Markéta Gregorová
Member of the European Parliament · ALE · CZ
“Madam President, I would like to make a point of order referred to in Rule 202(1), specifically under Rule 73 and Rule 60(2). Unfortunately, you, as the President, did not abide by the Rules, and you asked the Council to revive 'Chat control 1.0' when the plenary voted to reject it.”
“Mr President, let us be honest about who we are dealing with. When China wants its leverage, it weaponised rare earths, choking the supply of materials that our industries, our defence and our green transition depend on. When we moved to reform our cybersecurity, Beijing threatened our businesses.”
“We should impose tariffs where China dumps and distorts, we should make access to our markets strictly reciprocal, and we should pursue China through the WTO when it breaks the rules and deindustrialises the European Union in the process. China's state-run economy is in desperate need of export markets.”
“Madam President, 'put her in a bikini. Now strip her down and add blood.' This is how quickly prompts to AI nudifying apps are escalating from sexualised deepfakes to violent images and videos showing women bruised, restrained and degraded.”
“(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 1-0153-0000 Waldemar Buda (ECR), pytanie zadane przez podniesienie niebieskiej kartki. – Szanowni Państwo, dzisiaj mówimy o sztucznej inteligencji i mówimy o uproszczeniach w tym zakresie, ale też o zagrożeniach, jakie wynikają ze sztucznej inteligencji.”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, George Orwell once warned us about a world where surveillance becomes normal. At least for now, we can still treat this book as a warning, not as a manual. There was always a better way: law enforcement focusing on real suspects, on targeted investigations and on bringing criminals to justice.”
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Every one of 31 lines we hold for Markéta Gregorová, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account.
“Madam President, I would like to make a point of order referred to in Rule 202(1), specifically under Rule 73 and Rule 60(2). Unfortunately, you, as the President, did not abide by the Rules, and you asked the Council to revive 'Chat control 1.0' when the plenary voted to reject it. You should have asked the Commission to withdraw it in accordance with Rule 60(2). We now have to vote again on an urgent procedure initiated by your group that is ready to give in to this farce. Colleagues, stand your ground. Vote the procedure down and vote 'Chat control' down again. 2-0152-0000”
“We should impose tariffs where China dumps and distorts, we should make access to our markets strictly reciprocal, and we should pursue China through the WTO when it breaks the rules and deindustrialises the European Union in the process. China's state-run economy is in desperate need of export markets. The US has closed theirs, we are the only large and rich buyer left. If we do not use this immense leverage and instead let large companies relocate ... (The President cut off the speaker) 3-0062-0000”
“Mr President, let us be honest about who we are dealing with. When China wants its leverage, it weaponised rare earths, choking the supply of materials that our industries, our defence and our green transition depend on. When we moved to reform our cybersecurity, Beijing threatened our businesses. The pattern is always the same – cooperation is offered when we are useful and pressure is applied the moment we act in our own interest. We keep answering this with dialogue; they answer with coercion. A partner who only respects strength will keep pushing until they meet some, so we should make their divide and conquer tactics carry a real cost.”
“(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 1-0153-0000 Waldemar Buda (ECR), pytanie zadane przez podniesienie niebieskiej kartki. – Szanowni Państwo, dzisiaj mówimy o sztucznej inteligencji i mówimy o uproszczeniach w tym zakresie, ale też o zagrożeniach, jakie wynikają ze sztucznej inteligencji. Ale są też problemy niezwykle poważne, nawet nie wiem, czy nie ważniejsze. Dlatego chciałbym zapytać panią poseł, ale też wszystkich państwa, czy słyszeli państwo o Leszku Kraskowskim? To jest dziennikarz, który został w Polsce zatrzymany za to, że ujawnił największą aferę tego obecnego rządu. Dzisiaj pod przykrywką, pod pretekstem innej sprawy, został zatrzymany. (Przewodnicząca odebrała mówcy głos) 1-0154-0000”
“Madam President, 'put her in a bikini. Now strip her down and add blood.' This is how quickly prompts to AI nudifying apps are escalating from sexualised deepfakes to violent images and videos showing women bruised, restrained and degraded. As we speak, AI generates thousands of fake nudes of women and children without their consent that are spreading through online spaces at extreme speed. This year, we have also seen an expansion of communities of men that share the best nudifying tools and circulate abusive content across Telegram channels and various forums. Therefore, I am very proud to say that, in Europe, we are finally putting an end to that; proud that we are protecting ourselves. Musk and tech companies cannot hide behind the freedom to generate because their freedom stops where our dignity and safety starts.”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, George Orwell once warned us about a world where surveillance becomes normal. At least for now, we can still treat this book as a warning, not as a manual. There was always a better way: law enforcement focusing on real suspects, on targeted investigations and on bringing criminals to justice. Parliament today chose this way. Thank you, colleagues, but mainly thank you, citizens, for fighting for your rights. We did not give in to pressure or blackmail that suggests the only way to protect children is through indiscriminate mass surveillance. Protecting children and protecting our fundamental human rights are not opposites. They can and should always go hand in hand. Today, Parliament showed that both are possible. Thank you and stop Chat Control. 3-0212-0000”
“Madam President, imagine waking up to discover your body stripped and shared online for the pleasure of strangers. Imagine it is your 12-year-old daughter who wakes up to her AI-generated nudes displayed for the whole vast world to see. No consent, no dignity, just violence. This is what men do, through Musk's tool, Grok, to children and women. This tool should have never existed. But instead of removing it or even pausing it, Elon Musk chose to monetise it by locking it behind a paywall. And to make it worse, he made fun of the victims by posting a picture of himself in a bikini - what a disgrace. That is why I am calling on the Commission and users and advertisers to join me in boycotting X. The platform has become a space dominated by extremism, violence and far-right propaganda. Europe must build its own alternatives.”
