Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. In the report on the role of culture, education, media and sport in the fight against racism, we find many misrepresentations. It calls for a frank debate on the history of racism in Europe and its systemic nature. Racism is to be rooted in the societies of European countries. These are the thesis that create new dangerous stereotypes. One does not want to remember that the true root of Europe is Christianity, at the centre of which is the inalienable dignity of man, which requires equal treatment of all people. It is argued here that colonialism is the history of the whole of Europe, not considering that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe do not have colonial possessions in their achievements. So here we are also dealing with rewriting history. Noble ideas are often used for specific purposes, such as censorship and restrictions on freedom of expression. What are we watching today? Films that do not fit in with neo-Marxist political correctness are being withdrawn from the sale of books and films in cinematography. The removal of one of the greatest masterpieces of American cinematography "Gone with the Wind" from HBO's offer is only the loudest example. Media, including social media, is becoming a tool to erase people from culture. Monuments of historical figures are being demolished, scientists proclaiming unpopular views are being boycotted. It is so absurd that a university professor tries to prove that we listen to Beethoven only because he was a white man. How far will we go? Will we burn books like Hitler's Germany? A new culture with a totalitarian face is being created before our eyes, one can say cancel culture à rebours, and rational debate is replaced by emotional blackmail. Let us use common sense so as not to bring about the collapse of our culture and civilization, which is already under threat in the face of Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Instead of censoring, let's educate. Learn to think critically and independently. Or maybe it is enough to remember what the Bible says, which one would like to forget in this room: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Madam President, I'm sorry. Following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year dictatorship in 2019, maintaining military-civilian cooperation was a major challenge for political stability in Sudan. Last year, the political struggle intensified and in October the military carried out a coup d'état. Traditional disputes between the politically dominant Arab North and the marginalized, ethnically diverse South, as well as the difficult economic situation, have been exploited. Faced with the political stalemate that followed the rejection by the political forces of the agreement reached with the army and the impossibility of forming a government, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation. The Prime Minister's resignation came after another clash between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the military authorities. As a result of thousands of protests in Khartoum and other cities, dozens of people were killed and hundreds were injured. The social situation is therefore explosive, and the demonstrations, despite the brutal suppression, continue. The UN has launched a mediation initiative to lead to a round table. This initiative, however, divided the Sudanese opposition. Strong support is therefore needed for dialogue between conflicting parties.

Mr President, thank you very much. In recent years, China has developed cooperation with the Balkan candidate countries, taking advantage of their investment needs. Serbia in particular responded positively to the Chinese proposals. Beijing, in turn, appears to be treating Serbia as part of a global Belt and Road initiative, a logistics project aimed at creating a contemporary equivalent of the Silk Road and increasing China’s economic sphere of influence. In view of China's growing interest in the Balkans, the European Union should strive to increase its presence there. This requires speeding up membership negotiations and facilitating access to pre-accession funds. An important issue is the blatant abuse of workers employed in Chinese investments in Serbia. Non-governmental organizations report that Vietnamese workers employed there live and work in inhumane conditions. They want to go back to Vietnam, but they are deprived of passports and money. Human rights groups report that these workers have been smuggled into Serbia and are likely working as slaves. The Serbian government turns a blind eye to this. Therefore, urgent and consistent intervention is needed to defend the rights of these people.

Mr President, thank you very much. The proposed act to make 2022 the European Year of Youth seems like a valuable initiative, but today's ideologisation of the Commission and the European Parliament raises questions. Will the traditional values of our civilization be present in the proposed programs: Christian, national or family values that positively educate a young person's personality, or will it be leftist indoctrination so dominant in EU politics? Will this project not be used to impose a leftist vision of the world on young people? Will it not be an offensive against traditional values, against parents who have the right to raise their children according to their own worldview, according to their beliefs? In the times of communism in Poland and other countries of Central Europe, attempts were made to ideologize children, to stuff them with communist propaganda. And today in schools our children are trying to push an ideology no better than the Bolshevik one. I hope this is not the way to create a new person. It used to be Homo sovieticus – Soviet man, will be Homo europeus – European man. Let us defend the right of young people to learn without leftist indoctrination.

