| Rank | Name | Country | Group | Speeches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Lukas Sieper | Germany DEU | Non-attached Members (NI) | 390 |
| 2 |
|
Juan Fernando López Aguilar | Spain ESP | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) | 354 |
| 3 |
|
Sebastian Tynkkynen | Finland FIN | European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) | 331 |
| 4 |
|
João Oliveira | Portugal PRT | The Left in the European Parliament (GUE/NGL) | 232 |
| 5 |
|
Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis | Lithuania LTU | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) | 227 |
All Contributions (214)
Presentation of the proposal on a new common approach on returns (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Let's start with some statistics and numbers. According to Eurostat data, only about one third of those who were ordered to leave the European Union were effectively deported to a third country. Between 2014 and 2023, EU countries issued 4.5 million return orders, of which only 1 million 300 000 led to effective returns. Or perhaps we should now ask ourselves why there are millions of illegal – I stress illegal – immigrants in our European home. Is it not by chance, as has already been said, a policy, an idiotic policy of countries such as Germany – such as Herzlich willkommen Angela Merkel has led to this. Maybe it's time to say apologies to the officers of the Polish Police, the Border Guard for the fact that when they defended our European home against this flood of illegal immigrants, there were also idiotic words from this room: ‘Let them in and you will see who they are.’ Who they are turned out on the streets of Munich and other European cities. Stop this idiotic open-door policy of our European home.
Wider comprehensive EU-Middle East Strategy (debate)
Madam President, thank you very much. Of course, we as the European Union should follow the situation in the Middle East on an ongoing basis, but it is not the Union that should be the author of a long-term agreement, because this is the task of the parties to the conflict. It would be a truism to refer here to the biblical conflict between Isaac and Ismail, sons of one father, Abraham. Today, before our eyes, we see another version of this biblical conflict. Today between Palestinians and Jews. As a Union, we should diplomatically support Israel and the Palestinians in developing the most stable option that respects the rights of both peoples. But above all, we are committed to ensuring the security of our own citizens in our own countries. And the ongoing destabilisation in the Middle East, as always, may result in another influx of illegal immigrants to Europe. Therefore, the task of EU diplomacy should be, first of all, to ensure that aid for the victims of the huge tragedy, it must be admitted, the Palestinians first come from the rich countries of the Gulf region. And for us Europeans, as a sacred principle ordo caritatis first of all, there should be help for Christians who have lived in these countries for thousands of years, but not by bringing them to Europe, but by helping them there on the spot.
Escalation of gang violence in Sweden and strengthening the fight against organised crime (debate)
Ladies and Gentlemen, When, in 2015, Angela Merkel turned on the fifth gear as part of the implementation of this idiotic multi-cult policy, announcing Herzlich Willkommen and broadly opening the European borders, the then leader of the opposition in Poland, the head of my party Jarosław Kaczyński, warned Europe, referring to examples just in Stockholm, when he said about more than 50 Sharia zones, to which the Swedish police and Swedish law do not enter, there was a scream from Stockholm, because the then Swedish ambassador to Poland intervened, through Strasbourg to Brussels. And Angela Merkel's disciple, Donald Tusk, the then head of the European Council, threatened those who would not accept illegal immigrants with punishments. Ladies and gentlemen, today we are all with the victims of these crimes, we are with the citizens of Sweden. We want our children to return safely from school to their homes. But we cannot defeat this crime if we continue to be paralyzed by political correctness and the fear of naming things. Even in what the Commissioner said, it is impossible to disagree with her, yes, let us strengthen the law. But what have we done with the police? Do you remember the pictures of British policemen kneeling in front of the oppressors who devastated the streets of London? You fired the head of Frontex for supporting the Polish government against admitting illegal immigrants to Poland. Hypocrites say little about you.