“At least we ended constant abuse of sanctions by certain Member States, and that uncovers the true strength of the European Union. Together, we can do what no Member State could achieve alone. It's never cheaper if it is paid by human lives, peace and international rule and democracy. 2-0039-0000”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, Commissioner, when my homeland reached independence from Russian fossil fuels, they still paid Putin for it, with the argument that it's cheaper. I was baffled by this. Phasing out Russian gas is not just energy policy. Europe is at war – this is a security decision. Russia will now lose almost EUR 1 billion every month because of Parliament's negotiation. There is an immediate, tangible and measurable impact. The European Parliament shows it's not here just to vote on temporary sanctions that get renegotiated every six months. On banning Russian oil, we have not gone as far and fast as we could have. The Commission is committing to phasing out Russian oil in the near future. That is, however, too slow.”
“A toho lze dosáhnout pouze vojenskou podporou, dodávkami munice, antidronových systémů i dronů a raket. Jenom díky této podpoře se vůbec o mírovém plánu můžeme bavit a nemáme Rusy už dávno ve Lvově a Kyjevě. Držme pozice. 3-0063-0000”
“Pane předsedající, kolegové, kolegyně, když jsme si všichni přečetli 28 bodů mírového plánu, kolektivně jsme zalapali po dechu. A to bylo dobře. Tohle nebyl plán k vyjednávání, ale Putinův nákupní seznam. A nyní Washington ví, že tudy cesta nevede. Je dobře, že jsme navrhli i vlastní vize reálné bezpečnostní záruky – stále silná ukrajinská armáda a místo předání zbytku Donbasu Rusům bez boje bude Ukrajina usilovat o získání okupovaných oblastí diplomatickými prostředky, zatímco se zbytek země bude vracet do normálu. S čímkoli bude ukrajinský národ souhlasit, bude mít mou podporu. Jde o ně. Kolegové, chci ale připomenout, že dokud mírový plán nebude podepsaný, potřebují Ukrajinci jednací stůl, k němuž mohou zasednout, ne rozbombardované třísky.”
“While other pathways were available, the Commission decided to go along with the biggest players' demands, and the Commission has also extended the possibilities to test high-risk AI in real-world conditions. Kids could be faced with real-world testing of AI toys. You folded to the pressure of the big ones and the rich ones, and we will make sure that we will not give up on our standards because Trump asked us to. 2-0482-0000”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, did you know that not only ChatGPT, but also Facebook, X and LinkedIn have all, at some point, trained their AI models on your personal data without your consent? And guess what? This is exactly what the Commission intends to make a general rule with its digital omnibus. You may have noticed that none of these companies are European: it is a sell-out of our values to American pressure. Big tech gets exclusive rights to our personal data, while European companies struggle to get access to quality data. In parallel, the Commission has decided to delay important rules safeguarding our rights and ensuring that AI systems are safe when they involve high risk for our societies. We are talking of AI for biometrics, education, employment, law enforcement.”
“That means no more national fragmentation, that means building up deterrence, and that means attaching a high cost for coercing European trade globally. 2-0214-0000”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, China's strategy has shifted 180 degrees. From biding their time and hiding strength, China is now in a full-on global trade war. We are collateral damage, and we are also seen by Beijing as weak, divided and expendable. Otherwise, the recent rare-earth restrictions would not hit EU companies and force our Commissioner to ask for fast-track licenses in the way they did. Our trade and trade defence system have been built for a world that doesn't exist anymore. If the two largest trade partners are hostile and mercantilist, we must adapt. I urge my colleagues from the Council and Commission to help Parliament to adjust our defences. Concretely, we should make the ACI less political and allow the Commission to initiate it. We must reform our export control system to meet China and the US on an equal footing.”
