Need for an adaptation of the EU legal framework on sustainable biofuels (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, In this debate on the future of sustainable biofuels, we must first and foremost be consistent, but also common sense. Biofuels are now tools for decarbonising transport. They help to reduce emissions on the one hand CO2, but they also support the achievement of Europe’s climate objectives today – and in practice, not just in strategies and documents. Therefore, we cannot at the same time expect rapid decarbonisation and impose further restrictions on solutions that are supposed to serve this decarbonisation. It's a straight-to-the-wall run. We make it difficult for ourselves to achieve our goals. The new rules should support the development of sustainable biofuels, innovation and investment in the sector, rather than creating further barriers and uncertainties. Today, Europe needs a stable and rational legal framework that encourages the development of technologies to reduce emissions.
Opportunities and challenges presented by a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy for EU trade (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, The industrial revolution has changed the world for decades, but the AI revolution is happening before our very eyes in just one term of the European Parliament. Just a few years ago, we were wondering if AI would affect the global economy, and we already know today that it will change everything: trade, industry, security, competitiveness of countries, of all countries. The most important question, then, is: Will Europe co-create the rules of this change or will it only adapt to the rules created by others? And only one number shows the scale of the world's dependence on Asia: More than 90% of today's most advanced chips are manufactured by Taiwan. It is semiconductors that drive artificial intelligence, data centers, modern industry, defense technologies. The US, China are also investing hundreds of billions of dollars in their own production, technological sovereignty. And Europe cannot just be the recipient of someone else's technology. And we all know that. The history of European trade is a story of courage to create new rules – and today AI is another such moment. So Europe must not only be a market for new technologies, but a co-author of the rules that will shape the global economy. I personally believe that it will be so.
Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, The United Nations was established after World War II to prevent new world conflicts and to maintain peace among countries. Today, there are more than 50 different kinds of conflicts and wars around the world. And we also address words of criticism to this organization for its operation, lack of sufficient reaction. So what can we do to avoid these criticisms? Today, we all demand that the United Nations be more effective. Firstly, a better representation of the UN system of forces. It dates back to 1945. Many people point out that Africa is without a permanent place, India 1.4 billion also without. There is talk of expanding the Security Council. More effective peacekeeping missions. Today, the UN sends blue helmets, but their capabilities are very limited. Among other things, they cannot protect the population. Definitely less bureaucracy. This is certainly and certainly stronger action against global problems such as cybersecurity, like artificial intelligence, like migration, like the pandemic. Yeah, everybody expects that. But despite all these flaws, the UN is today a very important institution and helps us all in peace negotiations. And this is also worth emphasizing.
Political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we talk a lot about the regime in Cuba and we call things by their name. But I would like to draw attention to the humanitarian situation. A few days ago, I spoke to my family who live in Bayamo, a city that was the centre of Cuba’s struggle for independence in the 19th century. And they talk about children who can't get basic medications. Mothers stand in queues for food and water every day, and in the evenings their apartments plunge into darkness due to long hours of blackouts. And these are not isolated cases. This is the life of thousands of Cuban families today. Lack of food, medicine, fuel, lack of electricity. Absolutely everything is missing. Hospitals operate in crisis conditions, and seniors and children pay the highest price for this drama. And I just want to point out that Europe cannot leave these people without help. Europe must stand on the side of Cuban families, not on the side of the regime. I hope that the Cuban people will overthrow this regime. Once they've done it, they'll do it a second time. But European solidarity must mean real action.
Europe's response to reduced US military deployments in Europe, particularly at its Eastern flank in the light of the latest US decisions (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Enough is enough, Mr. Yak. Enough, Mr. White! Enough safety fun. When Polish ministers go to the United States, when the prime minister and deputy prime minister responsible for national defense talk to their counterparts in the United States so that no American soldier leaves Europe or Poland, you come here and make a brawl. And, of course, you can argue about domestic issues, but you must not weaken my country, Poland on the international arena. And understand this once and for all. We have two insurance policies as the majority of the European Union countries - that is NATO and the European Union - and we have to fight very hard for both of them. And finally, Churchill once said that quarrels among themselves are a luxury, but we cannot afford these quarrels in the face of danger. I urge you to understand this once and for all.
Negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. Without European steel, there is no European economy. And it is very good that Europe is waking up today, raising tariffs twice on this steel that comes to the European Union. Europe is awakening because it is about competitiveness, it is about jobs, but it is also about economic security. And today we all know that European producers face unfair competition from outside the European Union due, among other things, to high energy costs. And Europe cannot close steel mills and at the same time import steel from outside the European Union, which is produced cheaper. That is why the energy transition ‘Yes’, but it must be fair. Green Europe cannot mean the de-industrialisation of Europe. And I know what I am saying, because Polish steel, among other things, has been building the European economy for the last decades, from infrastructure, through automotive, to the defence and energy sectors. That is why protecting European steel means defending jobs, including security of supply, but also the competitiveness of our economy.
