Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. I would like to start with the words spoken by the Prime Minister of the Polish government: “We do not allow you and the customer to interact with the European Commission. Poland has no master over it. These are not vassal relations. Poland will not apply for anything on the basis of a request (...)". And now, Commissioner, I would like to return to your speech. I listened very carefully to your words and drew attention to these three points: You said, firstly, transparency, secondly, accountability, thirdly, a sense of ownership. You have concluded with a term referring to the rule of law. Cicero said that history is the teacher of life, so I would like to go back to history. Over the past years, how have EU funds been accounted for by countries that today received the approval of the reconstruction plans by the European Commission? What was it like in the case of Poland? And now, Commissioner, you were talking about the rule of law, so I would like to ask you, how is the rule of law in relation to the current regulation and law in the European Union compared to what is being done to Poland today? Is this compatible with the law in force in the European Union? Is this in line with the Regulation? The deadline expired on 1 August. What about this right, Commissioner, in the European Union?

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. European unity and coherence of communication efforts is very much needed to prevent further negative effects of the crisis in the information space and to build a narrative about the need to counteract hostile hybrid activities, especially at the eastern border of the European Union. There is an urgent need for systematic and systemic, adequately funded, pragmatic action at EU level to expose and counter state-sponsored disinformation. In recent days, we have seen an intensification of hostile actions by authoritarian states, especially Belarus and Russia, which are trying to use the migration crisis on the eastern external border of the European Union to weaken it by spreading disinformation that strikes particularly at selected Member States, such as Poland or the Baltic States, at the unity of the Union itself and the community of democratic states. We see more and more clearly how Lukashenka instrumentally uses the issue of human rights in the context of the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border to defame Poland with the help, unfortunately, of various useful idiots, as Lenin used to say, once against the left-wing intelligentsia. Ladies and Gentlemen, the European Union has the instruments and the capacity to defend itself against this disinformation.

Mr President, thank you very much. I would like to start by thanking the Commissioner for the substantive support that the Commission is providing today to Polish Border Guard officers, border guards of Lithuania or Latvia. The fact that today our common European home is safe is precisely what we owe to these officials. Today, from Ceuta through the entire Mediterranean Sea, also along the Belarusian border with the EU Member States, we are dealing with something that was once aptly described by the Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco as an invasion, a migratory invasion. Therefore, it is regrettable to note these foolish and irresponsible attacks by those of you who, in an infantile and perhaps ill-willed manner, today disavow the actions of the Polish Border Guard, which, together with Frontex, protects our countries against the provocations of the Lukashenko regime, which cynically exploits those who, in search of a better life, are ready to endanger even the health of their own children, counting on the support of the regime that enabled them and facilitated access to our borders, and on the other hand counting on the hysteria and infantilism of public opinion in your countries. Lenin once coined such a saying to the then left-wing European elites полезньe идиоть, i.e. useful idiots. Today, from the point of view of Putin and Lukashenko, it seems that this saying remains valid all the time.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Kenya hosts tens of thousands of South Sudanese refugees and hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees. Refugees from the civil war-torn South Sudan also remain a problem throughout the region. It is estimated that there are about 500,000 refugees from all over Kenya in both Dadaab and Kakuma camps. There were a lot of words here, ladies and gentlemen. I am astonished by the arguments that today, as the European Parliament, we are to bend down to the suffering of only those people who are, so to speak, from one milieu - the LGBTQ community. Crime, violence against anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, is something to be condemned and should be condemned. But let us remember that we are talking about a situation in which this suffering and crimes affect almost half a million refugees from countries such as Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, where people are persecuted not only because of their sexual orientation, but because of their religion. Of the 50 countries where Christians are persecuted, 14 are from the Horn of Africa. Let us remember this, and let us not create any new religion or gradation concerning suffering. The suffering of LGBTQ people is just as important as the suffering of Christians, Muslims or people of any other religion or sexual orientation.

