The Parliament’s Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, of which MEP Irena Joveva is a member, has adopted recommendations to improve the European Union’s crisis management and preparedness for possible future health emergencies. MEPs analysed the impact of the pandemic, assessed the effectiveness of EU and national measures, and made specific recommendations to address gaps and weaknesses in the response.

Key health proposals put forward by the Special Committee include increased investment in healthcare, the introduction of surveillance plans on emerging health threats, the implementation of stress tests on national healthcare systems, greater transparency of joint procurement, increasing the EU’s strategic autonomy with regard to key pharmaceutical ingredients and medicines, and the development of an EU strategy to deal with possible similar pandemics in the future.

To safeguard democracy and fundamental rights, MEPs are calling for better protection of the right to information and freedom of expression, enhanced crisis communication and transparent decision-making procedures, parliamentary oversight at both EU and national level when adopting emergency legislation, and concrete measures to support marginalised communities, minorities and disadvantaged people during crises.

To tackle the social and economic impact of the crisis, the Special Committee’s report calls, among other things, for meeting the needs of the growing elderly population and for setting standards for teleworking conditions throughout the European Union.

On recommendations for action at the global level, MEPs call for increased international investment and strengthened international health regulations.

The report of the Special Committee, which has now concluded its work, is expected to be adopted by the European Parliament at its July plenary session in Strasbourg.

“European history must be defended against all attempts at denial and revisionism, which run counter to fundamental European values. Monuments should reflect the values we strive for and on which a peaceful and prosperous Europe is based,” MEP Irena Joveva declared during the Between Memory and Oblivion debate on 24 May 2023. She warned that attempts to rewrite history are unacceptable and that political leaders have a responsibility to promote reconciliation and not to fuel nationalist narratives.

The event focused on the challenges facing the culture of remembrance of the Holocaust and other genocides, and on its close link with the promotion of European values.

The discussion revolved around how to provide better support for the protection of neglected World War II cultural heritage sites and ways to effectively address the distortion of historical facts about the Holocaust, other genocides and violations of humanitarian law during the Second World War.

In her video address, Joveva underscored that we must remember the key historical moments that shaped our communities in order to truly deliver on the promise of “never again”. According to her, the mass killings perpetrated during the Second World War attract more attention in the current public debate than in education and research, not least in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. She added that the most tragic event on European soil since the Second World War, the Srebrenica genocide, remains an open wound at the heart of Europe.

“It continues to haunt us and remind us of our shared responsibility to prevent genocide from ever happening again. This darkest moment in modern European history, along with other genocides, is often ignored or, worse still, associated with distortions of historical facts.“

Joveva is surprised by the fact that, despite all the documented evidence, people continue to dispute, deny and even distort the truth about the genocide.

“This may now be even more the case than before, as digital tools and social media make it easy for people to share disinformation while creating shocking and unfounded conspiracies, thus developing their own false reality. And it is surprising how many like-minded people they can find.”

She therefore went on to stress that European history must be defended against all attempts at denial and revisionism, which run counter to fundamental European values.

The MEP mentioned that civil society has a fundamental role to play in nurturing a democratic culture across Europe, so as to create an inclusive and tolerant environment for the younger generations by educating them about the atrocities that have taken place on European soil. She believes that this would make people less prone to discrimination and other harmful conduct in the future.

In conclusion, Joveva expressed her wish that future generations would focus on values that will create a better world, which is possible.

“Young people are the future. I am in constant contact with them and I see it every day in their enthusiasm and passion. Many of them just need opportunities and us to listen to them.”

The event was also attended by MEP Predrag Matić, Professor Amedeo Osti Guerrazzi from the University of Padua, Ivo Pejaković, Director of the Jasenovac Memorial Site, and Manuel Sarrazin, Special Representative of the German Federal Government for the Countries of the Western Balkans.

As part of a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, Irena MEP Joveva took part in a working mission to Poland from 15 to 17 May 2023, where she learned about the current state of play in the field of media freedom, culture and education. Despite the attempts of the Polish government representatives to present a democratic picture of the country, the MEP considers the situation to be anything but ideal.

Joveva visited Poland to gain a comprehensive understanding of what is happening in the fields of media, culture and education, which are often the main target of attacks by governments with authoritarian tendencies. During the mission, she met with representatives of the Polish government, local communities, media, civil society, academia and representatives of the cultural industry. It is precisely the exchange of firsthand experiences and direct conversations with people and organisations working on the ground on a daily basis that can provide a more accurate insight into what is happening.

“I am sorry to have to say that my fears have come true. While for the representatives of the Polish government ‘everything is in perfect order and entirely democratic’, I can only conclude from all the conversations I have had – especially with the representatives of the Polish government – that the situation in Poland is anything but ‘in perfect order’.”

