No. Is the price cap the best way? Well, maybe there are other financial regulation instruments like position limits and curbing the entry into market of some players that we need to activate. And there we are totally your allies on this. Now, on the green transition, I know that you feel that this is absolutely crucial to our future. You do not present that just as a defensive thing, but also an ambitious thing. And I agree with that. But I might have some questions for you because, well, my friends in Slovenia tell me, for instance, that the red tape to install solar panels on roofs in a country where basically most people have their own house, that all these red tape has not been cut yet. Also that you want to prolong the extinction of this fossil-based power plant, three more years until 2033. And then there’s the issue of nuclear. Now we can have a debate about nuclear energy. But again, this is presented in Slovenia as the silver bullet that will solve all problems in energy. Really? I mean, if the business case for nuclear is so good, it shouldn’t be afraid of a fair and square competition in the public debate with other forms of energy. And indeed, you mentioned renewables, and there we would like a more balanced public debate on that.

Another thing that you didn’t mention, but where Slovenia is strong, I think your country is probably the European champion of biodiversity. I understand that, per capita, your country has the most beekeepers in Europe. So I don’t understand why Slovenia is not more proactive in supporting the sustainable use of pesticides regulation, because you know that there is a lot of resistance and we need support, including in the Council, not just in the Parliament, to make it happen. So, Prime Minister, a lot to agree with. Frankly, we want to work with you and well, let us hope that indeed what you are doing in Slovenia is not just a parenthesis, but the beginning of a new future. So I’m glad to work with you.

  France Jamet, au nom du groupe ID. – Madame la Présidente, un Français sur trois qui renonce à des soins médicaux, une classe moyenne qui s’effondre, laminée et déclassée, une précarité de plus en plus violente qui touche plus de 11 millions de mes compatriotes, nos entreprises délocalisées, un dumping social institutionnalisé par le travail détaché, une réforme de la retraite à 65 ans imposée par Bruxelles, une hausse vertigineuse des faillites de nos PME, de nos TPE et de nos artisans, accélérée par la crise énergétique, un suicide d’agriculteur tous les deux jours, nos pêcheurs sacrifiés, des Français dans le noir et le froid cet hiver, après le sabotage de notre filière nucléaire, dans laquelle nous avions su investir, qui a été sacrifiée par Bruxelles et qui nous assurait l’indépendance énergétique, une inflation à deux chiffres, un climat de récession dans un contexte d’ensauvagement et d’immigration massive: c’est cela, l’Europe dans laquelle vivent mes compatriotes. Monsieur Séjourné, c’est votre Europe, c’est celle de Bruxelles, de la technocratie et du mondialisme. C’est votre Europe, on vous la laisse!

Notre Europe, c’est le génie des peuples, collègues. C’est le lieu d’émergence de nations qui nous ont permis à travers les siècles, par l’émulation, la diversité et le progrès, de rayonner dans le monde entier. Voilà, c’est cette Europe que nous défendons et que nous chérissons, avec notamment le patriotisme économique et le respect de la souveraineté des nations. Vous l’aurez compris, notre Europe n’est pas votre Union européenne. Elles sont non seulement fondamentalement opposées, mais aussi inconciliables. Mais rassurez-vous, c’est notre Europe qui vous survivra.

  President. – Thank you very much, Ms Jamet. It is truly a pity, however, when you have a Prime Minister of a country that you could engage with that you don’t use this opportunity to do exactly that.

  Ladislav Ilčić, u ime kluba ECR. – Poštovana predsjedavajuća, poštovani premijeru. Hrvatska i Slovenija su susjedne i vrlo prijateljske zemlje. Nadam se da će Slovenci večeras navijati za Hrvatsku u polufinalu Svjetskog prvenstva. No, imam nekoliko pitanja.

Prvo je vezano za temu koje se niste dotakli u svojem uvodnom izlaganju, a to je pitanje sigurnosti i vladavine prava u kontekstu ilegalnih migracija. Europska unija je u ovim godinama na jednoj prekretnici u kojoj postoje oni unutar Europske unije koji zagovaraju odgovoran pristup, čvrsto čuvanje granica koje ujedno daje poruku migrantima da niti ne pokušavaju prelaziti tu granicu ilegalno jer neće uspjeti pa onda migranti takve stvari izbjegavaju i imamo puno manje humanitarnih katastrofa, a imamo i one koji zagovaraju tzv. mekan pristup u kojem šalju poruku migrantima: samo dođite, ovako ili onako, uspjet ćete prijeći tu granicu. Zapravo, oni ne samo da šalju tu poruku, nego kažu ne samo da je moguće ilegalno preći granicu, nego mi ćemo vam u tome pomoći.

