Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. No one should be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, that is obvious. But I want to put myself in a special way behind Christians. In 50 countries, more than 300 million Christians are being persecuted today. Every five minutes a follower of Jesus Christ dies for his faith. This is why, although necessary, these guidelines on the protection of religious freedom are not enough. We need a new, ambitious agenda to respond to every case of religious persecution against Christians. We cannot allow national laws in some countries to legitimize persecution. This is the case in Pakistan or Nigeria. It's time to open your eyes and stop being silent. In addition to the guidelines, the European Union must link trade treaties to religious freedom clauses. She should use all her instruments to end the persecution for the faith.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Transparency, anti-corruption action are values that should in principle be the foundation in the institutions of the European Union, but for years the EU institutions have been dealing with corruption, with vague interests, unfortunately, among Members, officials. Is it effective? Unfortunately, the case of money suitcases in the European Parliament has shown that it is not. Today, we are trying to convince ourselves that further registers of law will be a good solution. Okay, only if they're actually enforced. Unfortunately, the political groups of Christian Democrats and Socialists are unable to account for and explain the unclear cases of enrichment of MEPs, for example through paid conferences or consultations outside Europe. This has to change. At such conferences, annual salaries are 2-3 times higher than the salaries of MEPs, and yet the heads of the largest political groups keep silent about this fact, without drawing any consequences for MEPs. But the biggest oddity is that MPs, who have been accused by the media – and not only – of acting in favour of other countries and accepting bribes for this, continue to vote in plenary, including a resolution condemning my homeland, Poland, where we have excellent anti-corruption solutions that have been in place for many years.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Europe is dying without water. If we really spent 30% of the amount we spent, for example, on projects related to solar panels or windmills on hydrotechnical investments, I think that we would at least be able to stop the drying process in Europe. First of all, water needs super-intensive agriculture. That is why we need to make new investments, especially in agricultural and rural areas, to help our farmers collect and purify water there. More resources for treatment plants, retention reservoirs – this should be our goal, because the climate crisis is expected to hit us, according to estimates, from 2050 to 2070. But the water crisis is already a fact. It is up-to-date and requires, above all, very urgent countermeasures. This is primarily a cross-border problem. It touches everyone. Therefore, the measures proposed by the European Commission should be of an urgent nature and should not be limited by political decisions. This is our security, not only economic, but above all also health, food and in any size one of the most important challenges that Europe is facing at the moment.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. First of all, I would like to thank all the rapporteurs and Members involved for their work on the report. The 2030 Agenda is certainly very ambitious. I do not agree with all of its goals, but it is necessary to appreciate the great plan and the incredible commitment of millions of people and hundreds of organizations to fulfill it. My homeland, Poland, is on the twelfth place out of 195 countries in its implementation. Among all its goals, however, the fight against hunger seems to be the most important. We have the tools to overcome today the symbol of 21st century disgrace, i.e. hunger. The European Union has been a very important partner in this regard in recent years, and our humanitarian assistance is crucial for millions of people around the world. It is worth mentioning here that the European Union is the largest donor and it must be repeated everywhere. The best example of this is the Union's commitment to a grain agreement allowing the transport to countries in need of grain from Ukraine. The fulfillment of this goal involves two more, that is, peace and access to clean water. Here, too, we already have tools and financial resources and not only humanitarian aid, but above all we also provide development aid. Therefore, hard infrastructure and hydrotechnical projects are our key to success. Thank you very much for the report and thank you again for your hard work.

