Andrey Novakov
Member of the European Parliament · PPE · BG
“Г-н Председател, като гледам цените на горивата, много скоро ще бъде по-евтино да зареждаме колите си с френско шампанско, отколкото с дизел. И тогава единствената мобилност, която ще видим, е на гласоподаватели от нормалните проевропейски партии към радикалните, защото те съвсем нормално ще използват справедливия гняв на хората.”
“Г-жо Председател, преди няколко години, когато гласувах срещу забраната за бензинови и дизелови автомобили, това беше една много самотна и неразбрана позиция. И когато днес виждам, че в пленарна зала има мнозинство точно тази забрана да отпадне, това ме кара да се чувствам щастлив.”
“Now, of course, the assessment is fully up to you, but my invitation would be to everyone to truly look at the package, to look at the full package, look at all of it. Some will clearly like the flexibilities that we're introducing. Others will like the fact that we're sticking to our climate neutrality targets.”
“But the combination we're putting on the table, in my view, in the view of the Commission, truly is ambitious, truly is balanced, truly is pragmatic, truly helps our industry, truly underlines our commitment to climate action. And a compromise – and that is the way we should approach it – in the end, is the essence of democracy.”
“Mr President, Commissioner, I was born in the People's Republic of Bulgaria – back then part of Soviet-dominated communist world. I don't remember much of those times, but I know one thing for sure: the system was lying about everything.”
“With this, I'm saying that the peace deal is up to Ukraine. It's their land and their people. We should support the victim of aggression and never stop investing in our defence capacities. We made this mistake after the fall of the Berlin Wall. We should not do the same mistake again. We should develop our own defence capacity.”
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“Г-н Председател, като гледам цените на горивата, много скоро ще бъде по-евтино да зареждаме колите си с френско шампанско, отколкото с дизел. И тогава единствената мобилност, която ще видим, е на гласоподаватели от нормалните проевропейски партии към радикалните, защото те съвсем нормално ще използват справедливия гняв на хората. Ще предлагат прости решения на сложни въпроси. Доста опасно упражнение. Аз имам предложение за това как да постъпим в тази ситуация, защото гласоподавателите – нормално, всички хора в Европа очакват нашите решения, а не просто остро да обсъдим даден проблем. И в момента има мисия на Европейския съюз, която се нарича ASPIDES. Тя е в Залива, разполага само с два кораба, вместо осем. Нейната цел е да пази търговски кораби от набези.”
“But the combination we're putting on the table, in my view, in the view of the Commission, truly is ambitious, truly is balanced, truly is pragmatic, truly helps our industry, truly underlines our commitment to climate action. And a compromise – and that is the way we should approach it – in the end, is the essence of democracy. So we will continue to engage with you, and I would hope that this package will see broad support in this Parliament. 2-0479-0000 IN THE CHAIR: NICOLAE ȘTEFĂNUȚĂ Vice-President 2-0480-0000”
“Now, of course, the assessment is fully up to you, but my invitation would be to everyone to truly look at the package, to look at the full package, look at all of it. Some will clearly like the flexibilities that we're introducing. Others will like the fact that we're sticking to our climate neutrality targets. Again others will focus on green steel and how we're giving a huge impulse to this market. Others will focus on the renewable fuels that we're introducing. Again others will like the 'made in Europe' part of it, or the push for small electric vehicles or the fleets proposal. And I'm sure everyone will find stuff that they might not like in full.”
“Г-жо Председател, преди няколко години, когато гласувах срещу забраната за бензинови и дизелови автомобили, това беше една много самотна и неразбрана позиция. И когато днес виждам, че в пленарна зала има мнозинство точно тази забрана да отпадне, това ме кара да се чувствам щастлив. Аз имам пристъп на откровение, който не мога да потискам и искам да споделя с вас, че според мен хората знаят по-добре от нас как да си похарчат парите, хората знаят по-добре от нас каква кола да си купят. Аз вярвам в пазара. Ние никога не сме забранявали черно-белите телевизори в тази зала, обаче хората си купуват цветни, просто защото са по-хубави и са по-достъпни. Същото ще стане един ден и с електроавтомобилите, но този ден не е настъпил.”
“With this, I'm saying that the peace deal is up to Ukraine. It's their land and their people. We should support the victim of aggression and never stop investing in our defence capacities. We made this mistake after the fall of the Berlin Wall. We should not do the same mistake again. We should develop our own defence capacity. We should develop our own potential. 3-0051-0000”
“Mr President, Commissioner, I was born in the People's Republic of Bulgaria – back then part of Soviet-dominated communist world. I don't remember much of those times, but I know one thing for sure: the system was lying about everything. It was lying that there will be milk in the grocery stores and lied that nothing had happened in Chernobyl. The same system that lied that nothing had happened in Katyn Forest, the same system that had lied that nothing had happened in the Gulag, the same system today is telling us that this is not a war, and that this is a special operation. So please forgive us that we are not so enthusiastic and don't believe everything they are saying. In 1925, all countries decided never to use poison gas in combat, and yet all countries kept their gas masks.”