Pa sad u zadnje vrijeme imamo i pokazatelj, recimo kao Ocean Viking brod u Italiji, da postoji aktivna suradnja tih nevladinih organizacija i krijumčara ljudi. Zanima me koji je vaš stav? Hoćete li podržati Hrvatsku u odgovornom čuvanju vanjskih granica Schengena i kakav će biti slovenski doprinos čuvanju zajedničke vanjske granice, pogotovo u kontekstu koji je već spomenut – nedavne ostavke vaše ministrice unutarnjih poslova Tatjane Bobnar. Možemo li očekivati učinkovitost i stabilnost vaše vlade po tom pitanju?

Drugo pitanje. Govorili ste dosta o energiji i o pomanjkanju energije. Mislim da je više manje jasno da je do tog pomanjkanja došlo već i prije ruske agresije na Ukrajinu. Dakle, mi imamo u Europskom parlamentu jedan pristup koji se naziva zelenim i koji se naziva ambicioznim, iako on to nije, on je vrlo često nerealan, nerazuman, pa čak i kontraproduktivan koji ide isključivo za zabranama. Zabranili bi ugljen, zabranili bi plin, zabranili bi nuklearnu (riječ je nerazgovjetna), a onda bi promovirali dizalice topline, ali bi zabranili fluorirane F-plinove u dizalicama i tako dalje, jel.

Vi ste uložili ogroman novac, 500 milijuna eura u dokapitalizaciju Holdinga u kojem nije točno jasno što ćete podržavati. I to bi me zanimalo. U tom holdingu je i Termoelektrana Šoštanj i Nuklearna elektrana Krško i jako me zanima što će se događati s Krškom. Naravno, tu je zajedničko vlasništvo Hrvatske i Slovenije. Zanima me kako vidite tu tranziciju? Naravno da nam je zelena tranzicija potrebna, samo trebamo vidjeti koliko je ona realna, kojim tempom može ići i zanima me kako vidite uključenost Hrvatske u nove projekte u Krškom?

  Marc Botenga, au nom du groupe The Left. – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Premier Ministre, bienvenue à un PDG, à un patron d’entreprise qui devient directement Premier ministre. C’est évidemment quelque chose! De ce fait, je vais aborder avec vous un élément qui a été absent de votre intervention, c’est la question du dumping social.

Mijnheer de eerste minister, kent u het concept van sociale dumping? Dat gaat over werknemers, vakmensen, die – vaak via ellenlange onderaannemingsketens, via detachering, interimagentschappen, nepbedrijven – naar een ander land gestuurd worden om daar vaak aan slechtere voorwaarden, minder brutoloon, tewerkgesteld te worden. Dat kadert allemaal in wat men in de Europese Unie het “vrij verkeer van diensten” noemt.

Et ce dumping social, aujourd’hui, passe notamment par des différences de cotisations sociales et de salaire brut. Les cotisations sociales sont alors payées dans le pays où le contrat a été signé, plutôt que dans le pays où le travail est effectué.

Voor bedrijven is dat vaak interessant, want zij krijgen veel hogere winsten en ze betalen lagere socialezekerheidsbijdragen. Voor werknemers is dat een drama. Het Borealis-schandaal in Antwerpen toont dat dit ook steeds vaker gaat over niet-Europese werknemers, werkkrachten die schaamteloos worden uitgebuit, die dan via Hongarije naar Portugal worden gestuurd om in Antwerpen of België terecht te komen.

Il y a du dumping social, vous le savez, dans différents secteurs: transports, construction… Beaucoup trop de secteurs.

En uw land speelt daar vaak een grote rol in, zodanig zelfs dat een Europese vakbondsfederatie klacht indiende tegen Slovenië. Misschien gebeurt dat onder druk van grotere landen of andere landen die de Sloveense regering daartoe aanzetten, maar toch.

J’ai regardé les chiffres. Près d’un tiers des travailleurs de la construction en Slovénie sont envoyés à l’étranger, pourcentage le plus élevé de l’Union européenne. Six travailleurs détachés de Slovénie sur dix sont des ressortissants de pays non européens, ou pour le moins non membres de l’Union européenne. C’est-à-dire que les entreprises établies en Slovénie vont chercher des travailleurs à l’étranger, non pas parce qu’elles en ont besoin, mais pour les envoyer tout de suite dans d’autres États membres, les exploiter à fond et faire plus de profit, tout simplement – et au passage, détruire le droit du travail. Ce système exonère un montant de 128 millions d’euros de cotisations sociales. C’est un véritable hold-up sur la sécurité sociale, soyons honnêtes, et on ne parle encore que d’un pays.