Mr President, thank you very much. The Pegasus Committee cannot de facto be called a commission of inquiry, so in order to be called a commission of inquiry, it would have to have special powers, like access to classified information. The lack of this access, the inability to see the documents, causes that the applications can be very strongly distorted, to put it mildly. That is why we have here the full conviction that it was created for one purpose, namely to strengthen political attacks on Poland and Hungary. Besides, this was not hidden by our colleagues from the opposition, Polish colleagues from the opposition. The purpose of this committee has never been to formulate any objective objectives and legislative suggestions, as the European Union does not have any Treaty prerogatives when it comes to national security. The aim was purely political – to hit Poland, to hit Hungary. In order to prove their purpose, witnesses were brought, often very controversial, who in their Member States were wanted by the service, the prosecutor's office, and who should first explain their procedural situation. National security and the safety of the families of the citizens of our countries in times of war in Ukraine is an overriding good, and let us stick to that.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The law must be based on moral norms. The law and the enacted law must not violate moral norms. Today there is a lot of talk about freedom, but every freedom is limited by responsibility, especially for another person. That is why it must be said loudly today, here in the European Parliament, that surrogacy is not motherhood, surrogacy is child trafficking. After all, we are already noting this dangerous precedent, which is created and developed by dozens of companies providing small children for many couples. Little can be said that surrogacy is advertised at special fairs held periodically in one of the largest European countries. There you buy and sell a certain offer. And I ask, how is this different from the slave markets of the 18th or 19th century? Every child has the opportunity under the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of the Child to meet their biological parents. Surrogacy will prevent this process. Therefore, I do not believe that there is, and should never be, our consent to this procedure.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, The biggest sin in politics is naivety. If, however, you have not been able to stop illegal refugees for years, you are not able to deal with illegal transfers, instead of fighting smuggling hard, you are unfortunately fighting against the Member States. Why aren't smugglers' boats confiscated when they dock in ports? You are attacking member states that do not share the crazy vision of transforming societies. You are talking about the numbers of forced relocations, hiding the laws on family reunification, which in a few years can blow up any healthy nation with over-programmed immigration. My homeland, Poland, has welcomed over one and a half million refugees, 12 million have swept across our borders. And instead of helping, you want to punish us with 20,000 euros for not accepting economic migrants from Africa. Dlatego chcę dzisiaj powiedzieć jasno i wyraźnie, że ta polityka po prostu cieszy przemytników. Jeśli będziecie nas karać, oni będą właśnie przysyłać tych przemytników do Europy.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. We are constantly under migratory pressure. One of the key elements in stopping this pressure is a functioning return system for illegal immigrants. However, this system needs to be urgently amended because the proposals are not being implemented. Almost 124,000 return orders have been issued in recent months alone. The statistics are staggering. We realize less than 30% of them. Illegal immigrants, exploiting loopholes, break through the border, migrate internally between countries, fleeing the implementation of the order to leave the territory of the European Union. We need a tough law that works. Unfortunately, all voices about improving the return process are lost in the cry of the EU left and its unrealistic ideas, whose goal is only one - to weaken as much as possible the resilience of European Union countries against successive waves of migrants and rebuild society. I would like to thank you very much, Madam President, for drawing attention, because no one in this House deserves to shout from here, let alone from the right, that we have racist fantasies or that we are possessed. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Let's not let that happen.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Sudan is another country in which we are basically a few steps behind Russia. Because we can have no illusions, like many commentators of political and world life, that it is the external influence that is of current importance for the tensions and struggles that take place there. Russia has been trying to gain new footholds in Africa for years. Sudan is basically a diamond in the Kremlin's plan. A possible naval base that would block the approach to the Suez Canal and the Suez Canal itself is a key maritime route between Europe and Asia. It handles most of the maritime trade between the continents. If we add to this what has been said here, i.e. the issue of raw materials such as gold, then basically everything is bound together. The European Community should aim for stabilisation in Sudan as soon as possible, although I am aware that it is very difficult to put an end to the fighting and to push out those who are warming up to it. Humanitarian aid is very much needed, I agree, also as a diplomatic tool. And here I would also like to thank the High House of Parliament, because increasing the expenditure on humanitarian aid, which will also be needed in the future budget, will be a tool that can be used.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we are discussing another report describing climate change. This is one of those reports periodically published by top-paid scientists. Each subsequent report is similar to the pain and secondary, but each shows one simple rule that none of the followers of climate religions want to accept: none of the initiatives taken so far by the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – initiatives that have absorbed gigantic public subsidies and international funds – I repeat, none have contributed to improving the situation in terms of limiting climate warming, none has improved quality, biodiversity. And why? Because it is not the political actions of the European Union that will decide the climate on our planet, but the abandonment of such emitters as China, India or the Middle East. By forcing Member States into the green revolution, we will not save the climate, but only destroy the competitiveness of our economies, leading to the impoverishment of society and to the global power of micro-corporations, which are already today the largest and, as the reports confirm, the only beneficiaries of the green revolution in Europe. The European Union has already decided once to push the supposedly very carbon intensive pharmaceutical industry beyond the borders of the European Union. And what? The COVID pandemic has verified all of this. The health and lives of European citizens have been endangered simply because someone has some fanciful ideas. Everyone wants to breathe clean air, it is true, but slower, gentlemen, otherwise Europe will become an open-air museum and others will emit and strengthen their economies.

