Speeches

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Words are very important, declarations are very important. Such verbal support is very important, but it seems that specifics are the most important. I would like to say a few words about such specifics. Since the first days of the war in Ukraine, the Polish side, my country, has been involved in assistance, which in the field of culture takes forms ranging from direct support for individual Ukrainian artists, through support for educational institutions and culture, to actions aimed at protecting cultural heritage. In parallel to the actions at the Community level, Poland has taken a number of actions to support people of culture from Ukraine. Residencies, scholarship and grant programs were launched, which are addressed to Ukrainian artists and their families. For example, in response to residencies for people of theatre, music and dance, over a hundred institutions have already applied ready to host artists from Ukraine. The desire to use the residence expressed ok. 340 artists, and further entries are still coming in. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has allocated more than one million euros for this purpose. Similarly, in the area of film productions, a grant program dedicated to Polish-Ukrainian film initiatives created by the Polish Film Institute is being created. Here, the amount proposed for this support is also about one million euros. In Poland, since the beginning of the war, there has been a team, currently the Center for Assistance for Ukrainian Heritage, whose main task is to respond to specific needs reported by institutions from Ukraine. So far, the Centre has established cooperation with more than 50 institutions. It provides specialized equipment and materials for professional security of buildings and collections, as well as material assistance allowing for everyday functioning. During the first period of the war, 19 shipments worth one million euros were sent to Ukraine.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I hope these translation problems are not a hybrid attack by Lukashenka. And quite seriously, it is no secret to anyone in this House that Lukashenko today, next to such figures as Kadyrov, is such a kind of pushing Putin, very useful. And we witnessed that when the hybrid attack that we were talking about started, on Poland and Lithuania, how very naively, also in this House, you approached this helper of Putin. When from here you attacked my country, Poland, when you criticised the beginning of the construction of the wall, this barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border, they fell here extremely emotional and foolish – not to say sharper: silly – words. Today, when Finland puts such a wall on the border with Russia, fortunately, such words do not fall. And returning to Belarus, it is obvious that the free Belarusians, the proud Belarusians of this helper Putin do not support. But he's still dangerous, he's still dangerous.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, It has been mentioned many times here that either the European Union will open the door to the citizens of the Western Balkan countries, or countries such as Russia, China and even Saudi Arabia or Iran will have more and more influence in these countries. It is therefore in the interest of the European Union as a whole to maintain a high degree of dynamism in the enlargement process. This EU policy plays an even greater role in the face of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the destabilising actions of third parties, in particular Russia, in the countries concerned. Full alignment with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union should be a priority and must be tailored to individual candidates on an equal footing, without double standards. The inclusiveness of all enlargement documents should be promoted, including the conclusions of the Council of the European Union, which should reflect as much as possible recent positive decisions, such as the adoption of the Negotiating Framework for Albania and North Macedonia or, even more importantly, the granting of candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and a European perspective for Georgia.

Mr President, thank you very much. For many years, Russia has been using its raw materials, including natural gas, to wage war against the European Union, against its food security and against European industry. In the total production cost of nitrogen fertilizers, 90% is the cost of natural gas. By tolerating the entry of Russian nitrogen fertilisers into the Union, the European Commission is actually supporting Europe's continued dependence on Russian gas. With cheap raw materials, Russia has a fertilizer powerhouse and has been striving for years to dominate the global fertilizer market, which threatens the future of the Union and European industry. The aggression against Ukraine has clearly shown that Russia cannot be trusted. The Polish government, the Law and Justice government, has been warning against this for years. Russia uses every advantage to blackmail and force political concessions. This also applies to the fertilizer production market. We in Poland have legally blocked the possibility for the Russians to hostilely take over our national economic champions. Unfortunately, other EU countries do not have such a mechanism. Behind Russian fertilizer companies are oligarchs in Putin's service. Although their owners are subject to sanctions, the companies they control are still operating in Europe and around the world, making Europeans dependent on supplies from Russia. Unfortunately, the European Commission has done little to counteract this.

Madam President, I'm sorry. It was said here that today the citizens of beautiful European countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria, are listening to this debate. I would like to address these citizens. Ladies and Gentlemen, You are Europeans and sooner or later you will be in the Schengen area. Do not really worry about such stupid, foolish, offensive speeches as those that have taken place in this House. Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia are proud, beautiful European countries, and my country Poland is grateful to you for how today you protect the external borders of the European Union, how you help Ukrainian refugees. We are also grateful for the fact that, despite the difficulties that have been affecting your countries, your countries for 15 years, because you joined the European Union in 2007, you are nevertheless a solidary and loyal partner of the European Community.