Ik was in uw land, in Slovenië, ongeveer een jaar geleden, onder de vorige regering. Ik had daar een ontmoeting met Sloveense vakbonden en zij toonden mij iets dat mij serieus geschokt heeft. In een gebouw van een ministerie – hetzelfde gebouw als een ministerie – had je een lijst met postbusbedrijven. Dat wou zeggen dat je dus één postbus hebt met een ellenlange lijst van bedrijven die daar officieel gevestigd zijn, maar die natuurlijk niet daar werken, maar wel elders hun activiteiten ontwikkelen. Dus in het gebouw van een ministerie!

Alors, Monsieur le Premier Ministre, le dumping social, que ce soit par le détachement ou par la sous-traitance, est un problème aujourd’hui en Europe. Les solutions existent, nous le savons. Il s’agit notamment de conditionner la libre circulation des services à des garanties sur les conditions de travail, au principe «à travail égal, salaire égal», au refus de toute discrimination entre salariés selon l’endroit où a été signé le contrat, et, je pense aussi, à l’élaboration d’une directive européenne sur la limitation des chaînes de sous-traitance, qui ne servent qu’au dumping social.

Alors une question, Monsieur le Premier Ministre: que va faire votre gouvernement pour changer le rôle fondamental que joue la Slovénie dans le dumping social?

  Mislav Kolakušić (NI). – Poštovana predsjedavajuća, poštovani kolege, poštovani premijeru susjedne nam i prijateljske Republike Slovenije, u ime našeg prijateljstva zamolio bih vas dvije stvari: jednu, da nam date savjet - kako ste uspjeli u Revozu proizvesti 45 milijuna vozila… Četiri i pol milijuna, ispričavam se. Proizvodite 45 vozila na sat. A mi u Republici Hrvatskoj s milijardama javnog novca uspjeli smo proizvesti svega par komada. Iskreno vas molim za taj savjet.

Drugo! Molim vas, kao i sve građane Europske unije, kolege, da večeras navijamo za Hrvatsku. Da imamo u nedjelju finale Europske unije i da se napokon svi zajedno malo veselimo i neka pobijedi bolji. Živjela Europska unija, živjeli mi.

  Romana Tomc (PPE). – Gospa predsednica, spoštovani predsednik vlade doktor Robert Golob. Z zanimanjem sem prisluhnila vašemu govoru, kjer ste izpostavili energetsko krizo, zeleni prehod in širitev Evropske unije na Balkan.

Veseli me, da imate predloge, kako se lotiti vseh teh izzivov. Še bolj pa bi me veselilo, če bi imeli rešitve tudi za Slovenijo, kjer so razmere zares zaskrbljujoče.

Poleg vprašanj, povezanih z vse večjo draginjo, je ogrožena tudi pravna država in svoboda medijev. Na tisoče ljudi v Sloveniji je samo v pol leta vaše vlade ostalo brez zdravnika. Vrstijo se kadrovske čistke, državljani plačujejo eno najvišjih cen elektrike v Evropi. Skrbi jih, kako bodo ob visoki inflaciji preživeli zimo. Gospodarstvo opozarja, da so vaši ukrepi prepočasni, prezapleteni in premalo učinkoviti.

Pred nekaj dnevi, kot je bilo že omenjeno, je odstopila vaša ministrica za notranje zadeve in vas obtožila direktnega poseganja v policijo, ker naj bi vi osebno zahtevali odpustitev določenih oseb. V nacionalnem parlamentu ste se poslancem zlagali.

Vaša pretekla in sedanja vloga v povezavi z energetskimi posli je polna neodgovorjenih vprašanj. Predsednica parlamenta, vaša tesna strankarska sopotnica, mimo pravil določa, kaj izvoljeni poslanci lahko in česa ne smejo vprašati in vodilne policiste primerja z Eichmannom.

Novinarji, ki odkrivajo afere in neučinkovitost vaše vlade, so dnevno podvrženi grožnjam in pritiskom. Očitno je, da pri vodenju uporabljate zelo avtokratske prijeme.

Včeraj je zaradi tega iz vaše stranke odstopila, izstopila tudi ena od soustanoviteljic, ki se ne strinja z vašo politiko, in vse bolj postaja jasno, da poskušate vzpostaviti popolno oblast v vseh inštitucijah in hkrati utišati še tistih nekaj manjših medijev, ki so do vas kritični.

Žal vaša dejanja doma v Sloveniji ne odsevajo tega, kar govorite. Do javnosti pa mnoge informacije o zdrsih vašega vladanja težko pridejo, saj vas ščitijo glavni mediji in politični aktivisti. To, kar počnete, je daleč od demokracije. To ni v skladu z evropskimi vrednotami.

Vse to bomo sicer najbolj občutili državljani Slovenije, a uničevanje demokracije in brutalni posegi v medijski prostor bi morali skrbeti tudi evropske institucije.