“Sie und Ihre Fraktion sagen – es ist ein Zitat Ihres Kollegen Gahler übrigens – ja auch: Wir brauchen Milliarden, um einer angeblichen Bedrohung Russlands zu entgehen. Auf der anderen Seite sind es Personen wie Herr Gahler, die ja tatsächliche Angriffe auf unsere Infrastruktur gutheißen. Also ist es die Position der EPP, dass solche Angriffe der Ukraine gutgeheißen werden? 3-0053-0000 Andrey Novakov (PPE), blue-card answer. – What I am saying is that we have to protect ourselves. The drones were flying over Poland, over Germany – your own country – they were flying over Denmark. That has nothing to do with the pipelines on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. 3-0054-0000”
“We have to face reality and prepare to be a peaceful pacifist with the capabilities to defend ourselves. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 3-0052-0000 Alexander Jungbluth (ESN), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Sehr geehrter Kollege, ich möchte Sie erst mal korrigieren: Es waren nicht irgendwelche Europäer, die die Berliner Mauer heruntergerissen haben, sondern es waren die Deutschen, die das getan haben – das zur Einleitung. Aber ich möchte Ihnen gerne ein Zitat aus Ihrer Fraktion geben. Ich zitiere: „Ich weiß nicht, ob es die Ukrainer waren, die Nord Stream gesprengt haben, aber selbst wenn sie es waren, ist es aus meiner Sicht ein legitimes Ziel“.”
“Madam President, dear Commissioner, colleagues, I think the fairy tale is over. The world we built and lived in after 1989 is over. It's not the same and it won't be the same again. We tore down the Berlin Wall in order to escape from the Iron Curtain. Today, we have to build a new wall – a drone wall – to keep the Iron Curtain away. Those of us who are born and raised east of Eden can sense this very well, because we lived in this. I think this is not a war, a battle for territories or for resources. Those drone attacks are a battle for a way of life, a battle between two civilisations and two cultures, one of which is not recognising human life as the highest possible value. This is why we have to defend ourselves and the gap between our perception and reality should disappear.”
“We are in favour of many other things as well: of pushing forward investments in our economy, of protecting our borders, and of investing in the most vulnerable regions, because cohesion policy is part of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 3-0080-0000”
“Madam President, dear Commissioner, I'm sure that presenting the MFF proposal on the last working day of the Parliament is a coincidence, because it goes against the spirit of good cooperation and friendship between the European Parliament and the Commission. I do not know what is inside this draft report, but I just guess that if there is a single pot of money inside instead of a dedicated cohesion fund, we will be against. I don't know what is inside, but I guess that if mayors, local authorities, farmers and rural areas are not on board in the decision‑making process, we will be against. I'm not sure what is inside, but if it goes against the dedicated funds for agriculture and rural development, we will be against.”
“Our history shows that during the crisis, people go exactly to those havens in the rural areas. And the first and most important thing that we can do and deliver here from the European Parliament, at least not to make those people lives more complicated than it is at the moment with our legislation – make our regulations easy to read as a newspaper. When we deliver funding for those regions it should be clear what we require and what we provide. So I think we can rely on those people to keep Europe up and running, as they do so far. 1-0170-0000”
“Madam President, Mr Vice-President, Mr Nesci, I would like to start with grazie mille to you for your work and dedicating so much of your focus to rural areas. I don't need a written speech to talk about rural areas, because I am proud to come from this kind of society. In rural areas, your neighbour is more than your family, and this is something that we should cherish and enjoy in Europe. And the only thing that keeps us away from seeing rural areas as a demographic desert is the cohesion policy. The people who live in those areas don't need any Amsterdam level of achievements or Paris level of tourism. Very simple things will keep them in the places that they love: a good road (that is not taking innocent human lives in car accidents), clean water, good education and health care. And that's it.”
“Г-н Председател, г-н Комисар, уважаеми колеги, това изказване правя като член на Европейския парламент, но и като част от резерва на въоръжените сили на Република България. Днес в България празнуваме деня на храбростта и считам, че повече от всичко на нашия бюджет му трябва храброст, защото заровете на съдбата отредиха да се занимаваме с проблеми, за които не сме предполагали, че ще ни дойдат до главите. Ролята на нашия бюджет е само една – и тя е да стигне до всеки човек, до всяко село и да решава неговите проблеми. В Европа се говорят 24 езика и ако сложим диалектите, най вероятно ще станат 240. Но един е разбираем навсякъде и това е езикът на парите. Ето защо всяко евро трябва да бъде използвано за решаване на проблемите на хората, а не за създаване на още проблеми.”
