Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. The strength of the community has always consisted in openness, from which great benefits have flowed, both for the old countries and for the new ones. One of our tasks is to expand the community to include countries that, of course, meet the Copenhagen criteria, but also countries whose inhabitants want to live in a world of European values. This is not an economic issue, of course, but it is. European countries guarantee, the European Union guarantees that people live in a happier, friendly place on the globe. And when I listen to Russopopulists today, it's simple. The children of Putin, the Russian oligarchs, are fleeing to the European Union. No one in their right mind wants to be Putin's neighbor. What are you talking about? As for Georgia, we will support Georgian patriots. We will support the Georgians and their European path. Because Georgia can choose the European way, as Poland or the Czech Republic chose. It can, unfortunately, follow the path of Russia, which is what the Ivanishvili regime is aiming at. But it is impossible to pacify the Georgian road to freedom, the desire of European Georgian patriots, neither the Russian ruble, nor the Russian rifle, nor the Russian tank.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The High Parliament! What we see today is the best example of the theory of Jean-Pierre Faye, who as a French philosopher constructed the horseshoe theory. The extreme right, the extreme left, is on Putin's side today. And history repeats itself, because you are on Putin's side today, just as the extremes were on Lenin's and Stalin's side in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was then that extreme ideologues, extreme leftists, intellectuals defended the policy of the Russian Empire. Today you are stepping into the shoes of the far left, the far right. You meet in one. You are spreading Putin's lies during the war. And let us remember that Russian aggression has always been based on strength, but also on propaganda. And today you are the carriers of Putin's missiles, of the fakes, of the lies, of the bots that are destroying our infoosphere, our social media. Let us all be aware of this. Don't do that. Don't be on the side of the Russian Empire.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, Russian drones fell on my country, Poland. We are in the European Community, in the European Union. It was created jointly by countries loving values and principles. It is a community of democratic states. Today we see Slovakia's leader, Mr. Fico, flying to the Kremlin to pay tribute to Putin in the Kremlin. Dear Slovaks, we were together for 45 years under a Russian, Russian boot. This is a sign for all of us that the leader of the European state is betraying European values, democracy, the rule of law, attacking free media, oligarchizing the state, destroying free courts, a free prosecutor's office. He does this in order to reach the Kremlin's orbit, to be in the Kremlin's zone. But the rule of law is more than that. The rule of law is a sign of freedom. How does a country with the rule of law differ from a country without the rule of law? The difference is that a country with the rule of law is a country of free citizens. And where there is no rule of law, as in this Russia, as in the Kremlin, as in Belarus, there is no freedom. Therefore, dear Slovak brothers, fight for your rule of law, fight for European values. S. Fight for the rule of law. We're with you.

Mr President, thank you very much. I am sorry to the European Parliament that you must witness such a denunciation of Poland as my previous speaker presented, and a comparison of the European Union with Russia, and a comparison of the fact that the European Union is supposedly acting like Russia. It's bullshit, isn't it? This is the voice of the Russian populists, the pro-Russian puppeteers who are attacking the European Union. What is Moldova fighting for? Moldova, Mr. Wąsik, is fighting to join the European Union, to those values which include the rule of law. Ladies and Gentlemen, today, how clear all this is, how visible all this is. How many such anti-Moldovan, anti-European voices we could hear at the head of you, probably from the SOS Romania party, which attacked Moldovan aspirations, but before that his party repeatedly advocated Russia, even making territorial demands on Moldova. Moldova, we are with you, we keep our fingers crossed, because you are a great nation, small territorially, but great spirit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Last month I was on a mission in Georgia and we can no longer talk about Russian influence, it is a copy of the Russian system. When I hear the voices of Orban's people, AfD people, supported by Putin, who want Georgia, young Georgians, European Georgia to leave it to Russia, we have to be clear: You are acting in the interests of the Kremlin and Putin. There will be no agreement on this in the European Union and in Europe. I will tell the Georgians that we are with you, we see your struggle, but we also see the people who are destroying you. We see the officers of the regime. I want to name you Judge Nino Galustaszwili. Nino Galustashvili is a judge of the Georgian regime who sentenced a 21-year-old boy Metedewizi to 4.5 years in prison for organising a pro-European demonstration. This is the reality in Georgia and I would like this woman not to have the right to come to Italy for holidays. I would like every official of the pro-Russian regime not to be allowed into the countries of the European Union and not to do business here. We need tough sanctions, we need the isolation of those pro-Russian bandits who will Russify Georgia.

