Speeches

Mr President, Madam President of the Commission, Mr Prime Minister! Here you have used the European Parliament as a stage for a complicated debate on the legal hierarchy and for gains in domestic politics. But it's actually a very simple question: As a European partner of Poland, can we be sure that the jointly agreed rules are respected in Poland and that the legal community applies in Poland, or not? And the answer is: No, we can't be sure. For years, you have been dragging the law in Poland, putting independent judges under pressure. You deliberately ignore the court rulings of the European Court of Justice, and now you want to decide, as you please, when European law applies and when it does not. Mr Morawiecki, stop firing! This is not a game. You sleepwalk towards leaving the EU – against the will of your European friends and, above all, against the will of the Polish people. The EU is not a self-service shop. Anyone who wants to comply with EU law only at will cannot remain a member of the EU. That would be a disaster for Poland. (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, What do the sanctions show us? They show that our geopolitical commission is so geopolitical that it seems to be doing insufficient homework in its own area within the European Union. The US is taking action against corruption in the EU, we as the European Union are not or not enough. The United States takes action against corruption, we write reports. And it is a good step that the European Commission announced yesterday that it intends to propose concrete recommendations in the Rule of Law Report in the near future – but it is an overdue step, also at this point. We must finally apply the rule of law mechanism in Europe. And if the Commission were to invest a little bit of the effort it invests to legally argue with the European Parliament when it should use this mechanism now, to actually do something and actually tackle corruption and misuse of EU funds, then we would be a good deal further ahead. At the same time, we need to strengthen the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. It cannot be that we now have to fight every year as the European Parliament to ensure that once again the additional posts, the additional posts at EPPO They actually get there too. And that we, as the European Parliament, have to help EPPO once again every time, so that we can finally equip this authority properly. Corruption destroys trust. We have just seen this from the French right, which has already said that we cannot be sure what will happen to these funds, which are leaking somewhere, so we would rather invest these funds directly in France. This is exactly what will happen if we continue to commit this corruption, if we continue to abuse EU funds. It will destroy confidence in the European project. And that's why: Mrs von der Leyen said a lot of right words yesterday, but without concrete addressees and concrete measures, these words remain toothless. And one last thought: It is also the Council, it is also the Member States among themselves that do not want to step on their feet. And that is why the Merkel era must also end the era in which the heads of government still protect each other and do not take concrete action against abuse and corruption.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. It is not the first debate we have on this question, but I must say that I am always amazed by some of the statements made by colleagues here. It was about attacks, we would attack Poland here. One statement, I think, was even liked: We want to destroy Poland. I would like to unequivocally reject this scandalous statement by one of my colleagues here. Honestly, we are talking about the opposite. Our sole concern is to ensure the rule of law in Europe. So let's get back to the facts. What is the situation? There is a judgment of the European Court of Justice. Poland does not comply with this judgment. Consequently, the European Commission has applied for fines. This is a very normal process – not really a very normal process, because it has not actually come so far. Actually, this has been the red line so far, that we have adhered to court rulings of the European Court of Justice. Therefore: There have already been fines applied for against Poland. At that time, it was a matter of illegal logging of a forest. 100 000 Euros were allocated per day. I think that when it comes to deforestation of the European rule of law, I leave the decision of the European Court of Justice ... (The President withdrew the floor from the speaker.)

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Journalism is not a crime. And yet journalists have been spied on like criminals in the middle of Europe – this is a scandal! And we all rightly complain about it here today. But the right consequences do not follow. The same people who are complaining about this scandal today are working again tomorrow on ways to carry out more surveillance. There are no security gaps just for good purposes, where you say: ‘Surveillance is now good’, or for bad purposes, where a foreign intelligence service does it. There are security flaws that can be used in both directions. Secure, confidential communication exists only for all of us or for no one. And that's why the consequence of the Pegasus scandal must be clear: Member States must finally close security gaps in Europe consistently, instead of deliberately keeping them open in order to be able to monitor them themselves. We need more civil rights in the digital age. We need a right to encryption in the digital age. We need to rethink security policy. Only in this way can we protect the foundations of our democracy, namely freedom of the press and privacy.

Mr President! Because here some argue that it is only about the parental right, I want to talk again about the contents, which are also to be banned. This could be read in Hungarian newspapers close to the government. There's talk of gay propaganda on Netflix: ‘Glee’ is a particularly dangerous series. Or: In Game of Thrones on HBO, there are far too many gay characters. This is also against it. Ladies and gentlemen, I say very clearly here: Anyone who thinks you're going to get gay from watching Netflix hasn't understood anything at all, dear colleagues! And that would only be ridiculous, that would only be ridiculous if it were not so serious, if it were not about the future existence of associations, of aid organizations, of the public, of the LGBT community in Hungary as a whole. This is the Putinization of Hungary that we are witnessing. Tolerance is not something Western or liberal, it is something human. And the protection of sexual minorities is also not something that is brought here from Brussels via the Member States. It is something that all Member States have committed themselves to in Article 2. And damn it, I expect that now we will react and that we will finally see action on this question! I can no longer explain standing here, and I can no longer explain to any gay or lesbian woman in Europe that this is not finally happening.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen. As Parliament, we have worked constructively on this report, advocating transparency, clear rules, the protection of final recipients and also a link and clarification with regard to the Rule of Law Report. I would also like to express my thanks to the two rapporteurs. But I have to be honest: I can't explain to anyone why I'm actually standing here in Parliament all the time, telling them anything. And honestly: I also feel a little sorry for Commissioner Hahn for having to say the same thing over and over again. Because this is what it's all about: These guidelines are not necessary. They are a diversionary manoeuvre, they are the biggest diversionary manoeuvre to cover up the fact that the European Council, the European Summit, has broken EU treaties. It is not for the European Council to legislate. Legislators have adopted a regulation. This is in force, and with these guidelines and with the creation of these guidelines attempts to postpone and postpone the use of this instrument, this Regulation. And this is a huge distraction, it is a mess, and we, as the European Parliament, will not accept that. And if there are any coming again – I know that Mr Kuhs always likes to quote these conclusions. I think these conclusions of the summit are a clear violation. This should be brought before the European Court of Justice. And that's why I can only say: Let's finally act! I am almost sorry for the Commission, or at least Mr Hahn, because he always has to say the same thing here. But the von der Leyen Commission must finally decide: Will it continue to follow this dirty deal made at the summit with Hungary and Poland or the democracy, the rule of law in Europe, for which the European Parliament is fighting?