Major interpellations (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, since June 2021, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania have been experiencing a crisis on their border with Belarus, where tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have tried to enter and are trying to enter the European Union with the support of the Belarusian authorities. Since 2023, Finland has also joined here. Russia is already directly trying to push illegal immigrants into the territory of the European Union without the help of its assistant, Lukashenko. Meanwhile, the new crisis regulation, which is part of the Asylum and Migration Pact, addresses the problem of instrumentalisation of migration only from the perspective of asylum law and only by providing a very limited catalogue of derogations from the existing rules to be applied by Member States attacked in this hybrid way. However, as Europeans, we expect more assertive solutions from the European Union, focusing primarily on the safety of the citizens of the European Union. Such arrangements should include strengthening border infrastructure, building physical barriers and modernising the border system, law enforcement cooperation and adequate support to Europol and Frontex, also using international cooperation tools, including effective cooperation with third countries on return and readmission agreements. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would also like to remind you of the situation that took place when this hybrid war of Putin began. We have witnessed a festival of hypocrisy and cabaret performances in this Chamber. Representatives of not only the left, but also the EPP attacked in a rude and extremely unwise way the then Polish government, the Law and Justice government for building a wall on the Polish-Belarusian border and for protecting the external border of the European Union. Indeed, even the then head of Frontex was dismissed, only because he supported the actions of the Polish government at that time. No one else, like the then leader of the EPP, Donald Tusk himself, thundered that the migrants brought by Lukashenko were poor people who should be allowed in, because they came here in search of a better life. The members of the Civic Platform MEPs, who are sitting in this Chamber today, were mad at the border, verbally attacking officers of the Polish Border Guard, police or army. Today we are witnessing a miracle. No one else, and the same Donald Tusk yesterday from this place says that security is the most important thing and calls for the protection of external borders. Ladies and Gentlemen, his colleague Max Weber from this place congratulates Tusk on the removal of Law and Justice from power and sends Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński to retire. Mr. Weber, if it had not been for Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, whose strength and political will stopped this illegal practice, you would have had these hundreds of thousands of migrants today in Berlin, Munich and other German cities. If someone is to retire, you, Ursula von der Leyen, and take Tusk away, thanks to you he already has a high European pension.
The Hungarian government’s illegal espionage of EU institutions and investigative bodies (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is clear that it is the duty of all Member States and the services of the European Union to combat all forms of embezzlement or irregularities related to the spending of EU funds. For me, today an MEP, once a minister in the Law and Justice government, in a government that has spent EU funds in a very transparent and very transparent way, and at the same time has been the subject of constant attacks, just as the Orbán government is being attacked in this House today. I fully agree with the Commissioner when he gives his due recognition here to OLAF officials, I was the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, it is obvious that the manifestation of fraud must be combated. But for God's sake, esteemed left-hand side, settle your accounts at least once. The Katargate affair, the affair of former Commissioner Reinders. There has never been a debate in this House about these irregularities, which are attributed to the governments of the so-called European left. However, if the prime minister is Beata Szydło, Mateusz Morawiecki or Victor Orbán, as during today's debate, then there are such charges as if the world was collapsing. I don't know if the Hungarians were eavesdropping on the services here in the European Parliament, I know one thing: there is no balance, there is no decency in this House.
Need to detect and to counter sabotage by the Russian shadow fleet, damaging critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. At the beginning, of course, full agreement with my honourable previous speaker. What more can I add? Therefore, I would like to draw attention to a completely different element, namely the dangers associated with acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, as well as those associated with the circumvention of sanctions against Russia by the so-called shadow fleet. I am referring here to these dangers associated mainly with a catastrophe, a potential ecological catastrophe. They concern two marine areas: Baltic and Black Sea. Both of these areas are characterized by the fact that they are closed seas, so if there was a full will to eliminate this fleet of shadows, then control at two sensitive points would be enough. As far as the Baltic Sea is concerned, it is the Danish Straits. The Black Sea is Dardanelles. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a sailor, not more than a few days ago I spoke with my friend, the captain, who runs one of the largest tankers in the world. Among the officers and captains of the fleet, which is checked several times a day, there is widespread knowledge of the so-called shadow fleet, that they could be eliminated in this way if there was a will. They serve not only Putin and Putin's regime, but also the big oil companies, which circumvent sanctions in this way. So our talk here makes sense as long as it translates.
Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Because I am a Pole, and therefore a European, because I have at heart the fate of my homeland, and thus also the fate of the project of united, sovereign and independent Member States of the European Union. That is why I welcome Donald Trump's words yesterday about the need to restore common sense in both the internal and external politics of the United States. I hope that this common sense policy in the US will also restore common sense in European Union policy, that we will move away as soon as possible from ideological idiocies in areas such as migration, energy security, technological competitiveness, CO2 emissions, and finally from devastating European families of idiotic social engineering and attempts to build a new man and new societies detached from those values that were once the same for both the United States and Europe; values based on Aristotelian logic, natural law, and not the neo-Marxist gibberish financed by Soros.
Toppling of the Syrian regime, its geopolitical implications and the humanitarian situation in the region (debate)
Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, The vast majority of my previous speakers expressed their satisfaction and joy at the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Of course, any fall of a bloody dictator should bring relief and joy. But in this case, what we are seeing today in Damascus, in Aleppo, in other cities and regions of Syria, should the Syrians and we in Europe really feel relief and joy? I will use the words of one of the priests of the Christian churches, a Melkite priest, who said that the feelings accompanying Christians in Syria today are joy and fear. Glad that something new is coming. Fear of chaos. Before the war, Christians, who have been there since the time of Saint Paul, accounted for 7% of the total population. In total, there were about one and a half million of them. Today there are only 300,000 of them left. May the fall of Assad not be the beginning of the end of Christianity in Syria. And may this naivety, which also resounds here in the speeches of the representatives of the left, the naivety that accompanied all this, when the Arab spring was, that democracy will come to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, not result in the fact that Christianity will disappear from Syria, and we will have Islamists who march at Christmas markets and shout about the right to sharia here in Europe.
The rise of religious intolerance in Europe (debate)
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. It's been talked about here before. We talk a lot, and rightly so, about the anti-Semitism of Islamophobia, but, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a Christian Europe. Today, crime against Christians has increased by more than 44%. In 2023 alone, there were more than a thousand such manifestations of aggression against Christians and religious objects in France. Ladies and Gentlemen, what are we dealing with in this House whenever we talk about the persecution of Christians? I remember the debate, even in the previous legislature, at 10 a.m. 23, about the madmen of Boko Haram who murdered Christians. When I used the term ‘Boko Haram madmen’, the speaker interrupted my speech and said that ‘this is hate speech, you must not call it that’. The darkest under the lighthouse. Today, in Poland ruled by your colleagues, colleagues from the EPP, a Catholic priest without a court sentence has been in prison for six months. His life is in danger. The constitutional minister of this government speaks about the necessity of sawing Catholics. Prosecution proceedings are underway against a charismatic father who runs a Catholic radio station for the sole reason that the station is Catholic. Ladies and Gentlemen, Commissioner, I would like to recall the words of Schuman: "Europe will either be Christian or it will not be at all".