Mr President, thank you very much. Adoption from third countries. How beautiful that sounds. However, behind this slogan, unfortunately, there is nothing else but the adoption and, unfortunately, surrogacy business. After all, as reported by the press in Brussels, homosexual couples could buy at the fair for sexual minorities offspring from surrogacy in Ukraine. It is a million-dollar business that the European Commission wants to legalise in the Community, knowing full well that it does not have Treaty competence in this matter. The dream is to impose homosexual unions on the Member States and, as a next step, to allow them to adopt children. Normal societies that base their functioning on values will never accept it. This debate should not take place at all, and what you want to do is social engineering that is not accepted by the citizens.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The fight against organised crime remains a challenge for many European countries. Crime knows no bounds. We see what is happening in Belgium in terms of drug crime. We see what is happening in Sweden, where there is a bloody gang war going on in the streets of Malmö and Stockholm. In my homeland, Poland, huge progress has been made in recent years in the fight against organised crime, especially in the context of VAT mafias and criminal groups producing, distributing drugs or fuel mafias. The changes introduced by the government of the United Right, strengthening organizationally the prosecutor's office and the police, and improving cooperation between the two institutions turned out to be crucial. A very important element of the actions taken was the introduction of confiscation of the extended property of criminals, allowing to hit the financial bases of gangs. Unfortunately, some criminals have found unobvious allies. For unknown reasons, some Member States do not execute European arrest warrants and do not send criminals to Poland to be convicted. Especially incomprehensible is the attitude of the Netherlands, which, by refusing to extradite, becomes even more difficult to understand. safe haven for members of organised crime groups. It is worth using our solutions.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Over the years, Western European countries have become dependent not only on gas, but above all on cheap fertilizers imported from Russia. When Poland talked about the threats posed by subsequent business deals with Moscow, European politicians, side by side with Russian oligarchs, opened new strands of Nord Stream. Many believed in the illusion that their colleagues in Moscow were selling – the illusion of cheap gas and fertilizers, cheap raw materials and cheap fertilizers. None of this is left today. And for this cheap gas today pays with blood Ukraine. Of course, there are countries that are happy to return to these businesses. Therefore, fertilizers, among others, have been excluded from subsequent sanctions packages. Another thing is that the fertiliser market in the Union has long been destroyed by regulations adopted by Parliament. Socialists and Greens, in the race for who is more environmentally friendly, led to the destruction of the market for cheap phosphate rock, which promotes, among others, products from Russian deposits. Of course, this has led to an increase in prices. Today, the same people are shouting about expensive and inaccessible fertilizers. But I say stop this hypocrisy.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Freedom of the press, independent media, freedom to express opinions publicly, even the extreme ones, but within public discourse this is the basis of democracy. But I will never stand up for any person who, in the exercise of his or her function and office, lies in order to take away his or her dignity and good name. This must be very clearly distinguished. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is important to know that the situation must certainly be looked at carefully in Greece or perhaps in other countries where this freedom of speech is being or will be violated. Unfortunately, I am also referring to the EPP. Donald Tusk is attacking journalists and editor Marcin Tulicki from the public station with multi-million-dollar lawsuits for preparing the material ‘Our man in Warsaw’, which, however, shows his pro-Russian policy at the time. This is a very brutal attempt to limit access to knowledge and the independence of the media. Yesterday, too, there was a conference by editor Tomasz Sakiewicz, where one of the stations brutally restricts the freedom of expression of his views and his stations, independent media in Poland, and this during the electoral period – this cannot be the case and I protest against it.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. A huge scandal, a deep pathology and this in the organ that would seem to be the most transparent. Today, we must really bend very quickly and effectively over how to limit this process, how to reduce it to zero. These are the 14 points of Mrs Metsola, which are going in a very good direction and it is worth leaning over them, it is worth accepting them, discussing them. A separate independent body should also be established. These are very good proposals. However, I would like to draw attention to the fact that the EPP proposes to heal the European Parliament, but the same EPP has on board Radosław Sikorski, who cannot explain today in Poland what he advised the sheikhs from the United Arab Emirates, for which he collected astronomical funds. Perhaps it is worth saying out loud today: ban on earning an MEP's salary? This should be the guiding principle of our practice today and for us to reflect on how to simply reduce it. Today, the scandal has also hit a group of socialists. It was her MEPs who were on the agenda in the notebook of Eva Kailia, a former MEP of Panzeri. However, a group of the European left is at the forefront of attacks on Member States, accusing them of lacking the rule of law, including my country, Poland. And today we know that all these debates could have been just a smokescreen, and the real scandal sprouted right here in these structures. Ladies and Gentlemen, any action that could have an anti-corruption dimension not only in Parliament, but in all the institutions of the European Union, if introduced, I would like it to be... (The President took the floor)