Madam President, I'm sorry. 10 years in prison, a quarter of a million dollars fine, detention in an unknown place without access to a lawyer, no contact with family, torture after detention. What crime should be committed in order to be subjected to such reprisals? It turns out that it is enough to be critical of the rulers and write a critical opinion on their social profiles, such as Twitter or Facebook. 2019 has been hailed as the Year of Tolerance in the United Arab Emirates. It is regrettable that the situation we are talking about concerns a country that, on the one hand, is our important partner in the Persian Gulf region and, on the other hand, it should be noted that it is a far more liberal and open country compared to other countries in the region. We all remember the extremely important reception of Pope Francis by the authorities of the United Arab Emirates for Christians living in that region and the mass celebrated in that country for Christians. That is why it is so important that we do everything we can to put pressure on the UAE authorities to release the poet Ahmed Manur.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Communist military regime in Cuba closed July with 272 convicted political prisoners in just 20 days and between 2,000 and 8,000 detainees. And all this after the regime's brutal repression of the Cuban people, who peacefully demonstrated during the protests and after the protests of July 11. There is public evidence, confirmed by many detainees, that the torture suffered by the victims of the July 11 protests in Cuba should be considered crimes against humanity, committed by the state on a massive scale against vulnerable populations for purely political reasons. The situation of one of the prisoners of conscience named by Amnesty International, Hamlet Lavastida, is of particular interest to my country, Poland. This Cuban artist was detained on June 26 after arriving in Cuba, after an artist's residency in Berlin and undergoing quarantine. He entered Cuba with the intention of obtaining a Polish long-term visa again in order to take care of his minor son, a Polish citizen. Our embassy is calling for his release.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we are discussing a phenomenon that should be condemned probably for all those gathered in this room. It is clear that the fight against the crime of corruption should be a priority in any democratic state. But it is also impossible not to agree with my previous speaker, a colleague of Jambazki, who rightly pointed out that whether someone is guilty, including in the area of corruption, should be decided by an independent court. I am appalled by a completely different matter. Namely, there was no will for such a discussion when the issue of sanctions imposed by the United States on Nord Stream was pending. There was no will for such a discussion when there was a real chance that we would block with the help of our American allies this devastating energy solidarity project of the European Union, which is the Nord Stream 2 project. Not only that, as a result of lobbying activities of some MEPs, supporting this German-Russian alliance and critical of US sanctions, the European Commission also criticized. It was not noticed that Germany's partner is Putin's Russia, in which corruption is on the agenda for Russia, as well as human rights violations, practically at every step. It is also regrettable that during yesterday's important speech by Mrs von der Leyen there was no reference to this devastating European solidarity project Nord Stream 2.

Madam President, I'm sorry. A lot of exaltation, a lot of emphasis in the mouths of my previous speakers. But imagine, ladies and gentlemen, that we have a country in the European Union where the prime minister sends special services to the editorial office of the weekly to keep the materials, because these materials are critical of his government. Imagine a country where politicians are forcing the police in that country to stop supporters for hanging mocking banners in stadiums targeting that prime minister. Imagine a state where the law is denied to a marginal Catholic TV station, with all the other media in its hands. Imagine a state in which a judge, high five with the prime minister in the stadium, is ready to change the date of the hearing on the phone. Do you know which country it is? This is the state of the Civic Platform, this platform, which is your ally. When they were democratically removed from power, the politicians in the room said that ‘we will take this government down the street and abroad’. And what they're doing is exactly their script. One of the current MEPs said "let's celebrate the pack". Oh, that's it, poppy fig. The Poles pushed you away. Poles support Law and Justice. Poland is democratic, and these bluffs about the alleged violation of the rule of law, this is the next installment of the telenovela.

Mr President, thank you very much. Poland welcomed the resignation from the request to extend the personal scope of the Directive to applicants for international protection. Poland, together with other Member States, strongly opposed such solutions. We are critical of the inclusion of new categories of third-country nationals in the sectoral directives, as they already cover key categories of economic migrants. These issues should remain within the competence of the Member States, I stress, within the competence of the Member States. We share the view that the needs of the EU labour market and competitiveness in the fight for talent require action to attract highly skilled workers from third countries. In our view, however, this must not come at the expense of destabilising legal migration systems. And since we are in the midst of legal migration, may I express my utmost respect to the border guards who today guard our external borders against illegal migration. And in a special way, I bow low to the officers and officers of the Polish border guards, who today guard the Polish-Belarusian border against the provocations of the Belarusian and Russian satraps.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Civil aviation is in its worst crisis since the end of World War II. Therefore, all measures are necessary to rebuild the EU aviation sector. This is necessary due to the dramatic decrease in air traffic. In my country, Poland, there was a 70% decrease in international passenger transport in 2020 compared to 2019. According to forecasts provided by the International Air Transport Association, it will take at least a few years to return to the state before the COVID-19 pandemic. Connections are expected to recover to 2019 levels in 2023-24. Therefore, actions taken to restore confidence in travel, such as EU covid certificates and passenger locator forms, are very important for the reconstruction of air traffic, but they are not sufficient. It should also be borne in mind that any action, such as imposing new obligations or taxes, in the coming years should be preceded by a thorough analysis of the effects in terms of their impact on the recovery of the aviation sector. Consideration should be given to discontinuing measures to limit the dynamics of development if the effectiveness of the applied burdens may be lower than the costs incurred. Therefore, I would like to ask how, in addition to the introduction of the Digital Green Certificate, the coordination of travel restrictions and sanitary requirements can be improved in order to ensure consistency between Member States’ actions, increase travel certainty and encourage consumers to buy tickets.