Organised crime, a major threat to the internal security of the European Union and European citizens (topical debate)
Madam President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Organised crime groups operate across borders. The vast majority of criminal groups in the European Union are composed of members of different nationalities. Organised crime highlights the links between external and internal security. The ECR Group supports the fight against organised crime. The security of the citizens of the European Union is one of our main priorities. For years, we have been working intensively to strengthen border protection, equip law enforcement authorities with the necessary tools, and promote cross-border cooperation. That is why we also support an increase in Frontex's budget, which helps Member States protect the external borders and fight cross-border crime, and thus also supports the fight against organised crime. Frontex should have access to Interpol databases and Eurojust should be able to exchange operational information with Interpol. In addition, the Commission should examine the possibility of excluding the Russian Federation from the Interpol systems. Trafficking in human beings and smuggling of irregular migrants remains a lucrative business for criminal organisations in Europe, in some cases even with the support of third countries. We need to use access to development funds as a means to encourage genuine cooperation in managing migration flows, including facilitating returns and fighting criminal networks. In order to ensure security and prevent abuse of the asylum system, international protection should be granted only to those who are genuinely fleeing persecution and whose lives are at risk. We are in favour of an application for international protection being examined in countries with which applicants have close cultural, religious or geographical ties. In these countries, asylum seekers would await a decision on the possibility of entering Europe after undergoing a thorough security check. Ladies and Gentlemen, as on the occasion of this debate preceding our votes, i.e. the flood situation in countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, it can be seen that where mad, ideological policies enter areas of common sense, such as the mad climate policy, resulting in the fact that various types of eco-terrorists often prevent investments such as the construction of retention reservoirs or even river regulation with the cooperation of governments. This happened in Poland, for example when it comes to the Oder River, which today floods cities such as Wrocław. And, ladies and gentlemen, the same is true of the mad ideology of illegal immigration. Politics first Herzlich Willkommen, Come on, we're opening up the borders. And if the situation is getting out of control, then we are closing the internal borders against the treaties, what Germany has done now and we are trying to shift this hot potato to countries such as Poland, which was also criticised in this House when we protected the external Polish-Belarusian border from Putin pushing illegal immigrants here. How many voices were voiced here precisely in the name of such an ideological, mad policy attacking my country. If we do not stop this ideological common sense policy, tragedies will continue.
Statement by the candidate for President of the Commission (debate)
Madam President, thank you very much. We can enchant reality, but in what state the Union is, everyone sees. Europe is in crisis, trust in the EU institutions is diminishing, citizens are living worse and worse. The cost of living is rising, and even worse, it will continue to rise, because the left-liberal establishment prefers to remain in the soteriological illusion that it will save the planet by its climate policy, but in reality it will result in economic suicide. Companies are fleeing our continent, desperate farmers are taking to the streets, the EU economy is losing its competitive edge, we are no longer counting as a global player. Dear Mrs von der Leyen, you were a very weak president, not to say the worst. As ECR, we supported your candidacy five years ago, but we were not enthusiastic about it. We made this decision by choosing the lesser evil, because then Frans Timmermans was competing with you. I remember the meetings with you at that time, during which you gave us, as today, various promises, but today we will not be fooled. Your management was terrible. Decision-making in a narrow circle of German advisers, arrogance, hypocrisy, lack of cooperation with commissioners, exuberant ambitions and passionate efforts around your own image – this is your style of work. Truthfulness didn't belong to him either. You have been deceiving Poles for a long time about the funds from the National Recovery Plan. Pacta sunt servanda. In the presence of the Polish Prime Minister, the Polish President, you promised to unblock the funds, and then you withdrew from it. Transparency wasn't your strong suit either. We remember the miraculous disappearance of text messages exchanged with Pfizer's boss. A separate topic is how you treated my homeland, Poland. The post of head of the Commission requires elementary decency, which is called ‘impartiality’. Meanwhile, you were scandalously biased, unabashedly supporting the opposition at the time, working to change the government in Poland, blocking funds from the NRP or triggering Article 7. It was an outrageous, unacceptable interference in the affairs of another state. And what the Commission has been doing recently in the face of the brutal violation of the law by Tusk's governments shows that the issue of the lack of the so-called rule of law in the times of Law and Justice was one big hype reaching the heights of hypocrisy. After all, it was the current government that took over the public media by force. It is now taking forceful action in courts and prosecutor's offices, investigations are underway at the request of the authorities and preparations are underway for political trials. Detainees, including women, are subjected to torture to force false testimony. By the way, where are all those feminists today who shouted so loudly about women's rights? Despite the fact that today you close the Article 7 procedure, no legislation in Poland has been amended, only the Prime Minister has been changed to your colleague, Donald Tusk.