Če se vrnem k vašemu govoru, potem bi si seveda najbolj želeli, da se vse, kar ste povedali evropski javnosti, uresniči tudi v Sloveniji. Vendar besede niso dovolj, ljudje pričakujejo ukrepe, ki jim bodo zagotovili učinkovito zdravstvo in pomoč pri spopadanju z visokimi cenami. Namesto tega pa so dobili višje davke.

Pričakujejo, da boste vzpostavili okolje, ki je prostor za svobodo medijev in misli. Gospodarstvo pričakuje ukrepe takoj, ne naslednjo zimo. In mi vsi pričakujemo, da boste spoštovali vladavino prava in se odrekli rušenju demokracije in vzpostavljanju avtoritarnega sistema v Sloveniji.

  Matjaž Nemec (S&D). – Gospa predsedujoča, spoštovani predsednik vlade Republike Slovenije, doktor Robert Golob, spoštovani sokrajan, dobrodošli v Strasbourgu, dobrodošli v Evropskem parlamentu in dobrodošli med nami. Lepo je slišati slovenski glas tukaj.

Zahvaljujem se vam za velik angažma za čimprejšnjo podelitev statusa kandidatke Bosni in Hercegovini. Verjamem, da so prizadevanja slovenske politike v tej smeri ključno in vključno z napori predsednika republike, ministrice za zunanje zadeve ter nas v Evropskem parlamentu obrodile prve sadove.

Na predsednico Evropskega parlamenta Roberto Metsolo smo na mojo pobudo tudi evropski poslanci že junija meseca naslovili pismo s pozivom, da se tudi Evropski parlament zavzame za podelitev statusa kandidatke Bosni in Hercegovini.

V obziru današnjega časa in grozovite vojne v Evropi gre za izjemno pomemben, če ne že odločilen korak za celotno regijo Zahodnega Balkana, za regijo, ki ji nemalokrat upeha zagon in moč za približevanje Evropski uniji. In za regijo, kateri je Evropska unija obljubila evropsko perspektivo pred skoraj dvajsetimi leti v Solunu, a smo od nove širitve še kot kaže zelo daleč.

Ne samo med Slovenijo ter Bosno in Hercegovino, ampak tudi z ostalimi državami Zahodnega Balkana obstajajo močne vezi. Slovenija je in ostaja zaveznik državam v regiji – brez pogojevanj, brez zahrbtnih iger, brez škodljivih interesov.

Danes, dva dni pred decembrskim srečanjem, ko ima država tudi zeleno luč od Komisije, pa pozivam evropske voditelje, da zeleno luč prižgete tudi na Evropskem svetu. Naj se sliši jasen glas – Evropska unija de facto živi svoje poslanstvo združene in povezane Evrope, katere enakopraven partner mora postati regija Zahodnega Balkana.

Zato vas spoštovani predsednik vlade Republike Slovenije doktor Robert Golob sprašujem, kako ocenjujete možnost za pozitivno odločitev konec tedna za Bosno in Hercegovino? Katera država je najtrši oreh in ali kompromis je še možen in kakšno sporočilo želite EU poslati ... državam v regiji?

VORSITZ: OTHMAR KARAS
Vizepräsident

  Katalin Cseh (Renew). – Mr President, dear Prime Minister Golob, dear colleagues, thank you very much, Prime Minister, for addressing this Chamber today and sharing your vision for the future of Europe, a vision that I was so pleased to hear in this Chamber.

Protecting our European values, standing up for the rule of law, facing the climate emergency with courage and ambition: our group, Renew Europe, is wholeheartedly behind you in the fight for these issues. It’s so important. But also, as a representative of the Hungarian Momentum Movement – the youngest opposition party fighting Viktor Orbán’s illiberal populism – I also wanted to talk briefly about what I believe this year’s election in Slovenia means for us and also for Europe as a whole.

The government of former Prime Minister Janez Janša alarmed Europe, and rightfully so. It has shown that no country is immune to democratic backsliding. Mr Janša issued ad hominem attacks at Members of this Parliament and against members of our group in particular. At home he attacked civil liberties and undermined judicial independence. Media freedom was very severely curtailed as Hungarian media tycoons showed up in Slovenia, interfering with press freedom and exporting the Orbán model.

So in short, what we saw is the Orbanisation of Slovenia. The playbook was just so remarkably similar. And this is why the election victory of the Freedom Movement has such a broad Europe-wide importance. First and foremost, it gave us hope – hope that the global democratic backsliding trend can be stopped and it can be reversed, that the values of liberal democracy and environmentalism can prevail against illiberal populism, also electorally.