Mr President, thank you very much. Since 2014, Russia has spent more than $300 million to influence politicians and power in more than 20 countries. I would like to draw your attention to one of these countries and an appalling example of drawing from the Kremlin's cash register. I am referring to the German authorities of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which launched the Foundation for Climate and Environmental Protection at the beginning of 2021. The organisation was tasked with carrying out work on the finalisation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which was already underway at that time. For this purpose, it received a total of EUR 192 million from Gazprom. The last transfers were made just four months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They reached 80 service providers. The foundation bought and stored components for the pipeline, protecting suppliers from U.S. sanctions. It was financed by the state authorities and Nord Stream 2. Therefore, when from here Mr Verhofstadt speaks of alleged cheerleaders in Italy and calls for the overthrow of the democratically elected Italian government, I would like to ask why you do not mention other cheerleaders, such as Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chancellor Schröder, Chancellor of Austria, Prime Minister of France... (The President took the floor)

Madam President, I'm sorry. Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, the Horn of Africa – shipping routes of fundamental strategic importance intersect in the region today. Today, about 12% of the world's maritime cargo flows through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The fact that more than six million barrels of oil are transported through these sea routes every year means that today Russia and China are competing to increase their importance in the region. And where Russia appears, there is chaos, destabilization and war. In this context, it must be said loudly that Putin's barbarism, which we see today in Ukraine, results in hunger in this region of Africa. More than 90%, about 90% of the grain imported by the countries I mentioned, came from Ukraine. Finally, as a former seaman, I would like to draw your attention here to the situation of seafarers on merchant ships, who are daily exposed to the loss of life of Somali pirates, for whom this chaos and war are the factors enabling this practice. And in the background, other Satans, also Islamists.

Mr President, thank you very much. Churchill is credited with saying that the Balkans are the soft underbelly of Europe. Today we can say with certainty that the Sahel countries are the soft underbelly of Europe. Why am I talking about this? Because, on the one hand, of course, the enormous tragedy of the inhabitants of this poor country, and on the other hand, as the Polish poet said, we see that other devils are active there. Today, it is clearly the Russians who, by destabilising the political, social and economic situation in countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan, are actually using it for Putin’s policies. Why is that? Because the destabilised Sahel is the destabilised southern border of the European Union, but also those poor refugees who appeared strangely in Belarus. Putin is making perfect use of what we see today in Burkina Faso to destabilize Europe. And we must also be aware here in this House, bent down with concern for these poor people, seeing the struggle between the local tribes, between the shepherds and the farmers – we must see another Satan in the background, which is Putin.

Madam President, I'm sorry. We have already heard in this House about the need to starve Poland, Hungary. Today we have heard other scandalous words, namely that the Commission has finally grown its teeth. I understand the teeth to bite a country like Hungary. Ladies and Gentlemen, your left-wing perception of reality is already beginning to take on a cabaret character, and let me tell you that the louder you criticize the governments in Budapest or Warsaw from this place, the more the citizens of these countries turn their backs on the very Union that you represent. It is true that today's debate is about Hungary, but it was also about Poland. Poland is the second country in terms of transparency and efficiency of spending these funds. And maybe here's the answer to why you're attacking my country like this. You are afraid that Poland is growing. But I will also tell you: hurry, because these cabaret discussions on the occasion of each session, once Poland, once Hungary, end. You will have to add Sweden in a moment, maybe Italy. And you're scaring the Commissioner today. Previously, you threatened the President of the Commission with dismissal if she did not effectively fight right-wing governments. Unfortunately for you, Europe is changing. This roller of change is progressing, and you will go down in history.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Any environmental catastrophe, any catastrophe with such consequences as the one that took place in the Oder, is deplorable and condemnable. But, Madam President, let me give you my personal reflection. Equally devastating is the catastrophe of poisoned minds and hatred of total opposition. These speeches, which you have just presented here, I am talking about speeches, unfortunately, of MEPs from Poland, are completely detached from reality. According to your reasoning, the melting of ice in Greenland or Antarctica is also a result of the lack of rule of law in Poland and the rule of law and justice. I would like to say, ladies and gentlemen, there are limits to stupidity. On the other hand, moving on to the substance, I would also like, as a resident of Szczecin, to wholeheartedly thank all these citizens, social workers, anglers, watermen, motorboats, the State Fire Service, the government administration, the Lubusz Voivode Władysław Dajczak, the West Pomeranian Voivode Zbigniew Bogucki for how they took up a real fight against the real threat. Another very worrying element that falls during this discussion is the postulates that Poland should suspend the regulatory work of the Oder. I would like to say: Oh, poppy fig. You have regulated all the rivers in Germany, in the Netherlands, in Belgium. Do you expect Poland to be an open-air museum of Europe? Never in my life. The Polish government will continue the regulatory work of the Oder.