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. It must sound very loud and clear. Violence against women is not allowed. There is no justification for it, and there is no justification for it. Such violence is not only of a physical nature, it is also today violence of a psychological nature. Based on ridicule, ridicule, e.g. for appearance, views or any weakness that is our usual human, natural feature. The European left has fallen into its own ideological traps. Why is that? Let's look at the statistics. Has anything happened in the left-leaning countries that would make the issue of protecting victims of violence higher? No, I don't. Meanwhile, in the country that you are attacking so much in Poland, since 2020 we have introduced revolutionary tools to fight domestic violence. Today, according to independent rankings, Poland is among the countries with the highest standard of protection for women, and violent people are removed from their homes within one hour. An amendment is being prepared that will guarantee a complete package of protection for women, victims of bullying in public places and online. We have freed about 10,000 families from violence since these laws were enacted. This is how the Conservative government works.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. More than 35,000 deaths, 2.5 million people affected by the recent earthquake, currently in very harsh winter conditions, is a picture from the border between Turkey and Syria. Thousands of frozen and traumatized children, many of whom instantly became orphans. Everyone is waiting for our help. I welcome and thank you for launching the first aid mechanisms in the European Union. We must rise above borders, above difficult political divisions and maximise our humanitarian aid. We have to go directly to the place, to the most affected regions. There are already Polish organizations, both Catholic and secular ones. They have been operating in Syria for years. Today they say what is most needed. It is worth and encouraged to include them in the distribution of aid. At the same time, from this place, I would like to thank all rescuers from all over the world. In a special way, the Polish group of firefighters of the HUSAR Fire Brigade, as well as rescuers from the Polish Mining Group, which has already managed to bring out many people and continues to work in difficult conditions. I believe that we will be able to help many more people alive. May this good come back to you. Thank you, Commissioner, and let us act! You have support!

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Political advertising on the Internet plays a key role today, and certainly in the document we are discussing today, issues regarding transparency and the requirements for the publication of funding information should be positively assessed. In fact, this whole regulation should cover this area in particular. Although the records we have relate to the 10-year retention period of content, it is worth looking at the TERREG regulation, where the retention period of terrorist content has been set at a minimum of 2 years or for the duration of the investigation. It is worth keeping this content also for 10 years – but this is just a side note. The backbone of the entire regulation is Article 12, i.e. the introduction of a ban on targeting. The text proposed by the LIBE Committee goes much further than the European Commission's proposal. However, I lacked here a very thorough and thorough analysis of this issue.

Mr President, thank you very much. Madam Minister, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Yes, Europe has a problem with illegal migration today. In fact, all of this policy has gone bankrupt so far. I am glad that today President von der Leyen talked about strengthening borders, but above all she also talked about the need to fight smugglers ruthlessly, against all those who cause the influx of illegal migrants, but also give illusion, hope to these people there, in their country of origin, and take huge amounts of money for it. But today we also know that other member states, the services of member states, as well as the services of the United States, say that a significant part of the problem is driven by external forces. I am talking about Russia and Belarus. These regimes are behind the attempts to storm Europe's eastern borders and it is extremely important to talk about it. This is the destabilisation they dream of. It is therefore necessary to strengthen Frontex, to invest in Frontex, in border guards, to strengthen border protection and to revise the European Union's policy in this area. And most importantly, humanitarian aid on the ground. This will significantly reduce these disadvantages for Europe.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Let me quote one of my previous speakers: Democracy teaches us to lose. It is I who ask Mr López Aguilar sitting here why he did not pass on this life maxim to the Polish opposition, which he so willingly supported when you took the battalion under the title ‘the rule of law’ and even in our country you were able to hit with this battalion? See how it hurts today. Because today the issue is with your government. I am far from meddling in any internal affairs of a member state, because it was in Poland that we said that judicial issues are not a treaty domain of the European Union. You fell into your own trap and you fell into your own trap. But if I am already with the vote, I do not agree with the fact that freedom of speech and freedom of religion are violated, that laws are introduced in countries that limit freedom of religion. And so it is in your country. That's what you did. And I don't agree that sex offenders run loose across the country, have reduced penalties, so that women, just women, don't feel safe. And I dedicate this to you, and I ask you to stop interfering in the affairs of our country as well.