But, colleagues, the steady erosion of our European values and the trend of democratic backsliding did not stop. And we also still hear talking points of one of the autocrats echoed by major political groups in this House. There is so much work to be done for the European Union as a whole to defend our values.

So I believe that the new government in Slovenia has a very deep understanding, but also strong credibility to stand up for European values. One key priority must be media freedom and a strong EU-wide regulation for media markets. We are looking forward to your leadership on these issues, Prime Minister.

  Thomas Waitz (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, dear Commissioner, dear Prime Minister Robert Golob. First, a short comment to our Conservative colleagues. Geographically, Slovenia is an Alpine republic, and the former speaker from your party, it was your government leaving a devastated health care system to your successor. So don’t blame the new government for your failures.

But now, coming to my actual speech, thank you so much for coming to the European Parliament and congrats once again for securing a progressive, a pro-European, a liberal-democracy-oriented majority in my so dear to my heart neighbouring and also partly living country, Slovenia. Thank you so much for that. And also I want to personally thank you for your strong support for the integration of Western Balkan countries towards European Union. It’s very important to have you as one of the pillars of further negotiations. We need to accelerate. We need to keep our promises. It’s important for the citizens, but it’s also important in terms of security, economy and environment. So thank you very much for that.

Indeed, I also have a critical question that I would like to ask you, and this is especially towards you as an energy expert. You know that nuclear energy takes a long time to be built. You know that it is causing harm to environment. You know that  Krško is built on an earthquake line, on a geological instable region. And you know that renewable energy is much cheaper and much more effective than nuclear energy. Please explain to us why do you want to build the second block, while Slovenia has all the options on the table to go for solar? And please also tell us how you will enable households to also deliver electricity to the system and not just supply themselves.

  Joachim Stanisław Brudziński (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Panie Premierze! Chciałbym podziękować za te słowa skierowane do nas w tej izbie. Jest niezwykle ważne, aby w debacie o przyszłości Europy w Parlamencie Europejskim był obecny i słyszalny głos przedstawicieli państw Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Zbyt często niestety można było tutaj odczuć i usłyszeć ze strony przedstawicieli tzw. starej Unii, że państwa takie jak Słowenia, Węgry, Czechy, Słowacja, czy w końcu mój kraj, Polska, to państwa, którym wolno mniej, gdyż rzekomo nasze demokracje są niedojrzałe. W przeciwieństwie do rzekomo dojrzałych demokracji państw takich jak Niemcy, Francja czy Holandia.

Jakie skutki przyniosła taka polityka, pokazuje dzisiaj wojna w Ukrainie. Nie słuchano głosów płynących z Polski, Litwy, Łotwy czy innych państw, które doświadczały w swojej historii dobrodziejstw płynących ze strony Rosji, czy to Rosji carskiej, czy bolszewickiej, czy w ostatnich latach Rosji Putina. I na szczęście dziś z ust przedstawicieli również instytucji unijnych można usłyszeć - źle, że nie słuchaliśmy Polski.

Panie Premierze, w Pana wystąpieniu były wątki, z którymi zgadzam się całkowicie. Mam na myśli tutaj chociażby kwestie obecności w Unii Europejskiej państw Bałkanów Zachodnich. Jest oczywistym, że jeżeli odwróciły się plecami do Bośni i Hercegowiny, to państwo to prędzej czy później będzie w strefie wpływów Rosji, a nawet saudyjskich wahabitów. Ale proszę pozwolić, że wobec niektórych z Pańskich tez wygłoszonych tutaj pozostanę sceptyczny. Jako żywo nie jest mi dana wiara, że wegetarianizm albo nowa świecka religia w odniesieniu do spraw klimatycznych to droga do powszechnej szczęśliwości ludzkości.

Niestety przy okazji Pańskiego wystąpienia wybrzmiały ze strony moich niektórych przedmówców pełne hipokryzji słowa. Jesteś z naszej rodziny politycznej, to jesteś praworządny i godzien pełnego poparcia. Jeżeli jesteś spoza tej rodziny, to jesteś zagrożeniem dla praworządności i demokracji. A wiecie Państwo, że najciemniej jest pod latarnią, co pokazuje ostatnia afera związana z wiceprzewodniczącą Parlamentu Europejskiego.

  Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI). – Mr President, Prime Minister, thank you for your inspiring vision on energy, food, freedom, for what it represents for Europe. Slovenia has made an extraordinary journey since it became an independent state, and especially since it joined the European Union. Today it is a model in many ways, and I believe it can help the Union as a whole at a time of very high risks which have been aggravated by the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Slovenia can help make people understand that Europe’s strength lies in the diversity of its people, and that the more diverse we are, the more efficient we are; that we can ensure the well—being of citizens in a more effective and sustainable way; and that we can better ensure fundamental rights. Respect for this diversity is the key of the future of the Union, and in this sense Slovenia, as you mentioned, has a very important role to play.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – A Uachtaráin, thank you, Prime Minister, for joining us today to share your views on the future of Europe. I welcome you to this timely debate. We are currently at a critical juncture for Europe and for European democracy, facing significant challenges both internally and externally.

