What Marek spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

EU response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (debate)

The Inflation Reduction Act was presented in a positive way in the US – it is supposed to curb inflation, deal with taxation and focus on green energy. Nevertheless, one can perceive that the Inflation Reduction Act is based on unfair cooperation with America’s partners – such as the EU. I will name only few examples of how the Inflation Reduction Act might undermine the European-American friendsh…

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PL Written Statement

A European strategy for critical raw materials (debate)

The debate on a strategy for critical raw materials for the European economy could not have taken place at a more appropriate moment. Pandemic supply and demand shocks have significantly exposed the dependence of the European economy on global commodity markets. The Community is entering an era of change linked to the New Green Deal. The energy transition will require increased access to raw mater…

23 Apr

2024

PL Speech

The use of Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine’s victory and reconstruction (debate)

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Madam President, I'm sorry. Vice-President of the Commission, Europeans are increasingly asking themselves: Why should we pay for the war caused by Russia when the resources of this state, the state of the aggressor, are available? It's time to use these resources. What are the main arguments against this? Decreased credibility of the euro. I wonder if Mrs. Nabiullina, President of the National Ba…

23 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Payment services in the internal market and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (A9-0052/2024 - Marek Belka) (vote)

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Mr President, dear colleagues, today we will vote on a topic which is very close to the hearts of Europeans – something all of us deal with virtually every day: payments. With this file, we do not only protect consumers from various types of fraud, oblige payment service providers to deliver higher transparency levels for ATM withdrawals, or give consumers better control over who has access to the…

23 Apr

2024

EN Speech

Conclusions of the recent European Council meetings, in particular on a new European Competitiveness deal and the EU strategic agenda 2024-2029 (debate)

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Madam President, in this discussion, I would like to take up one issue: capital markets union, or more precisely, the lack of it. Our financial system in Europe is ideal for financing traditional industries with full collateral, with long business records. It’s improper to finance start-ups, disruptive technologies – those champions of new technology. As long as we drag our feet with developing, c…

5 Feb

2024

PL Speech

Instant payments in euro (debate)

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Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. First of all, I would like to thank Michiel Hoogeveen, shadow rapporteurs and our technical team for their cooperation on this file. I remember when I volunteered to be co-responsible for this document, I was told: Why do you need this? After all, this is only about transfers in euro, in the Council they do not even want this to apply to countri…

17 Jan

2024

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the Special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024 - Situation in Hungary and frozen EU funds (joint debate - European Council meetings)

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Mr President, I’m going to say a few words about a much less sexy topic than before, which is macroeconomic management, which should be, by the way, one of the priorities of the upcoming Belgian Presidency. We know how necessary it is. Poor macroeconomic management weakens the EU in every aspect, including our reaction to the exigencies of geopolitical challenges, be it war in Ukraine, be it the e…

21 Nov

2023

PL Speech

Proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties (debate)

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The decision-making process in the European Union is over 20 years old. There was no pandemic, there was no war on our eastern borderlands, there was no energy crisis and there was no need to harmonise certain elements of energy policy. Few people thought that the membership of Ukraine and maybe Moldova in the European Union is around the corner. The world is changing. The EU also needs to change.…

21 Nov

2023

EN Speech

EU/New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (debate)

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Madam President, with increasing geopolitical risks and reshuffling of global value chains, the EU needs to maintain competitiveness, promote international cooperation, and increase our strategic autonomy. Therefore, we warmly welcome the recent EU-New Zealand FTA. Its ratification will send a clear message that we are open and willing to work with partners across the world. However, this cooperat…

16 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Establishing the Ukraine Facility (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the creation of the Ukraine Facility is a strong commitment from the EU, which shows that we will not abandon Ukraine and will work towards its victory and EU integration. The EUR 50 billion package has to support the ‘build back better’ principle and a set of strategic projects to create a green, sustainable and just Ukrainian economy. Massive public and private fundin…

4 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Need to complete new trade agreements for sustainable growth, competitiveness and the EU’s strategic autonomy (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, a well-functioning, rules-based international trade is of the highest importance for the EU, for Europe. As many as 38 million jobs depend on trade in our community. But it should also help our global partners from Latin America, Asia, Africa. New trade agreements play an instrumental role in diversifying our supply chains and securing access to needed resources. The…

3 Oct

2023

EN Speech

EU-Switzerland relations (debate)

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Mr President, in mid-2021 we were highly disappointed by the decision of the Swiss Federal Government to terminate negotiations with the Commission on an institutional framework agreement. Already then I have expressed hope that the EU and Switzerland will return to the negotiating table as we remain key trade and investment partners. We cannot rely on a number of outdated bilateral agreements whi…