The need for the EU's continuous support for Ukraine (debate)
Madam President, thank you very much. It has been more than two years since Russia launched its barbaric war against Ukraine. It has also been two years since my country, Poland, opened its borders to real refugees in a way so unprecedented in the history of modern Europe. I would like to emphasise the real refugees. It was thanks to the determination of the then government of Law and Justice, thanks to the determination of non-governmental organizations, the Catholic Church, but above all thanks to the openness of the heart and homes of millions of Poles, that real refugees found their place of safety not in closed wives, but in the apartments of ordinary Poles. It is worth recalling today. We are faced with a choice: do we only want an end to this barbaric war, or do we want Ukraine to win? We must realize that only the second solution can end in Putin's defeat. Ukraine must win this war. The loss of Ukraine will lead to the fact that the battle-hardened and hungry Russian army will reach our borders. If this happens, Russia immediately escalates the threat by placing nuclear weapons and troops directly at our borders. As a result, Russia will mobilize its forces, consolidate control, and prepare for another invasion. There are many possibilities. Maybe it'll take months, maybe years. Maybe it will start with a hybrid attack or a full-scale invasion. But whether the Russian army moves west or south, we must all make it clear that allowing Russia to threaten us in this way is completely unacceptable, especially since we have the right tools to stop this aggressor. Russia must also be held accountable for its crimes. There can be no peace without justice. We must ensure that Putin and the circle of war criminals are held accountable. Equally urgent is the need to use all available tools to take over Russian assets throughout Europe, so that Ukraine's destroyed infrastructure and economy can be rebuilt at Russia's expense, and not open wide, for example, to the influx of Russian fertilizers into our markets, thanks to which Russia raises its capital, because it cannot sell even gas today. Let's remember that, too. We can no longer afford to be naive about Russian ambitions, which have been clearly defined by Russian leaders and are deeply rooted in their strategic doctrine. Every six years Russia starts a war in the countries of the former Soviet Union and continues to use its troops, secret services and mercenary groups to crush democratic movements and weaken developing countries around the world. Ukraine must win this war.
The immediate risk of mass starvation in Gaza and the attacks on humanitarian aid deliveries
Mr President, thank you very much. Once again, we are debating in this House the drama of thousands of God-spirited Palestinian civilians, and especially movingly, the suffering and deaths of thousands of Palestinian children. Children who have been deprived not only of childhood, but also of the right to life, dreams and dignity. Let's talk about who's more guilty: Israel or Hamas, but I think it is obvious to everyone that this situation, which is taking place today in Gaza, is the result of the barbaric attack on October 7 last year by Hamas terrorists on the State of Israel. The war that has been waged for centuries between the sons of Abraham and Ismail is as cruel and senseless as Hamas terrorism is senseless and cruel, as is the Israeli army's aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Once again, however, I would like to draw the attention of all those who argue, which of the parties to this conflict is more guilty, that there is another barbarian heating up this conflict and profiting from it image and political gains. This barbarian is Putin, for whom destabilization in the Middle East, drawing the United States into this situation, revolting young people on the streets of our cities is an excellent smokescreen for what he is doing in Ukraine.
Question Time with Commissioners - Preparedness of EU governments to combat foreign interference, including from Russia
Commissioner, thank you very much for these words, especially with regard to Poland, my country. I hope that this Russian disinformation, which may have been at the root of this completely irrational attack, which was directed here by a representative of the left, has been at least partially exposed. But I would like to ask you, Commissioner: how prepared are the EU institutions today, on the eve of the elections to the European Parliament, for further hybrid actions by Russia, further fake news and further attacks, especially against those governments that do not enjoy the support of the left-wing establishment, for example in this House?