During the mission, the MEP could see with her own eyes how the Polish government is attacking freedom at all levels – academic freedom, artistic and cultural freedom, and, by constantly suppressing media pluralism in the country, media freedom in particular. Strikingly, government representatives have not attempted to conceal the actions and methods by which they seek to achieve their goals, and this is further proof of the serious backsliding of democracy and the rule of law in Poland since the illiberal Law and Justice party took power.

“The conversations over the last three days have laid bare the fact that in Poland, law and justice are administered exclusively in accordance with the standards of the government led – ironically – by the party which has law and justice in its name.”

Nevertheless, Joveva was adamant that there are many Polish citizens who are active in civil society and believe in fundamental, democratic European values. Unfortunately, the Polish government has not shown any sign of following suit, as for several years it has been tirelessly and systematically dismantling all the foundations of a democratic society, which is supposed to foster independence and provide a system of checks and balances.

 

“Under the previous government, we also witnessed such attacks in Slovenia, and although much has been corrected under the current government, the effects of those actions are still evident in many places, including on public service television, where, despite final rulings, the current management still refuses to take responsibility and continues to undermine media freedom, using eerily similar rhetoric to their Polish counterparts.”

Everything that the MEP could witness firsthand during the three-day mission confirmed her conviction that overarching European legislation on media freedom is a necessity.

“I hope that the European Media Freedom Act is adopted and then implemented as soon as possible, but in the meantime the EU must resolutely employ all the tools already at its disposal to stop the erosion of the rule of law.”

 

In Joveva’s opinion, the visit to the country confirmed that all the measures taken so far by the European Union following the actions of the Polish government were justified, including the freezing of EU funds, and she also underlined the need to find a way to directly channel these funds to people and civil society adhering to European values.

You can read the MEP’s press release following her visit to Poland here and the press release by the Head of Delegation in its original (English) version here.

 

        

About visits by Committee on Culture and Education delegations

This is a second mission that followed a visit to Hungary between 2 and 4 November 2022, where the Committee’s delegation noted the deterioration of academic freedom, including imposed self-censorship, and problems resulting from the Hungarian government’s pressure and influence on the country’s media, courts, arts and culture. The continued pressure and the decline of freedom in Poland led MEPs to decide to also travel to Poland.

On Tuesday, 9 May 2023, MEP Irena Joveva spoke to the Primorske novice daily about the public use of Slovenian and her fight to safeguard it in the digital world. She emphasised that the size of the market should not justify discrimination against a culture or language, and that this digital gap must be closed as soon as possible: “Otherwise, the cost of catching up will only grow over the years or – even worse, in the most extreme case – we will no longer have anything to sort out.”

The MEP maintained that the Ministry of Culture now has a great opportunity to overhaul the domestic legislation and hoped that they will seize it. It has become more than obvious that the rules need to be spelled out explicitly, obliging platforms and companies to use the Slovenian language on their devices and services provided.

In her opinion, the Public Use of the Slovenian Language Act is already clear enough and allows for action to be taken. At the same time, it is also true that the Act was drafted almost two decades ago, and has not been able to keep pace with technology, a point also acknowledged by the members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

‘‘Technology will continue to evolve, whereas the Slovenian language must survive and continue to exist, both in the physical and digital worlds. It is our right to be able to choose to use our mother tongue in our homeland.’’

Joveva also mentioned her letters to the CEOs of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and Apple, calling for the use of Slovenian on their devices and in the provision of services. She explained that she had met with most of the companies and that they had responded promptly to her letter. At the meetings, representatives of Netflix and Disney told the MEP that they were aware of the issue, but that they had no plans to act on it in the near future. Joveva stated that she could not accept the companies’ claims that offering a language (so-called localisation) is technically and financially demanding, given that many other companies and platforms have proved that it can be done if the companies are willing to do so.

‘‘It is unbecoming for such multinationals, with so many subscribers and so much revenue, to even utter such a thing. The size – or smallness, if you like – of a market does not justify discrimination against a language and culture.’’

Since no one is “forcing” these companies to respect the Slovenian language, she is determined to do everything in her power to change this. Nevertheless, Joveva was able to feel more optimistic after her meeting with Apple, where she was assured that they were already dealing with the issue but did not wish to share an exact timeline. She expressed her understanding that the matter cannot be resolved overnight, but at the same time assured the company’s representatives that she intends to press on with her efforts. She and the company agreed to keep in touch about the progress, while she is adamant about taking further steps to safeguard the use of Slovenian in the digital world, if necessary.

Read the full interview in Slovenian here.