Mr President, thank you very much. In all cases, the word rule of law is actually changed here. It is forgotten that this Treaty concept can be interpreted differently by the Member States, not least because of the very different legal traditions and national case-law. Therefore, we cannot agree with those of you who, often from this place, sometimes in a cabaret way, sometimes in an annoying way, try to impose on proud nation states, such as my country Poland, their interpretation of the rule of law in line with the currently promoted left-wing and liberal agenda. Ladies and Gentlemen, the fact that out of cases that are clearly reprehensible and condemnable, such as violence against LGBT people, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, you are trying to make a truncheons, which you put on without repentance, such countries as the aforementioned Poland or Hungary, or another country. The fact that you are trying from here to threaten the largest parliamentary group that if it establishes cooperation with a country in which a party that is not in your way wins, it will be the end of democracy. For many of the people here in the gallery, all the dynamites you see on the sidelines of every sitting of Parliament, be it in Strasbourg or in Brussels, are completely irrelevant.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Russian foreign policy is becoming increasingly assertive in regions that the Kremlin largely neglected in the years after the Cold War. I am thinking here, first of all, of the Middle East, Africa, North-East Asia or Latin America. But Europe is a completely different story. It has always been too important for the Kremlin to ignore. It is a historical reference point for Moscow's grand-power ambitions, an important market for Russian hydrocarbons and a place where Russian elites can locate their families and their wealth. But Europe is also a persistent and growing source of Russian insecurity. The risk that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union will move deep into the post-Soviet space has long been a growing threat to this sense of security for the Moscow elites. This is a kind of geopolitical obsession of the Kremlin. And it caused such actions, the fruit of which today is the barbarism of Putin's spawns in Ukraine. And here's a voice for one of my previous speakers. Don't look for the Nazis on the Ukrainian side, because this is Putin's disinformation, but useful idiots - this saying was coined by Lenin: полезньй идиот, a useful idiot – never lacking in Europe. And I'm trying to do this calculation here: extreme right, extreme left. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of these useful idiots also today, which is best exemplified by disinformation against my country. The issue of hybrid warfare on the Polish-Belarusian border. How many absurdities we have heard about the Polish government. There is no shortage of useful idiots for Putin in this place today.

Madam President, Prime Minister! Europe as a task. How important this task is, how difficult this task is! It seems that this debate also makes us all aware of this. As a representative of Poland, I would like to thank you very much for the peace and voice of reason and for referring to our experiences, the experiences of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as understood by Russia. But how this tranquility contrasts with such Cabotyan humping, trembling, which Mr. Verhofstadt presented just now, trying to instruct the Prime Minister so resonantly. How this contrasts with the speeches of those from the country who probably learn about Poland or Hungary from Russia Today or from Sputnik. Talking from the European Parliament's rostrum about Poland embezzling billions of euros is as real as the fact that Putin is a democrat. Guys, come to your senses. Listen to the voice of reason of those countries that know much better what Russia smells like. And when Prime Minister Petr Fiala was on his way to Kiev, it was at that time that your leaders – President Macron, Chancellor Scholz – were hanging on their phones, trying to tame and appease Putin.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The debate is behind us. We talked about the aspirations of countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and now Kosovo. Of course, there are a lot of substantive arguments, because there is no reason to pretend - to bury our heads in the sand - that the process of Kosovo's accession, which is controversial, depends on historical elements, but also on the situation in other countries, as in Spain. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at a certain stage of history. Churchill once spoke of a soft abdomen, pointing to the Balkans. If there is no clear path, no clear light for these Western Balkan countries to join the European Union, then Putin will stir in this Balkan cauldron, they will stir Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia, they will stir Turkey – and we will have a problem all the time. It is the only hope to overcome all these animosities resulting from national differences, from struggles, from the domination of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But also, let us say it honestly, just as we are advocating here for the Bulgarians in Kosovo, we should also be advocating for the Serbs in Kosovo. After all, Kosovo is the historical core of the former Serbia. Let us remember this by opening the door to Europe. Because there is no other way. If Bosnia and Herzegovina does not enter the EU, if Serbia does not enter, North Macedonia does not enter, Kosovo does not enter, Putin will rub his hands, they will rub their hands in Beijing, they will rub their hands in Saudi Arabia.

