Live replay of the EP Plenary session on the Election of the President of the European Parliament, 9th parlimentary term, during the plenary week in Strasbourg (01-04/07/2019). Statement by Jan ZAHRADIL (ECR,CZ). The following transcription is the result of an automatic process. Check Against delivery.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

Strasbourg

vote

ZAHRADIL, Jan (ECR, CZ)

election of the President of the European Parliament (T)

EP Plenary session - Election of the President of the European Parliament: Statement by Jan ZAHRADIL (ECR,CZ)

SOUNDBITE (English), Jan ZAHRADIL (ECR, CZ), <p>Thank you Mr. Tajani. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My dear fellow I MEPs for those of you who don't know me yet. I've been sitting in this Parliament since 2004 and I have lived through five presidents of the European Parliament already and that gives me certain experience I hope and certain expertise to understand what this Parliament could do and should do. What could be improved and maybe changed and what the EP president should do or shouldn't do.</p>

And I believe that this expertise and this experience also tells me what makes a good president of the European Parliament and I believe that good president of the European Parliament should be nonpartisan neutral impartial. He or she should treat all groups and all individuals in this Parliament equally fairly and with respect and that the person should always remember that he or she doesn't represent just himself or herself.

But this Parliament in its entirety and I stress in its entirety I have certain advantage to start my campaign a little bit earlier. So I have produced this leaflet with that very nice guy on a front page. It's been sent to you already via email. So I hope that at least some of you had the chance to read it.

I'm talking there about how to regain trust into this Parliament how to have open and fair Parliament how to listen and to respond to concerns of our citizens. How to have more efficient and less wasteful parliament and how also to come with some strategic oversight for the future.

And first and foremost I'm speaking in that set of principles about restoring balance. I believe that we should and we must restore balance between European level and national level which enables us to work together and also to restore all to find new balance amongst our institutions.

The European Parliament the European Council and the European Commission which will stop institutional infighting and will start a new level of cooperation and mentioning balance probably I should not forget about mentioning one another aspect of that balance since to all four over the last 15 years 13 EU member countries joined the European Union. Eleven of them from Central and Eastern European region and as far as I know I am the only person from that part of Europe applying for any top job in the European Union. And I think that we need also that kind of balance.

One third of EU member states are not part of the eurozone. And I am as far as I know the only candidate applying for some EU top job that comes from a non eurozone country. And I believe that we also need that kind of balance. And last but not least there are big states big nations great nations but also small size or mid-sized nations. And I believe if I'm not wrong that a part of Belgium I am the only representative of some small size or mid-sized nation that is applying for any top job in the European Union.

<b></b>And I think I believe that we also need that kind of balance. So ladies and gentlemen I can only kindly invite you to vote for me and in return I can promise you that I will deliver to you a good eep president. Thank you for every vote in advance.