Speaking in the European Parliament as the first head of state from an EU member state neighbouring Ukraine since the outbreak of Russia´s full scale invasion President Čaputová call for maintening EU unity and solidarity at the times of crises. She also appeals to upholding the European values. Extracts from her meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President and extracts from the formal sitting in the plenary.

Strasbourg

plenary session

meeting

visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

formal sitting

EU - Slovakia (T)

ČAPUTOVÁ, Zuzana

Visit of Zuzana ČAPUTOVÁ, President of the Slovak Republic to the European Parliament: meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President and extracts from the formal sitting

External shots, arrival of Zuzana ČAPUTOV&Aacute;, President of the Slovak Republic to the European Parliament welcoming by Roberta METSOLA, EP President,  Strasbourg, France, 19/10/2022, (6 shots)

Internal shots, anthem of the Slovak Republic in front of Slovakian, European and Ukrainian flags with Zuzana ČAPUTOV&Aacute;, President of the Slovak Republic and Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Strasbourg, France, 19/10/2022, (3 shots)

Internal shots, European anthem in front of Slovakian, European and Ukrainian flags with Zuzana ČAPUTOV&Aacute;, President of the Slovak Republic and Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Strasbourg, France, 19/10/2022, (2 shots)

Internal shots, cutaways, ambiance shots, corridors with Zuzana ČAPUTOV&Aacute;, President of the Slovak Republic with Roberta METSOLA, EP President Strasbourg, France, 19/10/2022, (2 shots)

Internal shots, signature of the golden book and meeting with Zuzana ČAPUTOV&Aacute;, President of the Slovak Republic and Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Strasbourg, France, 19/10/2022, (2 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, My message today is simple. If we don't start defending democracy, it will cease to exist. The date of my speech here was planned long ago. I couldn't have expected that the recent homophobic murder of Juraj and Matus on the streets of Bratislava would remind us of the simple truth so painfuly. It's hard to put in words the grief felt in Slovakia cities in the past few days because hate decided to kill love, just because the killer could not accept that love can come in different forms. This was an assault not just on young people from the LGBTQ community, it was an attack on everyone in Slovakia.

SOUNDBITE (Slovak), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, We opened not only our homes but also our hearts to those who had to flee their homes before the war. More than 800,000 people crossed the Slovak border with Ukraine alone, many of them stayed with us, and I am very proud of the solidarity and help that our citizens provided them.

SOUNDBITE (Slovak), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, Slovakia, which until recently obtained 85% of its gas from Russia, has today reduced its dependence to 33% thanks to diversification. But we never know when Vladimir Putin will stop the gas supply completely.Today, as a Union, we need to address both the causes and the effects of this crisis. Therefore, the right solutions should be European, joint and in solidarity. Those that will quickly help all member countries in a difficult situation, and in addition to compensations, will also enable an agreement on a common cap on gas prices. We also need to separate the interconnectedness of electricity prices and gas prices, because today even countries like Slovakia, which produce most of their electricity from low-carbon sources, pay inadequately high prices for it.

SOUNDBITE (Slovak), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, The commitment to become a climate neutral continent by 2050 can no longer be delayed or put in question. First and foremost, we have to help those who are hit the hardest by the energy crisis. But the goal is clear. We need to innovate, innovate our development model in order to use renewable energy sources to a greater extent and to destroy our own planet less.

SOUNDBITE (Slovak), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, Let's not allow democracy to perish because of the naivety of democrats. To the naive belief that democratic rights and freedoms will only be used and not abused. Let's not forget that every right is also an expression of responsibility and vice versa.If we do not protect democracy, we may be the last generation to experience it. Its protection is the main task of our generation of political leaders.

SOUNDBITE (Slovak), Zuzana &#268;APUTOV&#193;, President of the Slovak Republic, The economic security and energy crisis, the ongoing fragmentation of our societies and the pressure of illegal migration. These are all breeding grounds for extremism in many member countries of the union. One election cycle is enough today and in the parliamentary benches, even here in this House, in your seats, there can be a majority that does not want to build Europe but destroy it.Therefore, we must not be naive. We must not relax and defensive. But on the contrary, we must be persistent, courageous and self-confident in the defence of our common values.