“The Union already has the instruments to support this transition for Slovakia, for Hungary, including the REPowerEU plan, large-scale investments in renewables and improved interconnections between Member States. We as the Czech Republic are very happy to help Slovakia. To continue as we are is to fund the aggressor. So it is time to close the loopholes and stop the money flows and prove that the EU speaks and acts without hypocrisy. 3-0516-0000”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, every euro that still flows to Moscow through energy trade is a euro funding Russia's war machine. We have heard today from the far right so much about funding the war – these flows are funding the war, and funding it we are. In 2024, the EU still imported almost EUR 22 billion worth of fossil fuels from Russia – more than the aid paid to Ukraine in the same period. In the ongoing negotiations on phasing out Russian gas and oil, the Council has included several loopholes. These carve-outs undermine the effectiveness of our sanctions and prolong the war in Ukraine – something everybody in this room claims they do not want.”
“It's time we get serious about breaking up monopolies so that European companies can finally compete, and Europe can stand on its own feet again. 1-0114-0000”
“Mr President, dear colleagues, after four long years of investigation into Google's surveillance empire – sorry, they call it advertising – the Commission finally acted: a fine of EUR 3 billion for Google for suffocating European competitors and abusing its dominance. But, let's be real, EUR 3 billion for Google is nothing. The company made around USD 1.3 trillion in ad revenue during those years. That's not a penalty – it's a parking ticket. It's not deterring, it's not dissuasive – it's barely a rounding error. Our full dependence on a single foreign monopoly in any industry is an unacceptable risk. Whether it is online advertising or rare earth, we are putting our economy, our innovation and our sovereignty in someone else's hands.”
“When the US undermines its global trade and monetary role we should be ready to step in when the dollar falters. Otherwise, what are we really expecting from giving the bully our lunch every day? 3-0297-0000”
“Mr President, colleagues, the Commission promised to President Trump more than EUR 1 trillion in purchases and investments into the US without any binding nature, any way to measure them, and without even distinguishing them from plans already in place. What happened on 27 July was presented to the public as necessary damage control and to me, as an MEP, as a hidden win for European industry because we supposedly avoided 30 % tariffs. In truth, it was little more than performative politics. It was a petty shakedown by a hostile American administration, and the costs should haunt the US for years. We can play the same game. We can fairly tax US digital monopolies and support our own digital champions. We can stop relying on US weapons and build our own military capacity.”
“China runs massive trade surpluses, and after a trade war with the United States, it really needs the European market. And do you know what that is called? Leverage. So I thus urge President von der Leyen, – or please, Mr Šefčovič, if you could convey that message, because she left – to stand firm in Beijing and defend our strategic interests. And our strategic interests are Ukraine, not German cars. 2-0023-0000”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, Council, Commission, the upcoming EU–China Summit is more than a diplomatic event. It is a test of Union's credibility. We often hear – and we have heard it today from the Commission – that the EU should engage with China as an equal partner, but it's time we actually behave like one. We allow our markets to be flooded with heavily subsidised Chinese goods, and also allow blocking our companies entering Chinese market, undermining them. Most gravely, we ignore China's support for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. Yes, ignore. I have heard you saying: 'We are very concerned. We will continue criticising.' When have you ever done that? That has never been done. What's the success of the Commission? Has any heavy machinery not been sent from China to Russia thanks to your doing? I've never seen that.”
“It must be a joint European effort. Coordinated and goal driven. Air defence, cyber resilience and battlefield readiness are not optional but essential. And let's not forget the why. This is not a blind ramping up of military budgets. It's about securing our democratic way of life against a aggressive regime that wants to see us divided and paralysed in an ever more polarised world. Delaying action only makes the final bill higher. So yes, 5 % is a big number, but the real threat is doing too little, too late. 3-0053-0000”
“Madam President, colleagues, High Representative, whether we end up spending 3 % or even 5 % of our GDP on defence, the core principle must remain the same. We have to spend it on what we actually need. It's not just about more money. It's about smart money. Due to high costs, poor coordination and low efficiency, we don't get the military capability we should pay for what we spend. Throwing more money at broken systems will not protect us. We must learn from the most experienced and adaptive army in the world today. The Ukrainian armed forces. They have shown how to do more with less. How to be agile, innovative and focus. Ukraine teaches us, for instance, that asymmetric drone swarms can beat all of our current weapon systems, and cost only a fraction of them. This cannot be a race of national egos or parallel procurements.”