Madam President, I'm sorry. After a very successful year for Serbia’s accession process in 2021, it is disappointing to see Serbia’s lack of response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It has already been argued that Serbia is the only country in the region not to have joined any EU sanctions against Russia adopted after 24 February. And it is obvious that Serbia, which will be closer to Putin, Cyril Lavrov, to the murderers from Bucha, from Mariupol, Serbia, which will be closer to these atrocities, which today Russian soldiers are committing against the civilian population of Ukraine, will not be able to enter the European Union. But we support our friends in Serbia, those who are closer to Brussels, closer to Rome, closer to Belgrade, Sofia or Warsaw, and not politicians who are closer to Putin. And it is also worth saying at this point that such resvernal teaching of Serbia today in the context of what Germany, France did after 2014, is also rejected in Serbia in the same way as it should be rejected here, in this chamber.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think that we all in this House agree that there will be no safe, stable Europe without safe and stable countries in the Western Balkans. Therefore, Poland actively supports the European aspirations of these countries and therefore we express our absolute support for the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The severe political crisis that Bosnia and Herzegovina has been facing since autumn 2021 prevents further progress in the reform process, in particular the implementation of all 14 priorities identified by the Commission as a condition for starting negotiations with the country. Poland stresses the need to hold general elections as planned in October this year. We support the activities and full implementation of the mandate of EUFOR Althea. We support the decisions to strengthen it and its presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We hope that the UN resolution granting a mandate to EUFOR Althea will be renewed before its expiry in November this year. I would like to refer here to the speech of my previous speaker: I fully agree that there will be no stable Balkans, no stable Bosnia and Herzegovina if there is no mutual and full cooperation between the three nations that make up this country today.

Mr President, thank you very much. As Poland was mentioned in this discussion, I would like to say – there is a Polish saying, the proverb “There was no us, there was a forest, there will be no us, there will be a forest”. This is, it seems, a matter of course, but before you try to criticize Poland, this is some data. Today, Poland is at the forefront of Europe in terms of forest area. Currently, the area of forests in Poland is over 9.2 million hectares, which corresponds to forest cover at the level of 29.6%. The vast majority are state forests, of which approximately 7.3 million hectares are managed by the State Forest Holding – State Forests. It is important to underline the fact that in my country forests grow on the most vulnerable soils. Responsible forest policy is a very good opportunity to bow low here in the European Parliament to the people responsible for this policy. I bow to Polish foresters, Polish naturalists, employees of national parks, landscape parks, Polish hunters. Oh, God bless you. Darzbór.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Indeed, as one of my previous speakers rightly pointed out, the only word that is pressing on the lips right now is shame, shame that the European Parliament is dealing with such an important issue after an hour. 22.00 that we are hiding with this discussion. It is also a shame, forgive me, Commissioner, that I feel that your words are so obnoxious, trying to relativise, not to call things by name. It was the Christians who were murdered on the Feast of Pentecost. And this is not the fruit of pastoral struggles with farmers, it is not the fruit of climate change, but the fruit of hatred in the hearts of Muslims, terrorists, disgusting people from Boko Haram, who, in the name of the crazy ideology of their faith, murder other followers, in this case Christians. More than 1,500 Christians are killed in Nigeria every year. In the words of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, there are more mass graves in areas where Christians live than infrastructure investments. These are the fruits of this hatred. These are not the fruits of climate change, but the fruits of the hatred of Muslim terrorists. And let us call things by their names and not hide in the European Parliament at 10 p.m. with such an important debate.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Since the beginning of the Ortega and Murillo regimes, there have been more and more reports of human rights violations and abuses. The regime continues to hold more than 150 political prisoners, many of whom suffer from a lack of adequate food and medical care. Others are in solitary confinement. Ortega's corrupt security and judicial system has arrested these individuals for doing independent journalism, working in civil society organizations, wanting to run in elections and publicly expressing opinions contrary to government orthodoxy, as well as for other activities considered normal in a free society. In a context of complete lack of judicial independence, the regime’s repression also targets civil society groups, political opponents, journalists. Repressive laws are adopted that violate the right to political participation and freedom of expression. Since 2018, authorities have revoked the legal registration of dozens of NGOs and universities. The ECR criticises the lack of mechanisms to protect human rights, the lack of the rule of law and the general repression of Nicaraguans.