Looking internally, events within the European Parliament over the recent days have shaken our trust in our institution. Allegations that have come to light of possible corruption cases involving MEPs and Parliament staff are deeply troubling. There is no place for corruption in European democracy, and these developments will warrant a period of deep reflection and reform.

Beyond our plenary Chamber we are facing unprecedented challenges in Europe. War in Ukraine and the ensuing energy and cost—of—living crisis pose new tests for the EU and call for further cooperation between Member States. As citizens and businesses worry this Christmas about keeping the lights and heating on, we must ensure that the EU continues to deliver for its citizens. Unity is more important than ever.

As leader of a small European Member State I am confident that you understand this, Prime Minister. Ireland and Slovenia are alike in this regard. As small Member States we share a common understanding that together we are stronger than apart. Indeed, Slovenia joined the European Union during Ireland’s Council Presidency in 2004. Having witnessed the enormous benefits that European Union membership has delivered for my country in terms of economic, social and cultural opportunities, it was a pleasure to hear that Ireland played this small role in Slovenia’s journey.

Looking forward, the shared challenges we now face are significant: no single country can handle these alone. There is huge strength in unity and I hope to continue to see Slovenia and Ireland grow together within the EU.

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D). – Mr President, and welcome to the European Parliament. I appreciate this opportunity to have a dialogue and I saw you spoke from your heart. We all know the greetings of the past government, Janša’s government, and we are so happy that only in 5 months and 12 days you have delivered. Not everything can be changed, but you see the government building the common Europe and showing that the small country can play an active role on the way forward on the transition that is so important even in the time of the crisis.

Your greetings on the energy systems I could not agree with more. It needs to be a clean transition and we need to get rid of the speculators on the markets. And this day, when the people are seeing the prices of energy, also your government will put a lot of help for their citizens.

Dear colleagues, I think what we heard today also on the importance of rule of law, it may not be unanswered that we can send greetings to the Slovenian Parliament. Thank you for giving same—sex marriage rights also to citizens in Slovenia, as we have worked here for the rule of law, it is important the national government is doing the very same thing.

PRESIDENZA: ROBERTA METSOLA
President

  Irena Joveva (Renew). – Gospa predsedujoča, spoštovani predsednik vlade, spoštovane kolegice, spoštovani kolegi, Evropska unija je v sedmih desetletjih iz mirovnega političnega projekta prerasla v resnično politično skupnost.

Skupaj postavljamo globalne standarde za ljudi pri podnebni politiki, digitalnih pravicah, zdravih hrani, demokratičnih vrednotah. Je vse popolno? Ni. Med to politično evolucijo se je razrasel tudi prekompleksen birokratski aparat, ki se stežka prilagaja na nenehne nove izzive ali krize našega časa.

V zadnjih letih smo naredili velike korake. To seveda drži. Že omenjena podnebna politika, konkretno recimo tudi sklad za okrevanje in odpornost. Super, ampak kje smo danes? V tokratni danosti, ki nam jo prinašata zločinska vojna v Ukrajini in energetska kriza, kljub vsem naporom in dosežkom pogrešam več ambicioznosti na ravni Unije, tudi na drugih področjih.

Enotnosti bi si želela tudi pri skupnih odzivih pri blaženju te krize in skupnem okviru pri potrebnih investicijah za zeleno od vseh avtoritarnih držav energetsko neodvisno Evropo. RePowerEU, skupne nabave plina, omejitve cen elektrike so dobra zasnova in v teh dneh, ko razpravljamo o do Evropske unije nepoštenem ameriškem antiinflacijskem aktu, bi morali najti tudi politično voljo za evropski odziv, denimo vzpostavitev novega fleksibilnega sklada za soočanje s krizami.

Veto v Svetu sili v nedopustne kompromise. Korupcija na sistemski ravni v državah članicah, da ne govorim o očitno individualnih, tudi tukaj v tej hiši – to zažira v našo kredibilnost. Tudi zato, predvsem pa za omogočanje fleksibilnosti s širitvijo fiskalne kapacitete Unije, so nujne institucionalne reforme, z odpiranjem temeljnih pogodb, ukinitvijo soglasnosti, demokratizacijo naših procesov in vzpostavitvijo resničnega evropskega javnega diskurza.