“Máme-li vůbec nějaký čas, je to čas, který nám svými životy vykupují ukrajinští obránci. Mysleme na to! Sláva Ukrajině a sláva Evropě! 2-0424-0000”
“Pane předsedající, Evropa zbrojí, ne z touhy po válce, ale protože agresor na Východě vraždí naše sousedy a přátele a někdejší spojenec na Západě se od nás odvrací. Ano, mocenské uspořádání staré osmdesát let končí a v tom novém se o svou bezpečnost musíme postarat sami. Dospět. Je to historický moment evropské nezávislosti a bohužel jsme pozadu. Mluví se o stovkách miliard eur na obranu, ale chybí konkrétní plány. My nepotřebujeme nutně další rezoluce a to, co je v té bílé knize, už dávno víme. Dokonce nepotřebujeme ani další summity. To, co nyní urgentně potřebujeme, jsou investice hodné globálního hráče s 15trilionovou ekonomikou. Musíme autoritářům po celém světě ukázat naši skutečnou ekonomickou sílu a akceschopnost. Tohle je náš moment. No a musíme jednat okamžitě.”
“Pane předsedající, dnes si připomínáme tři roky od chvíle, kdy Rusko zahájilo svou brutální agresi proti Ukrajině. Bohužel se zde dnes několikrát objevila otázka, zda má smysl Ukrajinu podporovat. A tak se zeptám já jinak: Co by se stalo, kdybychom to neudělali? Kde by dnes byla Evropa, kdybychom zůstali pasivní, kdybychom neotevřeli dveře uprchlíkům, neukázali jednotu? Ruské tanky by dnes možná stály na hranicích Polska, Slovenska nebo Pobaltí, na Ukrajině by proběhla genocida ukrajinského obyvatelstva. Agresoři po celém světě by viděli, že válka se vyplácí a že Západ i Evropa jsou slabí a k rozebrání. Pokud vám nejde o hodnoty, jste u mě velmi chudí. Abych ale mluvila vaší řečí transakcí, cena za neutralitu by byla nesrovnatelně vyšší než cena naší pomoci. Proto musíme zůstat pevní. Proto musíme pokračovat. Sláva Ukrajině! 2-0121-0000”
“2-0119-0000 Markéta Gregorová (Verts/ALE), odpověď na otázku položenou zvednutím modré karty. – Děkuji za otázku. Ve skutečnosti tento legislativní návrh už leží v Evropě na stole. Připravila ho naše bývalá česká kolegyně Věra Jourová. V podstatě je to něco na způsob toho amerického zákona, akorát mnohem citlivější, protože v zákonech, jako je tento, se musíte velmi citlivě zabývat tím, jestli nepotlačujete svobodu slova, ale skutečně jenom usilujete o větší transparentnost. Já si myslím, že ten navržený zákon tím směrem jde, a budu na něm rozhodně ve Výboru pro ústavní záležitosti úzce pracovat. 2-0120-0000”
“Extremists will accuse us of taking their free speech rights while they are owning the main means of public communication. Don't act neutral. Standing in the middle between autocracy and democracy just means standing on the side of autocracy. (The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question) 2-0118-0000 Ondřej Dostál (NI), otázka položená zvednutím modré karty. – Paní předsedající, paní kolegyně, budu mluvit česky, jsme Češi. Pokud vám vadí zahraniční vměšování, není tím správným nástrojem zavést obdobu amerického Foreign Agents Registration Act tak, aby každý, kdo mluví za cizí zájmy, musel deklarovat, že je placen ze zahraničí? Nám to nevadí. My ani při sebelepším auditu nemáme za sebou cizí peníze, ale ukázalo by to přesně, kdo mluví za Trumpa, za Muska, za Číňany, za Rusy či třeba za George Sorose. Není to lepší nápad?”
“Madam President, dear colleagues, imagine a platform where fake accounts and AI-generated content influence public discourse with precision. A platform owned by a foreign actor in close relation to their state leadership. A platform with algorithms engineered not to inform but to provoke, amplifying the most divisive and negative reactions. A platform that dominates our digital landscape. Now consider a platform benefiting specific individuals during an election in Europe. What platform did each of you imagine? Was it TikTok or X? These parallels should be striking to us Europeans. Long gone is the time when social media giants just wanted to increase their profits. Now there are political motivations behind our feeds, endangering our democracies.”