Mr President, thank you very much. All of Europe looks with admiration at Moldova. A small state, but a valiant state, because Moldova is on the side of values, on the side of the European Union. Moldovan society has won against this Russian miraculous state. Moldovan society has won against Putin's information campaigns, against election rigging, against the oligarch who bribed the elections, against the criminal, pro-Russian groups who were involved in the destruction of democracy there. All of Europe is Moldovan and proud of you, but we must be aware that Putin's information war concerns both Moldova and Georgia, as well as the Baltic states and Poland, as well as entire Western societies. Putin's information war continues, and anyone who stands on Putin's side, such politicians as Orban, Fico, and other Putin collaborators, are the people who weaken Europe and stand on the side of the Russian regime. There will be no Russians in Europe.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am speaking to you as a victim of Pegasus in 2019, when I took part in the elections to the European Parliament and to the Polish Parliament. I've been attacked by these people for six months. By this man who also spoke today, that is, by Polish populists. For six months, ninety thousand messages were stolen from me, falsified, and published on their government-run, populist television in adulterated form. I won five trials in this case, but this is proof of how Pegasus can be used to eavesdrop, to destroy people, to destroy an individual. They even sent us false electoral analyses as a Civic Coalition. Pegasus was used for this. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is not easy for me to talk about this when a man who was in prison in Poland for organizing an illegal operation against his colleague spoke before me. This man, Maciej Wąsik, was in prison. He was convicted, he's a criminal for an illegal operation. He's only here because his populist party colleague, who's the president, pardoned him. This tool was also used by populists in Poland to destroy independent judges, lawyers, politicians, to organize provocations, to eavesdrop on the opposition headquarters, to influence the election results. What they did in Poland cannot be repeated in any European country. And today we know that in Poland their television is publishing Pegasus footage against former President of the European Council Donald Tusk. These are populist methods. We have to be against it.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, The truth is that democratic forces have won in Moldova. The truth is that they deserve the most admiration and respect. And the truth is that the people of Moldova resisted Russian hybrid attacks. But the truth is bigger. The truth, dear patriots of Putin, is that there is a civil war going on. There is a war going on with Russopopulists, Russoconservatives, Putin's patriots who want to destroy European civilization. This is not just Moldova's problem. This is the problem of a war of values between people who want to destroy the European Union and those who want to protect the values of the Union that put man, the individual, dignity and respect for man first. And just as in the late 1940s the empire of the East, which wanted to impose eurazianism on Western Europe, bet on communist parties, the French communist party, the Italian communist party, so today they bet on people like you. Shame on you for being on Moscow's side.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we are talking about the rule of law. The rule of law is not an abstract slogan, as we have heard today. The rule of law is the standard of treatment of human beings by the countries of the European Union. The rule of law is very practical. The question is whether the state is to treat man as a citizen, as an individual, or whether it is to model man on the model of homo sovieticus, depriving him of the right to free media, the right to free courts, depriving him of dignity, indoctrinating him. And I am glad, as a Pole, that the European Commission has noted such a big, huge improvement in the state of the rule of law in Poland. The independence of the prosecutor's office and courts has been restored. The independence of the media is strengthened. Today, Poland is on the path of Western civilization. Because on October 15, Poles united in a record-breaking turnout and, as in 1989, they won full democracy back. And the new government, led by Donald Tusk, is rebuilding the rule of law thanks to record turnout. But this is also an example of how this road to populism leads to the East in fact. Through populism, states are modeled on the Eastern model and sooner or later fall into Putin's orbit. Today we have heard this in this House in the debate on Hungary. And Poland has a great tradition of fighting authoritarian power. It is a tradition of solidarity. And Poles led by Donald Tusk proved it on October 15, because Poles love freedom.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, In the face of the upcoming presidential elections and the European referendum in Moldova, we must tell ourselves directly that the process of integration with the European Union is a strategic process for the security of Moldova and this region of Europe. But what are we talking about? We are talking about the choice between good and evil, between Western values such as democracy, the rule of law, free media, free courts, and the evil that is now pouring into Moldova in the form of all those hybrid actions typical of Putin's post-Soviet empire: lies, manipulation, espionage, influencing other states to influence elections. It is a choice between good and evil. It is a choice as to how an individual is to be treated. Is the individual to be respected, is man to be treated with dignity, or is man to be treated as Putin's Russia treats Ukrainians today? He's destroying them today. Moldova we are with you, we support you, we stand by your side. The door to the Western community, to the free world, is open to you. Take this road. We will support you.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The $60 billion in U.S. aid will allow Ukraine to defend itself longer, but there is a much larger amount on the table. That's almost 300 billion confiscated at the beginning of Moscow's aggression against Kiev, 300 billion deposited in accounts in Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris or Brussels. Can you imagine how much Ukraine could do if it was given this money? Russia's defense budget is about 110 billion last year. I am convinced that transferring this money would change the fate of the war. And when I listen to Putin's apparatchiks threatening us not to do that, I remember when we debated sending Patriots, sending tanks, handing over F-16s. Let us not succumb to the Kremlin's threats, let us not succumb to it. If we succumb to this, Russia will move deeper into Ukraine, followed by a new Bucha, a new August. Europe cannot succumb. Europe cannot turn into a Europe of fear. Europe – unity, Europe – community, Europe – courage!