Question Time with Commissioners - Preparedness of EU governments to combat foreign interference, including from Russia
Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, Special Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Foreign Interference in All Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation, has revealed in detail Russia-led actions and operations aimed at infiltrating European democracies and EU institutions. To achieve its goals, Russia uses a wide range of hybrid warfare methods: actions such as manipulating information using both traditional media and social media platforms, dragging elites to their side, hacking attacks for inconvenient candidates for Russia, and finally something extremely compromising for the Chamber in which we are discussing here, namely corrupting MEPs and buying resolutions from them, aimed at governments exposing Putin's imperial policy. As was the case when, with Russian money, resolutions were being drafted in this House, mainly on the left-hand side of the room, against the Government of Law and Justice, the government that first hurried to the aid of war-stricken Ukraine. As a scandal, I take the words spoken here by my previous speaker attacking public opinion in Poland and Polish farmers that they oppose the influx of Ukrainian grain into Poland and this is to be evidence of Russian actions. The Belgian, German, Dutch and Spanish farmers are protesting in the same way. And a question to the Commissioner: How are the EU institutions prepared today for this disintegration on the part of Russia?
War in the Gaza Strip and the need to reach a ceasefire, including recent developments in the region (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Nothing justifies the suffering of the innocent Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, especially children, women, the elderly or the disabled. These sufferings affect Palestinians from the Israeli armed forces and special services. This war, as has already been discussed here, takes on an extremely criminal character, but it is worth emphasizing all the time that it was Israel that was attacked by Hamas, which through equally criminal actions, such as kidnapping the civilian population of Israel and making them live shields, leads to the constant escalation of this conflict. But I would like to draw your attention to another situation that escapes us somewhere during this discussion. I would like to remind you that Hamas' attack on Israel took place on the birthday of another criminal who perfectly exploits this conflict for his own military, image and political purposes. A criminal who today is revolting young people on the streets of our cities across Europe, who is trying to quarrel the European Union with the United States. And this criminal is none other than Putin.
Recent attacks on Christmas Eve in Plateau State in Nigeria
Mr President, thank you very much. I was astonished to hear from my previous speakers that this tragedy of Christians in Nigeria is the result of climate change, the struggles of shepherds with farmers or completely detached from the truth reasons. Let me quote you from the declaration of war against Christians to drive these Christians out of Nigeria. The jihadists, the jihadists, said: "We will put so much effort into establishing an Islamic state that Christians will not be able to stay here. We will continue our attacks on churches until we reach our goal." So it's not climate change, it's sick heads of hate-crazy extremists from Boko Haram. Today's meeting in this House, ladies and gentlemen, started at nine o'clock in the morning. There has been a time for us to talk about online hatred, anti-Semitism and LGBTIQ equality strategies, and we are once again talking about the massacre of Christians in Nigeria under cover of night, as if the blood of innocent Christians is less important than the topics I mentioned earlier.
New wave of mass arrests in Belarus of opposition activists and their family members
Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Recent raids and searches of political prisoners' homes by the regime's security apparatus have led to the arrest of more than 200 people. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, the majority of detainees are the wives and mothers of political prisoners, including, for example, Ms Maryna Adamowicz, the wife of a political prisoner, a former presidential candidate and Sakharov Prize laureate Nicholas Statkevich. The countries of the European Union should not only be appalled by this cruelty, but should also call for the immediate, unconditional release of the detained relatives of political prisoners. At the same time, additional allegations were added to the case of 20 well-known Belarusian political scientists, journalists and experts, the so-called Tsikhanouskaya analysts. They are tried in absentia and may be deprived of Belarusian citizenship if convicted. These crimes must be met with an additional response from the European Union and the entire civilised world in the form of increased pressure on the regime in the form of sanctions. The scale of human rights violations in Belarus is so large that, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the situation in Belarus is not so serious. Some of these acts can be considered crimes against humanity.
