On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Slovenian Member of the European Parliament Irena Joveva took part in a plenary debate on the European Commission’s progress report on North Macedonia for the years 2023 and 2024. In a powerful and emotional speech, she reminded her colleagues that the report reflects the European journey of a candidate country and its people.

At the outset, Joveva emphasized that the purpose of the report is to monitor the progress of a candidate country that has, throughout its accession process, faced repeated instances of unjustified conditionality, political blockades, and disrespect. Despite these obstacles, she said, the people of North Macedonia have consistently upheld the values the EU claims to champion—perhaps more so than some current member states.

She was unequivocal in stating that the report must not, under any circumstances, become a forum for debating the existence of the Macedonian nation, its language, or identity:

“While I personally support the paragraph in question and will not vote to have it removed, I must be honest with the Macedonian people: I know it hurts. It hurts me, too. But do not accept the narrative that the European Parliament has taken your identity or language from you. That is simply not true.“

Joveva went on to condemn political manipulation and populist misinterpretations that exploit sensitive issues of identity to undermine both the EU enlargement process and public trust in European institutions. “The Macedonian language is authentic. Your attempts to deny it are modern-day fiction. A national identity that has endured for centuries will not be erased by one vote or your lobbying.”

She concluded her speech by reminding that the Macedonian nation does not need anyone else’s permission to exist.

Foto/EP: Brigitte HASE

On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Member of the European Parliament Irena Joveva took part in a plenary session of the European Parliament during a debate on the growing threat of instability in the Middle East following escalating Israeli-Iranian military tensions, the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and the genocide in Gaza. Joveva made a pointed statement during the session: “It is painfully clear who poses the greatest threat to the stability of the Middle East.”

“The Middle East is torn by conflict. Genocide. Suffering. Injustice—not driven by ancient rivalries, but by ongoing impunity, military aggression, and systematic denial of human rights.”

With these words, Joveva opened her address, continuing with a firm denunciation of Israel’s sustained attacks on Gaza, its devastating strikes on Lebanon, and its increasingly aggressive posture across the region. She stressed that these actions do not constitute legitimate self-defense, but are part of a deliberate pattern aimed at destabilizing the region.

Amid rising tensions with Iran, Joveva also highlighted the harmful role of the United States, particularly that of the Trump administration, whose aggressive rhetoric she said was further inflaming an already volatile situation.

She went on to call out the double standards of those who continue to justify such armed aggression under the pretext of self-defense, despite clear evidence pointing to who truly threatens regional stability. To them, she had a direct message:

“If the European Union truly wants peaceful and diplomatic solutions, then it is long past time to draw the line against this aggressor—starting with suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and enforcing the rulings of the International Criminal Court. Immediately.”

On Tuesday, 12 September 2023, MEP Irena Joveva spoke during the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on combating the normalisation of far-right and far-left discourses including antisemitism. According to her, “normalisation leads to acceptance”, and the discourse of the opportunists, who create fear and mistrust among people for their own gain, must not be accepted or normalised: “We must not let them dictate the pace of our actions.”

Joveva began her speech by saying that she is one of the many who receive hateful comments on a daily basis, stressing that she wasn’t talking about critical comments, but vicious and dangerous ones. She is convinced that we must all take on the issue of the normalisation of radical discourse, as it is on the rise.

“Normalisation leads to acceptance. Acceptance in turn influences the perception of reality.”

She regretted that this is also the case in the European Parliament. She referred, among other things, to the European People’s Party’s deals with the far right to obstruct much-needed legislation, but above all, she said, she was referring to the “dangerous populist demagogy that is dictating the pace”.

“We ought not to normalise and accept this. They are opportunists. They create fear and mistrust among people for their own gain. Through manipulation. They use, for instance, someone’s origin to advance nationalism under the guise of patriotism.”

With that in mind, she ended her address by urging everyone in the political centre, to which she herself belongs, to reject such discourse upfront and “not to yield to the desires of extremists to influence our policies or actions”.

“Come on. Let’s set standards,” Joveva concluded.

You can watch the MEP’s speech here.

On Wednesday, 10 May 2023, MEP Irena Joveva discussed an update of the EU’s anti-corruption legislative framework at the plenary session in Strasbourg. She underscored that those elected to the European Parliament are there to act for the common good of all people, not to make lives easier for “individuals with deep pockets”, thereby seeking their own personal gain.

The MEP began her speech by listing the most prominent corruption scandals that have shocked citizens, Member States and the European and global public alike. Among them, she mentioned the most recent affair, the so-called Qatargate, while also recalling the “LuxLeaks”, “Galvin report”, “cash-for-influence” and the most notorious “Cresson” affair, which even led to the resignation of the entire European Commission at the time.

These are just a few of the high-profile corruption scandals at European level, and there are many more at Member State level, noted Joveva, adding that this is an extremely big problem, which not only undermines democratic values, but time and again erodes the already fragile trust in politics and politicians:

“We are here to work for the common good of all people, not to make lives easier for certain companies, countries and individuals with deep pockets, and in so doing seeking our own personal gain. It is true that some anti-corruption safeguards and mechanisms are in place, but they are more than clearly insufficient.”

In Joveva’s view, a directive on combating corruption is long overdue, but with the Commission’s current proposal, it is at least finally on the table:

“The proposal finally introduces a single supranational legislation and envisages penalties for corruption crimes. Those who seek to profit will thus finally end up alongside other offenders – behind bars.”

BACKGROUND

During her State of the Union address in September 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged that the Commission would come forward with proposals to tackle corruption. The latest revelations of alleged corrupt practices in the European Parliament have added fuel to the fire, and the Commission subsequently unveiled a proposal for a directive on combating corruption on 3 May 2023.

The European Parliament, as co-legislator, is involved in the examination of proposals to ensure optimal implementation of the rules, political oversight and accountability of those elected. MEPs have taken stock of the European Commission’s anti-corruption proposals in the plenary. The European Union aims to enhance existing frameworks, proactively tackle corruption at the policy-making level, support Member States in these efforts and leverage the annual rule of law report. In addition, the proposal foresees new rules on criminal offences, harmonised penalties across the Member States, and a dedicated regime to target corruption worldwide.

In addition to the latest Qatargate affair, other high-profile scandals in the European Union include the Cresson affair, the “cash-for-influence” affair, LuxLeaks and the Galvin report.

You can watch MEP Joveva’s speech in Slovenian here.