Mr President, thank you very much. Due to COVID-19, the governments of the EU Member States have taken a number of decisions that have triggered a crisis in many areas of social and economic life. They also had a big impact on broadly understood cultural activities and the situation of artists and cultural workers. The biggest influence on the location of artists was the closure of cultural institutions, the cancellation of cultural events and artistic routes, the closure of educational institutions, the stopping of many artistic cooperation projects and finally the closure of national borders. And without it, the lives of people performing artistic professions are characterized by a lack of stability and lasting foundations of existence. The covid crisis has changed the professional activity of artists. Many of them have been, or continue to be, without adequate remuneration or no remuneration at all. We should therefore ensure that the budget for culture is increased, that access to funding for cultural projects is increased and that administrative burdens are reduced. The Union's competence in this area is limited, but let us support culture in line with what is possible in the legal framework. The profession of an artist deserves special treatment and protection.

Mr President, thank you very much. It has been half a century since, after the coup, the military authorities established the Burmese path to socialism. And so Burma, now officially Myanmar, once a thriving land of golden pagodas has turned into a state of anarchy and violence. It is true that the last decade has been marked by democratisation, but this was erased in February this year by a military coup called ‘Generals’ Monday’. According to a UN report, since taking power, the junta's armed forces have murdered more than 1,100 people, detained more than 8,000 and forcibly displaced more than 230,000. Three and a half million Burmese are at risk of starvation, 60% of hospitals are out of work because the military has arrested most of the doctors, aggravating the already difficult humanitarian situation. In recent weeks, more than a dozen villages have been burned by the military, increasingly cruel to the civilian population. Persecution of ethnic and religious groups has increased. Despite the ban on gatherings, mass protests and civil disobedience were launched in many cities. In September, the underground government of national unity called for an uprising against the regime. There is a risk of further escalation of the civil war. We cannot be idle in this situation.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, In the Cohesion Policy legislative package, the European Commission proposed a new mechanism to address legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context. This tool, as established at Union level, would allow the rules of one Member State to be applied in a neighbouring country with the consent of the competent authorities. Studies of border areas show that they perform less economically than other regions. Access to various types of public services is more difficult. Different legal and administrative systems generate additional costs of cooperation. The proposed legal solution to its mission is therefore worthy of support, especially since Interreg cross-border cooperation programmes are not a sufficient tool to reduce existing barriers. However, the detailed solutions contained in the draft Regulation require further analysis. Many provisions require clarification because they are imprecise. If a Member State decides to apply the mechanism of the proposed Regulation, one of two options is possible. The first is the conclusion of a European cross-border obligation under which certain rules of a Member State apply in the territory of a neighbouring country. The second option is to sign a European Cross-Border Statement. The authority signing the declaration undertakes to initiate, within a specified period of time, legislative work to carry out the necessary amendments to the existing legislation. Many doubts arise, in particular, from the first solution. As a result of the undertaking, the existing national regulations will remain in force. However, in the context of the implementation of a specific cross-border project, the obligation allows for a derogation from those provisions. In their place, the law of the neighbouring country will apply. This raises doubts as to the applicability of this path to projects carried out with the participation of entities from the State undertaking the commitment. There are also doubts about the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solution. A long and multi-stage procedure for activating the mechanism may not be helpful for the initiator of a cross-border project.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Kakuma camp in Kenya hosts almost 200,000 refugees, mostly from Sudan, but also from Congo, Somalia, Uganda and Burundi. The team created by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees presented a road map to the Kenyan government, including alternatively the voluntary return of refugees to their homes in conditions that ensure safety and dignity, trips to third countries on the basis of separate arrangements and the option to remain in Kenya for refugees from East African Community countries. The European Union provides basic humanitarian assistance to refugees and the European Union Trust Fund for Africa supports projects to increase their self-reliance. In order to avoid dismantling Kakuma too quickly without sufficient preparation, the Commission must continue to co-finance humanitarian aid, seek hospitality for refugees in the Horn of Africa region in line with the principle of reception in the region of origin, and put pressure on the Kenyan Government and the High Commissioner to continue the dialogue with a view to finding appropriate legally-established solutions for these processes.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Following the brutal suppression of the largest anti-government demonstrations in half a century on July 11, the Cuban Communist regime used numerous repressions against the population, including mass arrests and sham lawsuits aimed at intimidating and forcing Cubans to remain silent. Independent Cuban media report that the regime in Havana ordered the temporary release of common criminals to embed protesters in their cells. There is evidence that torture has been used. In response, under the Magnitsky Act, the US administration imposed sanctions on Cuban military leaders. Despite the regime's repression, protests and demonstrations have spread throughout the country. On the streets of most cities and towns of Cuba came people with a demand for freedom, the departure of the communists from power. Foreign ministers of 20 countries, including Poland, condemned the mass arrests in Cuba and called on the Cuban government to respect human rights. Where is the European Commission? Does the Commission intend to support the right of Cubans to peacefully demonstrate and freely express their opinions and their right to freedom?