Mr President, thank you very much. The closure of the Apple Daily, which has defended Hong Kong’s freedom and autonomy for the past 26 years, exposing itself not only to Beijing authorities but also to the Autonomy authorities and large corporations, politically oriented businessmen in China, is a symbolic exhaustion of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘one country, two systems’ formula from the 1980s. Today, unfortunately, it is regrettable to say that we can say ‘one country, one system’. Last year's imprisonment of more than 70-year-old newspaper owner Jimmy Lai and the imposition of absurd charges of conspiracy with outside forces, for which he may even face life imprisonment, clearly shows that the authorities in Beijing will not back down from repression in order to stifle any criticism from independent media. How cynical must be the words of the authorities in Beijing, which, justifying the liquidation of the newspaper, say that these actions were only steps to combat crime and maintain the rule of law and social order. Today we must all be with the people of Hong Kong, those who gave a beautiful testimony, standing in line at night for the last edition of this independent newspaper.

Mr President, thank you very much. Governments in Poland and Hungary want to build a brown coalition, authoritarianism, dictatorship, racism, persecution of LGBT people, persecution of women. What to do? It is best to apply sanctions and have another debate. He may again call for Poland and Hungary to starve. Where are the limits of absurdity? What is the point of appealing in this room for elementary honesty and truth? What is the point of reminding that we Poles experienced hunger and starvation to death. I invite you to the German extermination camp Auschwitz Birkenau, where there is a starvation bunker in which the Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe was starved. What is the point of reminding you that when in Spain, France, Germany they burned at the stake and persecuted Jews, they found shelter and safety in Poland. In Yiddish, Polin means ‘rest here’, ‘rest here safely’. What is the point of reminding you that in Poland homosexuality has never been punished, and Polish women were one of the first women in the world to have the right to vote. Polish soldiers saved Europe from the Bolshevik invasion and shed blood on all fronts of World War II, and then you gave Poland in Yalta and Potsdam under Soviet occupation for decades, taking away our chances for economic and economic development. You talk about tolerance and respect, but it is enough for the conservative party to come to power, and immediately tolerance and respect go sideways. But whether you like it or not, Poland and Hungary are an integral part of Europe. We are and will be in Europe because no one has given the left the right to decide who is European. The governments in Poland and Hungary have a strong democratic, I stress, democratic mandate to pursue their agenda, including reforming the justice system and protecting the true values, those stemming from the Old and New Testaments, Roman law, Greek philosophy, not leftist gibberish.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Visa Information System must be and is a response to the evolving challenges in the field of migration and security of the European Union, but trust must be one of the most important aspects of the cooperation between Member States under this system. My experience, as a former Minister of the Interior and Administration, shows that this is different. I have in mind conversations with my fellow interior ministers when we exchanged comments on the questioning of decisions taken by services (anti-terrorism services, anti-money laundering services) and there were situations where other Member States questioned decisions taken in the framework of the Schengen Information System. Even this place, the European Parliament, witnessed an event where people who were suspected of criminal activities by the services of another country were celebrated. There can be no hypothetical situation where an arms dealer, a drug dealer under cover of an NGO activity or a philanthropic activity can enjoy the trust of another Member State. The police know what they're doing. We are a community that should be based on trust. The police, the special services really know what they're doing.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Fund shall cover the common asylum policy, the development of legal migration in line with the economic and social needs of the Member States, the promotion of effective integration and social inclusion of third-country nationals and the fight against irregular migration. During the negotiations, Poland supported the proposals in the field of migration management, which aim to reduce the uncontrolled influx of migrants, combat secondary movements by tightening asylum procedures and strengthening sanctions against irregular migrants, and are linked to the management of border protection in this return policy. We are not opposed to the creation of a uniform resettlement procedure within the European Union, subject, however, to the voluntary participation of the Member States in the proposed measures. Poland maintains its opposition to proposals for migration management that would be based on a forced relocation mechanism. In Poland’s view, the key to creating sustainable solutions to ensure stabilisation of the migratory situation and resilience to possible future crisis situations is primarily the strengthening and protection of external borders and actions carried out outside the Union in the countries of origin and transit of migrants. We have to help these unfortunate people, but where the problem is, in their countries.