Ravno zato so pomembni takšni dogovori in razprave sploh tako vsebinske, če izvzamem nekatere ... (govornici se izteče čas za govor)

  Mikuláš Peksa (Verts/ALE). – Madam President, dear Prime Minister Golob, last year I had the opportunity to visit Slovenia on a mission as a member of the Budgetary Control Committee. Under your predecessor Janez Janša, Slovenia was suffering multiple rule of law crises. The issue that resonated with me mostly was the intimidation of the controlling authorities, as well as the lack of media freedom. Budgets were cut and critical investigative journalists were victims of organised attacks. And of course, we can’t forget his efforts to politicise your radio broadcasts at Radiotelevizija Slovenija.

But you are the head of a new government and I hear that the situation has improved already. And your legislative initiative to restructure the governing bodies of Radiotelevizija Slovenija is a welcome one. I hope that that will indeed lead to a less hostile public media landscape. However, it appears that there are some branches of the government where the political influence is still creeping back in. So recently we have witnessed your Interior Minister resigned over the ...

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Laura Huhtasaari (ID). – Arvoisa puhemies, Eurooppa on vakavassa kriisissä. Edes Ukrainan sota ei pysäytä vihertäviä demareita ja punakkaa viheroikeistoa toteuttamasta päättömiä päätöksiä. Miksi päästökauppaa ei voida jäädyttää? Se olisi oiva tapa laskea sähkön hintaa. Suomi ajoi vimmalla turpeen käytön alas ja nyt voivottelee, kun kaukolämpö on kallista. Haluatteko te, että sähkö on kallista vai halpaa? Jos haluatte, että se on halpaa, olisiko aika vaihtaa konseptia?

Vihreä fanatismi on levinnyt kaikkialle. Valtamedian toimittajat ovat suurimmaksi osaksi vihreitä, ja siksi suurin osa median liikevaihdosta tulee valehtelusta. Vihreät puolueet päättivät, että puut eivät kasva vuoden 2030 jälkeen.

Eikä tämä hulluus siihen lopu. Nykyään meille myös kerrotaan totena, että sukupuoliakin on 72 ja muuta hölynpölyä. EU:ssa ei kuule puolustuspuheenvuoroja vainottujen kristittyjen puolesta, vaikka kristityt ovat maailman vainotuin ryhmä. Olen huolissani lännestä. Se on vaarassa upota.

  Nicolas Bay (NI). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Premier Ministre, certains de nos collègues ne sont pas parmi nous ce matin parce qu’ils dorment en prison. Des fonctionnaires et, surtout, plusieurs députés européens sont soupçonnés de corruption et d’avoir reçu de l’argent du Qatar pour infléchir la politique de l’Union européenne. Tous viennent des rangs de la gauche morale. Tous sont des acteurs ou des relais de ces ONG qui prétendent dicter le bien et le juste aux peuples et aux gouvernements légitimement élus.

Député européen depuis huit ans, j’ai subi, session après session, rapport après rapport, leurs leçons. Je les ai vus se parer de toutes les vertus, se poser en grands défenseurs des droits de l’homme, et nous apprenons, donc, que ceux qui ont prétendu pourchasser les homophobes aux quatre coins de l’Europe ont reçu des sacs de billets de l’État le plus homophobe au monde.

Oui, cette hypocrisie, cette duplicité pourrait faire sourire, mais cette affaire de corruption nous pousse à nous interroger: combien d’interventions ont été téléguidées par l’argent du Qatar? Combien de textes votés ici, dans cet hémicycle, pas plus tard que le mois dernier, par l’ensemble des élus du groupe socialiste, servaient les intérêts de ce pays islamiste? Quand une campagne européenne fait la promotion du voile, est-ce une initiative de Bruxelles ou de Doha?

Finissons-en avec la naïveté et la faiblesse face à l’offensive islamique en Europe. Affirmons nos valeurs de civilisation face à cette haute trahison.

  Bogusław Liberadzki (S&D). – Madam President, Prime Minister, let me say that I am totally with you, and welcome back on the right track. You said we must be decisive: unity and more – I understood – power and European methodology, and I am totally with you. Renewable energy is own resources using waste, biomass, sun, wind, new jobs, cheaper energy and energy independence. Rule of law: I come from Poland. I am totally with you. The rule of law is not to be negotiated; it is to be enforced.

And thank you for your words concerning Ukraine. Supporting Ukraine means we are preserving our freedom and peace. And at the end, I am keeping my fingers crossed for your game against Argentina tonight.

  Clara Ponsatí Obiols (NI). – Madam President, Minister, in 1991 US Secretary of State James Baker solemnly declared that neither the United States not the European Community would ever recognise an independent Slovenia. Less than a year later, both were among the first to recognise the new country.

The lesson is simple: self-determination must be pursued regardless of the opposition of world powers, that always will protect the status quo. This also means that states only recognise the exercise of these rights when it suits them geopolitically, or when they think that rejecting it causes more trouble than accepting it. And that’s why it often becomes a mess and a source of instability.