Madam President, I'm sorry. At the outset, it is impossible not to agree with my previous speaker, Mr Procaccini, who rightly noted the hypocrisy in this House. Indeed, today we have spent a lot of time voting on the fight against CO2 emissions, and at the same time we are working with the world's largest economy, which is one of the biggest emitters of CO2 – I am thinking here of China. Of course, the situation in the northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China, inhabited by about 10 million ethnic Uighurs and Kazakhs, has deteriorated sharply. Particular attention should be paid to 2014. This is the Chinese government’s campaign with the Communists’ characteristic message of ‘Strong Strike Against Violent Terrorism’. Starting in April 2017, the Chinese government launched round-ups in which an estimated 2 million Kazakhs and Uighurs were detained. He has placed them in large out-of-court political re-education camps, where they are held without charge and without any legal norms. Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, forced labour, political indoctrination, extreme restrictions on religious and cultural practices, and forced sterilization. We are talking about genocide, but in fact there are no hard and real actions.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The level of infantilism – I do not mean to say ill-will – of those foolish statements that have been made here from the mouths of my previous speakers is reaching its peaks. I would like to make you aware of the nonsense we were dealing with when the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border was described by various types of representatives of NGOs, various types of politicians who ran there like, I don't want to say, clowns with commercials, when this first wave of illegal migrants brought by Lukashenko, with Putin's consent, arrived in Belarus. Here we heard about a man named Ibrahim, who supposedly sailed for six days on the Bug, the border river, in cold water, going out only at night to warm himself by the fire. We heard about a little kitten, a kitten, who supposedly followed his mistress or master from Afghanistan. Come on, guys, come on! There are limits – without being wrapped in cotton – to stupidity. We are dealing with hybrid warfare. If we had allowed the Polish border guards, if Poland had allowed the first stage of the war that Putin is waging in Ukraine to be carried out, we would not have had poor refugees in Poland – because no one from Yemen, Nigeria, Chad, Afghanistan, Syria had reached the Polish-Belarusian border on foot, but had been brought to Belarus by Lukashenka, often with their own money. They wanted to destabilize the situation in Poland before Putin's attack on Ukraine. And today, Poles would not be so open to real war refugees if smuggled Chechens, Afghans - because we know it from the services of various countries - were prepared to carry out destructive actions on the territory of Poland. And today I really bow to the Polish border guards, the Polish army, the Polish police for how effectively they protect Europe, also from such irresponsible, not to say harsher, unwise people as those who talk out of this lectern.

Mr President, thank you very much. We are talking about the African region, which poses yet another threat from the point of view of the security of the European Community as a whole. I am talking about the demographic situation. Today, the population of the Sahel countries is almost 80 million people. The demographic outlook is that by 2030 there will be an increase to 120 million, and by 2050 there will be a doubling of 250 million people who, as a result of the destabilised situation in their countries – through desertification, wars, conflicts, Islamic groups – will move north, move to Europe. We have to be aware of that. I would also like to draw attention to another threat, not only from those factors that I have already mentioned, namely wars, conflicts, Islamic groups, namely the emergence of Russia in these countries. Putin’s military ‘egg’, the Wagner Group, has passed from Syria through countries such as Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso. Today, they are destabilising the situation in these countries. Let us remember that they are also fighting in Ukraine. The Wagners were given the task of assassinating President Zelensky. Putin is destabilizing the Sahel in order to destabilize the euro.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I too would like to begin with a word of thanks, especially to my colleagues who have supported me in the preparation of these reports. I would like to express my special thanks to Ms. Kamila Wrzesińska. Thank you to all of you who participated in these discussions. To sum up today's debate, I would like to stress – and I agree with my previous speaker, Mr Czarnecki – that I think that it is completely inappropriate to discuss granting or postponing discharge for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX). We are at a particular moment in our history and this discharge should be granted, because protecting the external borders of our Community, the European Union, is the most important thing in the current situation. This agency – I want to say it very clearly – is doing its job well. Also in terms of budgetary control, we do not see any major problems. We must remember that some shortcomings characterize most agencies, if not all agencies. And I would like to refer to my own experience here. As a former head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in the Government of the Republic of Poland, I cooperated with Mr Leggeri. It is not for me to judge the allegations that are being made against him today, but I would like to thank him very much for this cooperation. I give concrete examples: Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, about fifty people legally brought to Belarus by the Belarusian regime, Lukashenko, tried to cross the Polish-Belarusian border, which is the external border of the European Union. They attacked Border Guard officers, in cooperation with the Belarusian regime. If we disavow the actions of Frontex today, which is also responsible for security on the southern flank – Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece – we will destabilise the secure borders that guarantee the security of the European Community as a whole. Thank you, Mr Leggeri, for your cooperation. Thank you to all Frontex officers.