Madam President, I'm sorry. Today, Europe is facing a challenge that it has not faced since the end of World War II. The real threat to Europe, to its security, is Putin's Russia, which brutally attacked Ukraine. We Poles have experienced the effects of Russian imperialism many times in our history. We are constantly experiencing information warfare, as well as ruthless actions in the economic sphere. Only the European Union as a strong and effective community, but above all a defence community, only such a European Union is able to resist the threats posed by the Kremlin regime. The prime minister of the Polish government Donald Tusk recently said that it is time for politicians to wake up and European societies to wake up, because the world is shaking in its positions. This awakening is needed like never before. The need for a European defence community. Today is the time to build together a safe and strong Europe, one that is capable of defending its values, of defending peace, of democracy, of defending not only for us now, but also for future generations.

Mr President, thank you very much. In recent days, the infiltration of the phones of two members of our subcommittee on security and defence with spyware has been revealed. In response, the European Parliament acted swiftly. All committee members were invited to submit their phones for thorough analysis by Parliament’s services, taking into account the sensitive nature of the work of the subcommittee. This breach underlines the urgent need to implement effective cybersecurity measures, especially in the face of increasing geopolitical tensions. Cyber-weapons such as Pegasus should never be used against political opponents, journalists or against judges and prosecutors, lawyers. I have personal experience in this matter. I fell victim to Pegasus when in 2019 I was the chief of staff of the Civic Coalition, the democratic opposition in the elections to the Polish Sejm, and the special services subordinate to the Law and Justice party repeatedly broke into my phone. This case was described extensively in the report of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry. This is a bigger scandal than Watergate, because in the Polish Watergate not only was eavesdropping, cyber-surveillanced throughout the election campaign, but 1 gigabyte of data was uploaded to my phone, and then the data obtained as a result of illegal surveillance was used for a smear campaign in the government media. What's more, I was sent false electoral analyses during the election campaign. I have been involved in numerous lawsuits related to the Pegasus attacks for many years and I have won 8 cases so far. I didn't lose any. Recently, I won a case about the publication of falsified correspondence stolen by Pegasus by TV subordinate to the Law and Justice party. The Pegasus affair has recently been the subject of research by the parliamentary committee of inquiry in Poland. This commission will display all aspects of this illegal surveillance of opposition activists under the rule of the populist PiS party. We will also present the findings of this committee to the European Parliament, because the temptation of power to monitor the political opposition is a huge risk and temptation for many governments, which may turn in an authoritarian direction.

Mr President, thank you very much. We are about to vote on this very important report. The results of this vote await not only millions of Ukrainians, but also millions of European citizens, our citizens. Because the citizens of the European Union know that Putin's attack on Ukraine is really an attack on European values. Ukraine is shedding blood today, resisting post-Soviet imperialism. Ukraine is defending itself against the Kremlin's self-lease, which has suffocated Central and Eastern Europe for centuries. That is why it is so important to help Ukraine and provide real support to Kyiv for 2024-2027, as foreseen in the report voted today. We are talking about EUR 50 billion, funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine, for supporting regions, cities, local communities, for the reconstruction of small and medium-sized enterprises. This agreement opens up the possibility of using blocked Russian assets, taking into account potential additional revenues in the future, specifying in detail that Russia will have to bear full responsibility and cover the enormous damage resulting from its aggressive war against Ukraine. The use of frozen Russian funds to rebuild Ukraine is an important act of redress for Ukraine. It is a moral imperative for all of us. This is not only an expression of the European Union's solidarity with Ukraine, but also a strategic step towards the stability of the development of our continent. I therefore hope that this report will be adopted by our House. This is morally necessary for all of us, for the European Union, also for Ukraine.

Mr President, thank you very much. Seven hundred and twelve – that is how many days the heroic defence of Ukrainians has been going on since Russia’s full-scale invasion. This is a ruthless attack on a sovereign country that began 10 years ago, when Vladimir Putin's bloodthirsty empire decided to seize Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. The Minsk agreements showed how the negotiations with the wolf in sheep's clothing ended. It was an attack, and it is an attack, all the time, on our continent, an attack by Russia on Europe, on European values, on the European love of freedom. Today, Ukrainians are permanently proving that they chose our European way of life, not the one imposed by the Soviet, and now the Russian mir. We, as a European community, are burdened by the legacy of eternal memory, which leads to getting used to evil, how much evil can bring victims and how evil can change the world. And we in Europe can never forget that. And we can never get tired of fighting evil. Fame of Ukraine.