Madam President, I'm sorry. The United States has imposed anti-corruption sanctions on Bulgarian oligarchs, and where is the European Commission's response to the lack of rule of law in Bulgaria? German weekly Der Spiegel points out that the Commission has been doing little for years on corruption in Bulgaria. The weekly notes that recently, EU debates on the rule of law have focused on Poland and Hungary, and on the member state with the most corruption and the worst assessments in the area of the rule of law silently. He describes Bulgaria as a convenient partner of the EU in the east and writes about the particularly good relations between the Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to the weekly, the fact that the US intervenes to protect the rule of law in the EU shows its inability to deal with such a matter on its own. It's hard to disagree. It is also worth noting that the European Commission uses different standards to assess Member States. The Commission referred to the sanctions imposed and acknowledged that the United States had the right to do so, thus washing its hands. The failure to act reflects Brussels’ lack of determination to fight corruption and support the rule of law in Bulgaria. The question remains: why?

Mr President, thank you very much. The new Brexit Adjustment Reserve, worth more than €5 billion, will support people, businesses and countries affected by the UK's withdrawal from the EU. At the end of 2020, the post-Brexit transition period ended, and with it the free movement of people, goods, services and capital between the EU and the UK. At the same time, unavoidable disruptions in economic, trade and social relations have become apparent. It was therefore rational to set up a fund that would allow Member States to offset, or at least minimise, the impact of Brexit. With regard to the proposed solutions, those aiming at the predictability of the Fund, and in particular the allocation of the entire amount at the outset, which will strengthen the predictability aspect of expenditure planning, the distribution of the pre-financing granted in three annual tranches, which will significantly relieve the national budgets of net contributors, and the extension of the eligibility period until 2023, should be positively assessed. Instead, the Commission will need to work with Member States to make full use of the main principles of this instrument.

Mr President, thank you very much. In Europe, the abolition of the death penalty has been evolutionary. This was the result of a gradual change in legal doctrine. The main penalty is not prohibited under generally applicable international law. In the current debate, we ask ourselves: Are we to unequivocally oppose its use in all circumstances, or does it exceed the limits of tolerance for the most repugnant crimes? There are different circumstances in which that penalty is imposed. There are cases of its adjudication on political grounds as a tool for persecution or discrimination. Such death sentences are often judicial crimes. Undoubtedly, the imposition of the death penalty as a result of proceedings in which an accused person has been deprived of his or her fundamental rights when he or she has been subjected to torture or prevented from exercising his or her rights of defence qualifies as such. This is most likely the case with Mustafa al-Darvish, and it is not the only case of an internationally wrongful trial in Saudi Arabia. We can't agree with that. Human life is the highest value.

Mr President, thank you very much. The parliamentary elections in Ethiopia were to be the first free elections in the history of the country and bring peace. Meanwhile, in Tigray, a province in northern Ethiopia, the war continues and a gigantic humanitarian catastrophe is taking place. The civil war has been going on since November 2020, when the Ethiopian government sent federal troops to fight the Tigray People's Liberation Front. There are reports that the Ethiopian government has blocked humanitarian aid to the province. We hear about shelling and executions of civilians, ethnic cleansing, destruction of property, cultural goods and places of worship. As the UN institutions are alarming, the government has deliberately stirred up a famine in order to carry out the genocide of the Tigrayans. 4 million people are already at risk of hunger or malnutrition. Three hundred and fifty thousand, and according to some reports up to 900,000 of them are at risk of starvation. It is tragic that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is guilty of the suffering and death of his own citizens, whom he should protect. The international community must act quickly and decisively. The EU's inefficient foreign policy is killing hundreds of thousands of people. We know that Ethiopians desperately need support.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The establishment in December 2020 of the European Union's Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, inspired by the so-called Global Magnitski Act in the US, should be welcomed. It significantly expands the Union’s sanctioning instruments and allows it to respond to serious human rights violations. It is supposed to improve the efficiency of their implementation. This is the fourth horizontal sanctions regime at the disposal of the Union after the regimes on terrorism, the use of chemical weapons and cyber-attacks. The regime applies to acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious violations or abuses of human rights, including freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of religion or belief. We should consider extending the regime to corruption as well, as it is in the US. On the other hand, the call for the introduction of qualified majority voting for the adoption of sanctions under that system, instead of the unanimity rule adopted by the Council, cannot be accepted. This will be another step towards limiting the rights of the Member States guaranteed by the Treaties. Smaller countries also have rights, not just large and strong ones.