The fight against hate speech and disinformation: responsibility of social platforms within the Digital Services Act (topical debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. It has already been said that the very concept of hate speech originated in the Soviet Union as early as the 1940s. At that time, the communists used this concept to fight ideologically against the regime's political opponents. We can see how today the modern neo-Marxist left eagerly reaches for this Soviet invention. In this House, we have witnessed how a left-wing majority voted to take away the immunity of my colleagues, to connect a post showing the real situation of the aggression and criminal activities of illegal immigrants. Will it soon be standard to send people to prisons who invoke natural law or Christianity on the Internet? There are already lawsuits in Europe for quoting the Bible. The fight against hate, hate and terrorism on the Internet cannot be a cover for the fight against reason and common sense. This is a mechanism that inevitably tends to shut the mouths of political opponents, which obviously limits one of the fundamental freedoms, which is freedom of speech. That is why this House must resound very strongly: Stop censorship on the internet.
Water crisis and droughts in the EU as a consequence of the global climate crisis and the need for a sustainable, resilient water strategy for Europe (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. We are talking here about the dramatic situation of drought and the water crisis in the European Union caused by the climate crisis and the need for a sustainable water strategy for Europe. I have a question, especially to the representatives of the majority in this House, why did you attack with such aggression the previous Polish government, which carried out activities related to the retention and regulation of rivers in Poland? Why was the Law and Justice government so brutally attacked in this House for trying to regulate the Oder? We are in Strasbourg, where the border Rhine is fully regulated and navigable, but the border Oder can no longer be regulated. Is it because it would be in competition with German ports? How characteristic it was in this House that this topic brought together all German MEPs, whether Greens, Renew, EPP or even AfD. Today, unfortunately, the policy of the European Commission boils down to the fact that in Europe all rivers can be regulated and brought to navigability, in France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, but in Poland it is impossible. Should Poland be an open-air museum in Europe? We'll never agree to that.
EU strategy to assist young people facing the housing and cost of living crisis (topical debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, Much has already been said about a practically devastated generation, a devastated or coronavirus pandemic. Much has been said here about the problems associated with mental illness, with depression. And this problem is compounded by the problem of lack of access to housing. This is a problem regardless of whether we are talking about the countries of the old European Union or the countries that joined the Community later. Today, property prices or housing prices, whether in Paris, Rome, Dublin or Warsaw, Prague or Bratislava, are practically unattainable for the young generation. Who is the beneficiary of this? Banks and financial investments that create a speculative bubble on property prices. And the picture that we had in our eyes when we sometimes saw such pathodevelopers in Hong Kong, in Asian countries, today takes place even in Warsaw. The price per meter of such a pathodeveloper, an apartment of several meters, where the beds are practically screwed to the wall, reaches several thousand zlotys. Who is the beneficiary of this? Financial institutions and banks. Either we fight for the young generation, or it will be a lost generation. The government of Law and Justice, so judged from reverence and faith, has designated, for example, 2% of the tax co-financed by the state budget for young people. We have raised the age to 26 so that young people do not pay taxes. This should be done.
Need to release all hostages, to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire and prospect of the two-state solution (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. In the face of this new episode of this biblical conflict between the sons of Abraham, between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael, we know one thing today that the European Union's response to these events should, in my opinion, be threefold. First, Israel should be urged to comply with international law and international humanitarian law. Second, call for another permanent humanitarian pause in hostilities. Thirdly, to increase the necessary humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. As the European Union, we must ensure the protection of the two-state solution and try to revitalise the political process. Initiative Peace Day Effort, supported by the Arab regional partners, whose active role is crucial for the future of Gaza, is the best framework we currently have. And finally, Israel's maximalist goals, such as the annihilation of Hamas, are difficult to achieve, especially if we already know today about these multimillion-dollar funds transferred via Qatar from Israel itself to Hamas to fight and play the Palestinian Authority, the authorities in Ramallah versus the Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip. Soon we will have to face the reality when nothing remains in the Gaza Strip and two million people are pushed to the borders with Egypt. It's all over. Mr. High Representative, thank you very much. No one in this House is talking about this "other active Satan" that has led to the escalation of this conflict. That Satan is Putin in the Kremlin. He's the one who contacted... he's the one who destabilized the Middle East... (The President took the floor)