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Corruption is, unfortunately, perhaps the heaviest cancer that the European institutions are currently facing. In fact, white-collared criminals cannot go unpunished. The Vice-President, who is currently in prison on suspicion of corruption, has repeatedly attacked my country, Poland. I am thinking today and we need to look at who wanted to shout the loudest here, to take Poland's funds when it is struggling with what Ukraine is struggling with, helping to overcome the greatest aggressor in the world. Who cared about that? This one needs to be looked at today. I want to be clear, Madam President! It is worth coming to Poland. It is worth drawing on our experience, because we really have anti-corruption solutions both in the Polish parliament and in many other institutions. We have open asset declarations, we have an anti-corruption law prohibiting the combination of various functions, we have a prohibition on: if he/she is a professional Member, he/she cannot work in another profession and benefit from it, he/she cannot benefit from lobbying. He has to reveal everything. Madam Vice-President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. I invite you to Poland. That's a great example. And stop attacking her, because that's all Russia cares about. I don't know if Russia is lobbying here, but I think and I have reason to say yes.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Unfortunately, Europe has become a victim of the EU's energy policy, poorly planned and stubbornly, really, led by the European Commission and faithful to the green ideology of Eurocrats. For years you have been fighting with coal, with coal-based energy, and today you are very diligently importing this coal from exotic countries. You're opening new mines, you're bringing extinguished power plants back to life. And you have been deaf for years to the arguments of those who loudly said that the EU's energy policy is leading Europe over the abyss of financial collapse. Now many citizens of the European Union countries, including in my country – Poles and Poles – are paying the costs of these mistakes. Unfortunately, they pay the costs of rotten gas deals with Putin and Russia. Inflation driven by astronomical energy prices is draining family budgets and putting an end to all our businesses. How are they supposed to raise the wages of their own employees when, for reasons of energy cost, they have to close their workplaces? In this extremely difficult period, we have one solution: the urgent suspension of the climate and energy package and the withdrawal of the Fit for 55 package. He's too ambitious and not for these times.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr. Secretary of State! Children are the first victims of all crises and therefore we must take special care of them, especially protect them. In my country, in Poland, over the last eight years, the group of families living in a state of poverty has decreased to 4.9%. This is the best result since we regained our independence in 89. Why did this happen? Why are these the successes of the United Right? Because we spent the fight on the vatov mafias, milk mafias, fuel mafias, and we allocated these funds to support children, to support families. Thanks to these programs, thousands of children have been plucked from the clutches of hunger and deprivation. But we need to know that, first of all, the war in Ukraine, but also, unfortunately, the not very prudent, ambitious goals that are imposed by Frans Timmermans, by the European Union, cause a return to impoverishment. We need to revise this policy, especially given that we have a war in Ukraine and Putin is exporting all crises. Putin is also exporting hunger to the whole world. We have hungry children in Lebanon, in Syria, in many other places, in Africa, where grain did not arrive from Ukraine. And that's what we need to think about. Only a wise and prudent policy, at this point in time, of the Union and a departure from the climate and energy package, which, unfortunately, will cause severe poverty, is and should be our goal.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Friends and colleagues! The discussion about migration is always full of emotions, especially here in this room, because on the one hand we have people fleeing hunger and poverty, no one to blame, but on the other hand we must also weigh the security of our citizens. This is particularly important in the context of the very aggressive policies of Russia and Turkey, as well as the significant increase in the activity of terrorist organisations, especially those involved in human smuggling. We need to know that they are watching us and will benefit from our naivety. However, opening the borders completely and making it easier for migrants to enter the European Union is a dead end and a naive approach that threatens the security of our Community. But we also have very good actions. That's the alternative. This is the macroeconomic stabilisation of the source countries and the humanitarian and development assistance that we, as the European Union, provide locally in Africa, in the Middle East, in many, many countries. This is a very real help, an alternative to the naïve policy of open borders. And the last sentence: We must not forget the instrumental, cynical exploitation of migrants by the regimes in Moscow and Belarus. And this is happening right now at the border of Poland and the European Union.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. How much is left of Schuman's Europe, of a Europe of solidarity, of a Europe of respect? The answer to this question must be posed at a time of very brutal war in Ukraine. PLN 9 billion is almost EUR 2.3 billion spent by the Polish government on support and accommodation for Ukrainian refugees residing in Poland. This is the same amount that the European Commission has allocated to support all 27 countries of the European Union. When Poles do everything they can to support a struggling neighbour, bearing the gigantic costs of instability and rising energy prices, there is a game here in the Union. The Commission is blocking the funds due for the RRP, and is in dispute over imaginary self-government. The Kremlin can only rejoice in this attitude. It is bitter and sad, but I want to convey it from many, many Polish citizens. And yet 6 billion euros have been paid to Turkey for hosting more than 3 million refugees. That's 1 billion euros a year. That is why it is not about finances, we are a proud nation, but we want to draw attention to the fact that under ... (The President took the floor)