The EU should change in stance on self-determination and grant a safe and clear path for minorities to exercise it within the Union and for viewing it with the rest of the world. Slovenia should lead the effort to redefine this right. And we Catalans will help you in this endeavour.

  Robert Hajšel (S&D). – Vážená pani predsedajúca, Slovensko je určite inšpirujúcim príkladom pre všetky krajiny západného Balkánu, ktoré sa chcú stať členmi Európskej únie, ako postupovať na tejto ceste a aké reformy treba realizovať. Je dobré, že venujete toľko energie tomuto regiónu. Ten je blízky aj mojej krajine a mne osobne, lebo som Slovák. Ruská invázia na Ukrajinu a zmeny súčasnej geopolitickej situácie nás prinútili uvedomiť si, že strategickým záujmom Európskej únie je stabilné a bezpečné prostredie v jej blízkom susedstve, a to bez ohľadu na to, ktorá z týchto krajín nakoniec bude alebo nebude členským štátom Európskej únie. Západný Balkán už dlho čaká v čakárni na členstvo v Európskej únii, či už ide o Srbsko, alebo Čiernu Horu, alebo aj ďalšie krajiny. Ale dnes v súčasnej situácii aj v dôsledku samitu v Tirane dochádza k istej zmene vnímania celého procesu a frustrácia týchto krajín sa mení na triezvy až opatrný optimizmus. A Európska únia sa tiež preberá z akejsi únavy z rozširovania a odhodláva sa na to, aby naozaj postupovala s týmito krajinami seriózne. Bolo by dobré, aby sme v tom pokračovali a vzájomne si musíme v tom pomáhať.

  Elena Yoncheva (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur Golob, nous sommes honorés d’être dans cette salle aujourd’hui et d’avoir l’occasion de mener ce débat. Il y a seulement un an, la Slovénie s’était engagée dans une voie destructive, et le Premier ministre de l’époque contrôlait les médias et le système judiciaire avec une grande arrogance.

Je suis heureuse de voir que la Slovénie s’est très vite débarrassée de ce modèle. Je vous félicite d’avoir entrepris des réformes décisives pour garantir que les médias du pays seront à l’abri de toute ingérence politique. Ce que vous avez fait pour restaurer la liberté des médias est une inspiration pour toute l’Europe.

Monsieur Golob, merci d’avoir remis la Slovénie au cœur de l’Union européenne et, surtout, d’avoir prouvé que les pays d’Europe du sud-est peuvent proposer des réformes qui inspirent toute l’Union européenne.

  Robert Golob, Prime Minister of Slovenia. – Madam President, dear Members of the Parliament, I’m glad to be here again now. I have a bigger audience now. You obviously enjoyed my previous speech so much, you came to listen, all of you.

Let me reiterate certain things that are so important that I don’t want you to miss. First, let me pledge our full, not just support, but commitment to implementation of the rule of law in Slovenia, but also our support for the rule of law within the other Member States of the European Union. And the rule of law is not subject to interpretation by political partisans. It is something that you either have or you don’t. Because it’s not just a political system. It is our responsibility to implement, but it’s being lived by other subsystems such as the media, the judicial system and so forth.

The other commitment that I would like to pledge fully is our commitment to support the Ukrainian people. We’ve done everything possible and everything that we could or even did not plan to do under the previous government. We are supporting Ukraine in all possible ways, and we do it promptly. We are not just promising aid; we are delivering aid promptly. And that’s something that’s easy, very easy to prove.

We are also very committed to supporting the enlargement of the European Union in the Western Balkans. This is one of the first topics on our government agenda when it comes to foreign policy. We want to see the region stable and the only way to stabilise the region is by bringing it closer to integrate it into the European Union. It’s not a matter of which mechanism is being used. It’s about integration, and as fast as possible and as strong as possible. That’s the only way we can transform the region at its core.

And third, we come to energy. I believe that no single nation can face the energy crisis alone. It doesn’t matter how big you are. It doesn’t matter how rich you are. The cost you will pay if you want to tackle it alone is going to be exorbitant and you will not be able to take it. Maybe for a year, yes, but not in the longer run. The only way forward is through a united and coordinated effort.

And for this particular reason I urge again, not just you, but my colleagues: forget about national egotistical moves, thinking that you can solve your problems and leave the others behind. It’s not doable. The only way forward is by being united and decisive. It is truly the only way forward. And that is also the only possible message that the speculative traders who are ruling the energy markets of Europe right now will understand. And let’s leave the floor with that.

  President. – Thank you very much Prime Minister. That concludes the debate.

(The sitting was suspended briefly.)