3 Oct

2023

PL Speech

Corrupt large-scale sale of Schengen visas (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. The incompetence of the PiS government ruins our country's reputation in the EU and acts against our interests. It was said here that the Schengen system is based on mutual trust and cooperation. Due to the lack of proper supervision and action in which corruption can be suspected, the current government has failed this trust an…

2 Oct

2023

EN Speech

Economic coercion by third countries (debate)

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Madam President, Executive Vice-President, since December 2021, when China imposed trade restrictions on Lithuania for purely political reasons, we were certain that new EU trade defence instruments are needed to better safeguard our Member States and the common market. Although we have acted swiftly and in solidarity to oppose this coercive behaviour, both on the political level and also in the W…

13 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (debate)

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Mr President, the critical raw materials legislation is a most welcome initiative, which is crucial for the future of the EU economy and the success of the green transition. Clearly, we cannot diminish our material dependency without promoting smart design, recycling and finding substitute materials. We are also correct to support strategic mining projects across Europe, as well as innovations low…

13 Sep

2023

EN Speech

State of the Union (debate)

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Madam President, the challenge of Russian aggression and geopolitical shift in the world heavily influences our international trade policy. Distorted value chains and problems with access to critical raw materials weaken our EU strategic autonomy. We need to defend our global interests as the main exporting superpower, increase our strategic independence and support our industry with the inflow of…

12 Sep

2023

PL Speech

Ukrainian grain exports after Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (debate)

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Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. More than a year and a half after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we are witnessing a new version of this bloody war. Withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Agreement, the Kremlin decided to use food and economic weapons to plunge Ukraine and quarrel with EU countries. Alternately blocking and opening the Black Sea corridor, the Rus…

11 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products (debate)

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Mr President, the establishment of the EU-wide protection system for geographical indications for craft and industrial products is a long-awaited initiative. Building on the years of successful promotion of GIs in the food and spirits sector, we may now use similar tools to protect and promote European craft and artisanal products. With the introduction of the EU-wide registration system, which gu…

11 Sep

2023

EN Speech

Consumer credits (debate)

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Mr President, consumer credits may be a source of hope and happiness, but they can also lead to personal drama and tragedies for whole families. This is why I welcome the deal on the Consumer Credit Directive. As ECON rapporteur on the file, I fought for this document to enable people to make informed choices when taking credit. I welcome that, according to the new rules, a negative creditworthine…

12 Jul

2023

EN Speech

Tax the rich (topical debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, since 2020 – so more or less since the beginning of the pandemic – the richest 1% in the world have captured almost two thirds of all new wealth. I repeat: 1%, two thirds of new wealth. This year, more than 200 of the super rich – remember Davos – called on governments around the world to ‘tax us, the ultra rich, now’ in order to help billions of peo…

11 Jul

2023

EN Speech

Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2022 (joint debate - European Investment Bank)

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Mr President, I would first like to thank Mr Hoyer for all his years at the helm of the Bank. Let me use this time to ask him some questions. Number one: what role do you see for the Bank in the future reconstruction of Ukraine, with all the experience that the Bank has with this country? Second, looking back at the two terms at the helm of the Bank, what were your biggest achievements and the big…

14 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Lessons learnt from the Pandora Papers and other revelations (debate)

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Madam President, when many Member States are struggling to make ends meet to support Ukrainian refugees or fight climate change, according to recent data, in 2015, more than USD 200 billion were shifted from the EU to tax havens. I’m sick of underlining this. This is a warning call for us. Before the Pandora Papers, we already had LuxLeaks, Paradise Papers, Panama Papers and many more. Is that not…

14 Jun

2023

PL Speech

The electoral law, the investigative committee and the rule of law in Poland (debate)

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Mr President, thank you very much. The rule of law, or rather its lack, in Poland is the subject of the river. I had hoped that we would not have to come back to this topic during this parliamentary term. But the Polish authorities are providing more and more absurd materials. The Commission investigating Russian influence in 2007-2022 is a cruel joke for Poles, as it is appointed by the party whi…

14 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 29-30 June 2023, in particular in the light of recent steps towards concluding the Migration Pact (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, most of you have been speaking about the Migration Pact. No surprise. However, in order for deep European reforms to be implemented, our citizens need to have confidence in the European project. And the biggest problem for them now is probably the economy. I call on the council to make progress on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. We need to find …

13 Jun

2023

EN Speech

Humanitarian and environmental consequences of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam - Sustainable reconstruction and integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic community (debate)

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Mr President, we would like to begin the process of reconstruction of Ukraine as soon as possible. And, of course, it’s very difficult to imagine this while the Russian army is still occupying part of Ukraine. Can we do something now? Yes, we can. Three things come to my mind. First, which is proceeding, we should proceed with a stable and concrete accession path of Ukraine to the EU and broad int…