Dear President, Dear President of the Court of Auditors, Ladies and Gentlemen, I will discuss my discharge reports for the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (now the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking) and for the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (now the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking). Overall, it should be noted that the main deficiencies in the functioning of the JUs relate to in-kind contributions, the surplus of unused budget appropriations from previous years, i.e. carry-overs, procurement procedures and sound financial management. Now let's get to the details. The accounts of the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2020 present fairly its financial position, the results of its operations and its cash flows. However, in my report, I have identified many shortcomings and shortcomings in the operation of this project. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pace of conclusion of grant agreements with partners has slowed down. This led to the recovery of a significant part of the overpaid pre-financing, resulting in a significant increase in payment appropriations for operational activities in 2020. This situation had a negative impact on the implementation rate of the operational payment budget. At the end of 2020, it was 82.6%. The JU also did not make full use of the funds from previous years. The Joint Undertaking more than doubled its payment budget for infrastructure and communication expenditure. This doubling of the payment budget, together with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in a low implementation rate of 47.7% at the end of 2020. I will now set out the problems with regard to labour issues. The number of statutory staff of the Joint Undertaking remained stable at 42 between 2017 and 2020. However, the use of temporary agency workers increased significantly during the same period. The tasks performed by temporary agency workers are more of a permanent nature. The practice of the Joint Undertaking leads to the creation of de facto permanent posts outside the establishment plan, which may result in high staff turnover and uncertainty among contract staff and thus negatively affect the overall performance of the Joint Undertaking. In my report, I also called on the Joint Undertaking to report to the discharge authority on the developments regarding OLAF’s final report on two investigations received in September 2021. In both cases, OLAF confirmed the suspicion of fraud. Now let us turn to the discharge for the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The 2020 annual accounts present fairly the financial position of the Joint Undertaking, as well as the results of its operations, its cash flows and the changes in net assets. However, there are many shortcomings. First of all, I negatively assess the relatively large surplus in the Joint Undertaking's budget of unused budget appropriations from previous years. I will now discuss the shortcomings in procurement procedures and staff selection procedures. All Union institutions and bodies are required to implement solutions for the processing of data submitted in the context of procurement procedures. The Commission has developed an integrated portal where all published offers are publicly available. The Joint Undertaking does not use all modules of the Platform. The Joint Undertaking should make use of the Commission’s e-procurement solutions to ensure the widest possible competition in e-procurement. I called on the Joint Undertaking to react as soon as possible in this regard. Clean Sky, like BBI, too often uses temporary staff, which should remain a transitional solution. I propose to grant discharge to these Joint Undertakings.

Mr President, thank you very much. The social and political consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine should, in the first place, be the fall of the scales from the eyes of those politicians in Germany, France, the Netherlands or Belgium who believed that by doing business with Putin and fuelling the Russian war machine with billions of euros from the Russian satrap, it would be possible to create a peace-loving democrat. Today is the time for real action! No high-profile words, marches, protests or drawing crayons on the sidewalks will stop Russia's aggression against Ukraine, only tough and consistent sanctions. A complete abandonment of Russian gas and oil. Solidary military support for Ukraine – and I mean heavy military equipment, not unnecessary helmets in the Bundeswehr’s warehouses – can stop Putin. Another extremely important social and political aspect of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine must be the full solidarity of all EU Member States. With those countries that today took on their shoulders a huge humanitarian effort for millions of Ukrainian war refugees, such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic or my country, Poland. It is therefore a shame that, to this day, the European Commission has not sent a single euro of aid to these countries. We in Poland do not create closed ghettos, we are not talking about relocation. Millions of Poles take Ukrainians under their roof. We show absolute solidarity and expect, like other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, such solidarity from the European Commission.