Defence of democracy package (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Of course, we all agree that our European democracy must effectively prevent foreign interference in the electoral processes of the Member States. But we also know how much money Putin's regime has allocated to corrupting influential circles in the European Union in order to build Russian spheres of influence. We know how many former prime ministers, ministers, even chancellors were and are dependent on the Kremlin. We know how many, including those sitting in this House, have been corrupted by the governments of the Gulf states or North Africa. Finally, we know how dangerous Chinese influence is on our continent. But I would like to draw your attention to something particularly dangerous and unacceptable. How many actions have been taken by the European institutions, including the European Commission, the European Parliament, towards governments in those countries where citizens have democratically decided to hand over power to parties coming from outside this majority establishment today in Brussels. How many scandalous words were said from this place in this Chamber, also from the mouths of representatives of the European Commission, to the government of even Law and Justice in Poland. What scandalous words about the need to financially "starve" Orban's rule or the rule of Law and Justice in Poland. How many scandalous words, even from the mouth of the head of the European Commission, aimed at Italian citizens before the elections, so that they would not dare to choose a party that is not from the Brussels establishment. Ladies and Gentlemen, Such actions are as dangerous to European democracy as those of third countries. For it cannot be that democracy consists in the fact that everyone can rule, provided that they come from your majority. It is the citizens who decide in the Member States, not the establishment in Brussels.
Public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021 (debate)
Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr President, thank you very much. I would like to thank the rapporteur for the preparation of this report and, at the same time, as ECR shadow rapporteur, I would like to declare his support in today's vote. I would like to stress that citizens and residents of the European Union have the right of access to documents of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, whatever the form of the documents. Transparency is essential to maintain the trust of the citizens of the European Union in the political, legislative and administrative processes in the Union. However, it is necessary to take into account the specificities of each institution. In this context, the documents held by the Council are extremely sensitive. After all, very often these documents contain information coming directly from the Member States. Their too easy disclosure could undermine the overriding interests of individual countries. I would also point out that no regulation or case-law of the Courts of the European Union requires the institutions of the European Union to publish legislative documents proactively. In this context, it is crucial to develop a coherent approach to access to documents, including the handling of trilogue proposals. I believe that Members should adopt the systematic practice of meeting only those interest representatives who are registered in the Transparency Register. And here I would like to refer to the Act of 7 July 2005 on lobbying activities in the law-making process in force in Poland. This law has a very positive impact on the legislative processes in Poland and I believe that these many years of valuable experience should also be used in the European institutions.
The water crisis in Europe (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Poland has the lowest water resources in Europe. Only 7% of the water flowing through Poland is retained. As a result of climate change, the level in Poland's main rivers fell to several centimeters last year. This year in my constituency, i.e. in the Zachodniopomorskie and Lubuskie voivodships, it did not rain for more than a month, which is no longer an anomaly, but a weather standard. The target adopted by the Polish government is a retention development programme increasing water resources to 15% by 2027. Unfortunately, our German neighbors, who by the way have regulated all their rivers themselves, are blocking our actions. We work in Strasbourg. Each of us can see how the Rhine, the border river of France and Germany, is regulated. On the other hand, in the case of the goal adopted by our government, it seems from our German neighbors that they have set themselves the goal of blocking all investments on the border river, which is the Oder. The European Commission, the EBRD and the EIB have blocked funding for flood and drought investments on the Oder River. The tanks that the Commission has agreed to are the so-called ‘dry tanks’. An example of such a reservoir is the reservoir in Racibórz on the Oder, which was supposed to be the largest reservoir of water in Poland, and is a dry desert. The water steps on the Oder, which raise the water level, are notoriously blocked by the German side. The projected Wielowieś Klasztorna reservoir in drying Wielkopolska was not accepted by the European Commission. Under German dictatorship, the effects of this policy, which has not been in place, will be catastrophic for Europe’s water security. I call on the Commission to introduce a real policy change, not just a fictitious fight against drought.