9ª legislatura Michal ŠIMEČKA

I strongly condemn the death of George Floyd and similar killings that happened in recent years in the United States, as well as cases of police violence accompanying the protests following Mr Floyd’s death. I regret to add, however, that structural discrimination of people of colour is not only omnipresent in the United States, but takes place equally in our region, despite anti-discrimination legislation being largely in place. Not only have recent reports of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights noted that people of colour commonly face racist harassment in their daily lives, but sometimes even Member State policies contribute to patterns of discrimination. The situation of Roma in Slovakia is a case in point. Effective inclusion of Roma children in compulsory school education and cases of police brutality demonstrate that racism is a serious issue in many parts of Europe.

In the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has put our common Schengen area under the biggest test since its inception. Decades of deepening common trust between the Member States have dissipated overnight in the form of uncoordinated and unilateral closure of internal borders.
The emergency situation, of course, required emergency measures, but EU citizens rightly expected more coordinated and coherent action from the Member States. We must bear in mind that the Schengen area is a cornerstone of our freedoms and of the functioning of the single market and none of this will be sustainable if the first instinct of governments will be an immediate and unilateral closure of internal borders.
I therefore believe that we must learn from this experience and start working on changes that will increase the resilience of the Schengen system in the future. Bearing this in mind, I supported the European Parliament resolution aiming at addressing these shortcomings.

I noted with great regret that the current EU-UK negotiations are in a stalemate. The risk of a highly restricted agreement or a no-deal scenario has even further exacerbated following the decision of the United Kingdom not to seek an extension to the transition period. Pressured by a tight schedule and facing several difficult areas of negotiation, I fear that a deep and comprehensive agreement encompassing both political and economic areas of cooperation has been put at risk. At the same time, the Union cannot trade away the coherence of its internal rules for a pick-and-choose agreement with the UK. A new impetus in the negotiations is therefore needed in order to conclude a reasonable agreement in a timely manner. I believe that such a signal has been sent by the most recent European Parliament recommendation to the EU-UK negotiations, which I fully support.

Over the last ten years, the Union encountered a number of challenges, ranging from financial, migration, to the latest COVID-19 crisis, each exposing not only the EU’s strengths but also its vulnerabilities. The Conference on the Future of Europe aims to identify and address these shortcomings in order to build a more effective and resilient European Union for the years to come. However, while the pandemic naturally slowed down the preparations of the Conference, I regret that the Council has not yet adopted its position on the Conference, thus further delaying the preparations of the initiative. Therefore, I support the resolution aiming at winding up the debate on the topic and calling for a resumption of Conference preparations as soon as possible.

. – With the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Europe faces an unprecedented situation tremendously impacting societies, economies and health care systems of the EU Member States. Such a crisis requires prompt intervention that would help to address the negative consequences caused by the pandemic. I believe that the Commission’s proposal, which aims to mobilize €37 billion of European public investment and provide greater flexibility in the application of EU spending rules, will deliver support for those needing it most. I strongly support this initiative and therefore voted in favour of this proposal.

The 4th Union list of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) promises to support Europe’s energy transition through interconnecting the EU’s energy infrastructure. I am in favour of such initiatives, especially if they are based on climate goals that the European Union plans to achieve in the upcoming years.
However, while the list contains several projects of this kind, there is a number of fossil fuel PCIs that are not aligned with EU climate goals. As a result, I supported the proposed objection, because I believe the Commission could have come up with a PCI list with fewer fossil fuel projects, thus bringing it more closely in line with our common objective for sustainable and inclusive energy transition.

While I welcome attempts to restrict the use of lead in PVC, I cannot agree with the current form of the Commission’s draft regulation. Lead constitutes a highly toxic substance and allowing its further existence in the economic cycle through products containing recycled PVC may pose a threat to human health, as well as the environment. The Commission’s approach is also not in line with existing EU policies, namely the European Green Deal and zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment. Therefore, I fully support the proposed objection tabled by the ENVI Committee.

The resolution draws attention to the continued practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world. As estimated by the United Nations Children’s Fund, FGM represents a global concern with roughly 200 million female victims, mostly originating from African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. This extreme form of violence against girls and women largely correlates with their socio—economic background, whereby women from poor households, located in rural areas and without access to education, are the most exposed to this brutal practice. It is important to address these issues and to propose measures on how to tackle the root causes of FGM. I support an EU strategy that will aim to deliver such outcomes.

. ‒ Despite protracted efforts of women’s rights groups, NGOs, as well as governments to narrow down the gender pay gap, the situation remains worrisome. Studies show that women typically earn notably less than their male counterparts while having the same work-related responsibilities. This disadvantage stems not only from measurable factors, such as differences between educational and working experience but also from those that are hardly quantifiable, namely remaining gender discrimination across the EU Member States. I believe that the existing situation will only change by a strengthened effort of the Member States to improve working and educational conditions of women across the EU while implementing better gender equality policies in all spheres of public life. It is our duty to remind the EU Member States about the importance of such an approach and therefore I voted in favour of this text.

While supporting the withdrawal agreement, I express my deep regret at the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. Great Britain’s membership in the EU lasted for more than 47 years and has resulted in deep mutual integration of economies, as well as societies. Its disengagement from the block, on the other hand, will have a major impact on the quality of life of both the EU’s and Great Britain’s citizens. Therefore, I strongly believe that the correct setting of future cooperation with well-balanced rights and obligations between the two partners remains an utmost priority for the months and years to come.