Speeches

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, thank you very much. Talks about the budget of the European Union are always interesting, and in particular talks about the effects of this budget on individual countries and on the European Union as a whole. Transparency in spending and settling funds is also very interesting. But I would like to remind you that this regulation was discussed three years ago, re-discussed and we are still awaiting an assessment of the amendment of that regulation. Therefore, I suggest that we should not be too hasty, because sometimes we just have a situation where very good solutions are the enemy of good – old, well-established solutions. In my view, this regulation should deal with the removal of derogations from budgetary rules and non-compliance with financial rules. This is our first rule. We should also simplify the implementation of the European Union's recovery measures. And you have to look at all things through the prism of efficiency. And when it comes to the rule of law, which has also been included here, I will only say that last week a high official of the European Commission said that Poland has no problems with the use of EU funds in recent years. And the Strasbourg room and the Brussels room are often the places where such resolutions against Poland are adopted. So let us not confuse this regulation, let us act prudently, then the Union will succeed.

Madam President, I'm sorry. It was a very interesting discussion. It seems to me that the purity of funding, the transparency of political party funding is a very important issue. There must be transparency in this matter, and voters must also know which parties they are voting for. On the other hand, I cannot imagine that this resolution and the discussion about financing political parties would be a cover for the discussion about building a federal state. This cannot be the case and we simply need to ensure that there is national, geographical and social representation in the European Parliament and in national parliaments. And then we will all be clear about how democracy works in the European Union and in the European Parliament.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. A lot of good news is coming in today's debate about cooperation between the United States and Europe. Indeed, it would be good if standards on the use of new technologies and the use of trade as an instrument of economic development were imposed precisely by the cooperation of the United States with the European Union – here we really have a huge opportunity. That is why I would like to ask you about a possible aspect of this cooperation. I am writing to the Commissioner: What do you think will be the future space cooperation between the European Union and the United States? This is a place where we can really offer a lot to the world, make good use of this part of the world – space – in relation to economic challenges and international cooperation.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. At the beginning, I would like to thank very much the fellow rapporteurs who worked on this budget, and I think that, overall, we have achieved a good result. So congratulations to you too, because we've really all worked quite hard on this together. The 2022 budget is a budget under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and is the second budget. It is also the second year of the EU’s NextGenerationEU instrument, covering 2021, 2022 and 2023. In this case, we can say that the European Commission is not treating COVID-19, the post-conspiracy crisis, fairly. Poland, for example, does not have an approved plan and it seems that this Recovery Fund is a kind of repressive apparatus. This is very unfair, because everyone was ill and everyone survived the drama. In this report, we oppose any cuts in Horizon Europe, EU4Health or RescEU. We are also very concerned that when it comes to the HERA project, the European Commission is taking the European Parliament off the table a little bit. The ECR, on the other hand, does not like the so-called gender budgeting, i.e. linking the budget to gender issues, raising the issue of biodiversity or sexual health. Finally, I will refer to your colleague Boeselager, who spent three minutes in his speech on the morning. Well, I wanted to say that today – Mr Damian, I am speaking to you – today the Polish court has acquitted (...), who was driving without a driving licence, a malfunctioning car, he does not have a driving licence. He hit an 81-year-old woman at a pedestrian crossing. Today, the Polish court acquitted him.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. We do not understand, we do not understand what is happening with the Polish recovery plan. We can't understand it, because until July of this year everything was going well. We agreed on the most important issues, the Polish government agreed on the most important issues, including the decarbonization of the Polish economy, that is, let's say, the energy industry. However, now, in my opinion, the Commission is breaking all the principles of European solidarity without a legal basis, after the Covid tragedy. I repeat, after the Covid tragedy. This is dramatic. After all, these funds are to go to entrepreneurs, to local governments, to sick people. You are holding back the recovery and recovery of the European economy through the wrong attitude towards Poland. Is this fair on the part of the European Commission? Is it fair to make such a case? Poland submitted a complete recovery plan and the Commission did not approve it, nor did it provide a single thread or a single reason why it did not approve it. He also won't say when he approves it. This is also a question for the Commissioner: is this how you deal with a country that is a member of the European Union, a full member of the European Union? If something is wrong, it is necessary to write or say that you should correct this or that. There's no such information. There is only information that we are an illegitimate country, but there is also information that - of course through the mouths of Commissioners, because we hear it in individual statements - if Poland renounces the Constitution, if it renounces its legal sovereignty, its system and recognises the European legal system, then it will be OK. This is also very unfair. I therefore believe that we have a lot to do in building European solidarity with the recovery plan after the COVID-19 drama, which affected not the left, not the right, but the people, only the entrepreneurs, but the European economy. Let us consider whether this is how we should build a system of European solidarity.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The Commissioner started her speech by saying that there was less energy because there was less wind. It's scary to think that sometimes he has no intention of subsidizing wind production in the future. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not want to trim this problem, but let us remember that all investments in renewable energy sources also cost. They're very expensive. They are zero-profit. I ask for a polemical voice in this matter if anyone disagrees with me. I'll present the evidence. Ladies and gentlemen, we need a certain amount of energy, stable sources of energy. And that could give us low-carbon gas. That could give us nuclear power. And yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, you had a chance to support a good solution, so that money would flow from the European Union for companies that want to invest in gas, who want, for example, to build gas storage tanks. But 428 MPs from the EPP, S&D and Renew voted against this position. And today you're crying that Putin is blackmailing. Where there is truth, we know well: This is big business. This is a German business. Renewable energy sources are also very expensive and let's not lie: Europe will lose if it wants to rely only on these sources of energy.

Mr President, I welcome the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, which is a needed support for the many affected by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. Coming from Poland, I am pleased we can access funding from the Reserve, which will be of vital support to those facing the challenges I described. Once adopted this week, our aim must be to quickly implement the programmes of support, benefiting from the Reserve’s contributions and pre-financing approach. With this model, I am pleased that we can deliver timely support as companies explore new markets and new opportunities. I am also happy that we can fund resources for our returning citizens who re-enter our domestic labour markets and bring those skills and experience back into our countries and our local economies. Managing change is not easy, but it is of great importance that we are able to recognise the breadth of the challenges faced in our region and deliver the support needed by our citizens. With this Reserve, we are ensuring difficulties are addressed, and I am pleased to offer my support for this measure.

Mr President, thank you very much. I know that I will receive almost no applause here, because I would like to ask why today, here in Parliament, we are not dealing with the two and a half thousand letters sent by Spanish judges to the European Commission, because there is a breach of the rule of law? That is why I ask why today we are not dealing with workers in yellow vests who are being beaten on the streets of France. I ask why we are not dealing with the rise of fascism in Western European countries today? A Polish driver in Germany was murdered last night because he was defending passengers – this is what the Poles do and you are attacking us. I will ask why we are not dealing with the Dutch government, which lied and used electricity unjustifiably to catch fish? Today you are attacking Poland and Hungary. You have very bad information. I will only remind you that Angela Merkel in the Bundestag last December said that Poland and Hungary had the right to apply to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Poland did it consciously. Mrs Merkel also said that Poland has the right to defend its good name. Therefore, ask her why she said so, because you have very bad and untrue information about Poland.