“Here, when somebody is calling for peace and at the same time is encouraging war on another fellow Member State, it's like trying to lose weight eating burgers. It's not the same. We have to make an effort. I think Ms von der Leyen and the Commission deserves respect, that they took that enormous responsibility in these hard times and preparing their budget, their staff and their way of work in a wartime manner. That deserves support and at least a bit of understanding from our side: cooperation and finding a way to contribute, not to make things worse. 3-0206-0000”
“Mr President, Madam Vice-President, dear colleagues, I think those 100 days are among the toughest and hardest in the post-war history of Europe. I think it's time for leadership and for tough decisions, and only the strongest one will remain in history. I think the lessons have been learned from COVID, from the war in Ukraine, from the energy crisis and inflation. I think this time the European Commission is doing it by the book. It's quite easy to sit and criticise and look for a reason to be critical, but I think this is an unprecedented situation in which the Union has to take decisions. I think so far we are adapting very well. We are adapting our legislation, we are adapting our approach. Even the European Parliament changed and created a committee on defence because the times have changed and this is normal.”
“That is why there will be more money out of the ESF plus for training, and also money out of the European Globalisation Fund that will be available for those whose jobs are at risk. Honourable Members, with all these actions, together with many others that are outlined in the action plan, we will de-risk value chains and build new capacities. We will balance long-term certainty with pragmatism and we will step up political, economic and regulatory support. Tackling the challenges head on will create a future for Europe's automotive industry that is as impressive as its past. We can do it, and I really look forward to working with you in the coming months and years on this subject. 3-0119-0000 Adam Szłapka, President-in-Office of the Council.”
“We will facilitate private sector investments and reduce dependency on external suppliers. The battery booster package will further support the EU-based production of battery cells and components. Now, I heard many of you on corporate fleets. More details will follow in our proposal. However, I can already assure you that it will strike a balance promoting the adoption of technology-neutral vehicles while at the same time avoiding extra burden for SMEs. We are conducting a study to assess various options and I will gladly share the results with you once they are available. Finally, we must never forget the social dimension. We need to support workers during this difficult transition.”
“I have listened carefully and taken note of your concerns. These indeed include emission standards, technology neutrality, the need to boost innovation and the lack of relief for heavy duty vehicles. I also recognise the social aspect of the sustainable and smart transition, as well as the need to safeguard Europe's automotive competitiveness. Now we need to balance long-term certainty with realism, with pragmatism. I know that the sector has been concerned about the risk of excessive penalties this year, linked to the 2025 CO2 emission standards target. This is why we are proposing this very targeted amendment by the end of March, offering manufacturers breathing space in the form of greater flexibility. Now, let me be clear: reaching the 2035 targets for cars will require a technology-neutral approach.”
“Г-жо Председател, българската държава е създадена през 681 г., което я прави най-старата в Европейския съюз. За тези почти 14 века сме научили, че да си имаш работа с империи не е лесна работа. Започнахме първо с Византийската, после Османската и накрая съветската. И научихме по трудния начин, че тогава, когато една империя ти каже "превземаме още малко и повече няма", обикновено не можеш да вярваш на това. Затова мъдрият българския народ е казал, че когато мечката заиграе у съседите, най-вероятно ще дойде и у вас. А мечката, уважаеми колеги, не спира да играе и не ми се струва, че го осъзнаваме. Ще бъда спокоен, ако видя ентусиазъм в тази зала да защитим себе си и Европа така, както съм виждал ентусиазъм да спасим планетата, Вселената и какво ли още не. Зависи само от нас и е добре ние да дадем пример. Време е да се погрижим за себе си.”
“Therefore, the bold move is called Eastern Region Facility, a new facility that supports those Member States because they suffer more, because this is how family does it. 3-0328-0000”
“Madam President, dear Commissioner, I think one of the key characteristics of a family is that when some of the family suffers, the rest of the family members are getting together to support him or her and to help overcome the crisis. All the Member States, all the way from Finland down south to Bulgaria, representing more than one third of the European Union and 100 million in population, are the region that absorbs the consequences of the armed conflict in Ukraine. These Member States are securing a good night's sleep for the rest of Europeans. And much like a family, we need support in that period, in that crisis. Concrete and bold moves that support precisely those regions, because all the citizens – from truck drivers to farmers – are suffering heavily from this conflict.”
“To protect citizens means to protect jobs. We cannot allow any more policies that make symbolic European companies move from Brussels and Wolfsburg to China and Mexico. To expand is one thing. To close our own factories and move them abroad is completely another. For this reason, we have to refuel our industry – not necessarily with fossil fuels, but to refuel again – and to protect our workers, to protect our industry, to protect our continent. 3-0056-0000”
“Madam President, how good it is to have a speech when there is someone in the room, thank you for that. Dear colleagues, the European Parliament is not a political machine that wakes up only before elections. It's our duty to protect citizens every single day – every single day. It doesn't matter if we talk about travellers, consumers or workers. It's our duty to protect them. If you board a plane, if you take the train or if you drive across borders, you have to be safe and protected, and you have to know that your rights in Europe are guaranteed. If your flight gets cancelled, then you need a single phone number to call. If your luggage is lost, then you have to have a single phone number to call and a passenger's rights have to be strengthened – I believe the European Commission Work Programme have to reflect on that.”
“Ето защо искам да поздравя лидера на партията, която постигна този пробив, г-н Борисов, а на новия премиер Желязков да пожелая сили, за да върне България отново в релси. Колкото до опозицията, пожелавам й мъдрост и ако не може да помогне, да гледа да не пречи. 1-0244-0000”