Financial literacy and the rise of finfluencers in the context of the savings and investments union (debate)
Dear President, today we are talking about online financial education and how to protect the citizens of the European Union from fraudsters. But the real problem goes much deeper. Today in Poland we are dealing with a gigantic scandal on the cryptocurrency market. Politicians of two parties, whose representatives are here in this room, are involved in the affair. Armed with the president, they committed robbery in broad daylight, exposing up to 30,000 citizens to losses of hundreds of millions of zlotys. And yet here, together, we have worked together to ensure that the European Union introduces a regulation to clean up the crypto asset market. The regulation will be adopted in my country. Prime Minister Donald Tusk filed an implementation case, which is to regulate it also in Poland, and PiS and Confederate MPs vote against it several times. The President vetoed the law twice. A coincidence? As it turns out over time, this is no coincidence. It turns out that this particular company, this particular cryptocurrency exchange, whose boss long ago fled from Poland to Monaco and later to Israel, paid funds to elected politicians for their foundation, and from another he financed political events and in return expected only one: blocking the law, so that there are no regulations. Today we know that one of the roads of this company leads directly to Russia. And I say this because it is not enough to prepare a good law here, but it also takes courage and determination to implement it throughout the European Union, without exceptions and without delays. This case is a phenomenon.
Madam President, I'm sorry. I am proud that the EU without corruption directive was one of the priorities of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. But today we have to say a little more. There is a saying: fighting corruption is like fighting bedbugs. Sometimes you have to tear down the whole house to get rid of this scourge. And today we must at all costs eliminate not only corruption, but also all traitors, because their corruption goes much further than just material issues. They're selling our security because that's what reporting to the Kremlin is all about. If someone reports to the enemy, I will only say that the story with such traitors was settled in a brutal way. And it is strange that those who refer to this story so often, also in my country, today pretend that they do not see the collaboration of the Hungarian government with Putin. And he will not retreat from anything and anyone, and he needs such Orbans and, unfortunately, also Nawrotki. Hence the desire to influence the results of elections in the countries of the European Union. Today, the European Union must be ruthless against all forms of corruption, but also treason. No exceptions and no compromises. Because we are not just defending political interests, we are defending the security of our citizens, our freedom and our future. We will not give these values to anyone.
Rail transport safety in the EU – lessons learnt from the Adamuz accident and three years after the Tempi tragedy (debate)
Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Today's debate on rail safety in Europe is absolutely necessary and perhaps more than ever. Because we are no longer just talking about accidents, we are talking about a new dimension of threats to European infrastructure. And let me tell you about the Polish case, which took place at the end of last year in Poland. In my country, there was an act of sabotage on a key railway line. An explosive device was placed on the Warsaw-Lublin route, which destroyed a fragment of tracks on the line leading towards Ukraine. And all this could have ended in a huge, huge tragedy. A train with hundreds of passengers could have derailed and crashed. Fortunately, this has been avoided, but similar incidents have also taken place in Italy, Sweden and in the Czech Republic, as mentioned a moment ago by the Commissioner. And these are no coincidences. European transport infrastructure is becoming a target of sabotage and destabilisation. This is part of a broader Russian diversionary campaign against Europe. That is why I want to say and emphasise here from this point of view the importance of all the programmes that the European Union has prepared today, including Military Mobility and the almost EUR 17 billion that we will allocate for this purpose in the new perspective. I am also talking about this as the European Parliament's shadow rapporteur on the Schengen military programme, which is extremely important and important. This is an investment in Europe's security, just as important as measures such as SAFE. And it's not just about moving troops fast. There's more to it than that. It is about the resilience of our infrastructure – railways, bridges, logistics, which must be safe for citizens and resistant to sabotage. The safety of Europe's railways today is not just a matter of transport. This is a matter of security for the whole of Europe. And let me thank the Commissioner for his contribution and what he said today - that railway safety is a priority for him.
Mr President, thank you very much. This energy package is a step in the right direction and a good signal. But our European economy needs breath and cheap energy today. These climate goals, which we adopted a few years ago, were created in completely different realities. There was no war from the East. There was no war in the Middle East. There were no high energy prices. And in the end, there was no brutal competition from China and the US. And yet, the European Commission succeeds in saying that nothing has changed at all. If we do not revise the ETS, European industry will be fleeing Europe. Moreover, citizens' bills will increase. And I want to say very clearly that the Polish delegation of the EPP believes that this is the time for change. At this point, when we see huge prices, including oil and gas, this is the time when this revision needs to be done. This is also the time to make climate goals a reality, because jobs and the economy are just as important as climate. We will present our proposals in the near future.
I wanted to ask you, in the era of all that we say in this room and what we hear outside this room, are you able as a faction to sit down and talk about the revision of the ETS? On the one hand, to maintain these high, ambitious climate targets, but at the same time to keep the jobs that the left is fighting for.
Everyone in this room is talking about energy prices, about the fact that ordinary citizens have a problem, and it does not matter whether they live in Poland, whether they live in Spain or in Germany. Everyone in this room has been talking for months about the fact that the European economy is also having huge problems. Yeah, one by one. Specific industries: glass, ceramics, steel, aluminium, metal – all these industries come to us here. And we know that one of the reasons is the lack of competitiveness, that is, this ETS tax. Is your faction ready to sit down and talk about the revision of the ECJ?
Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)
Madam President, 'if Europe becomes the most expensive place to produce, it will cease to be a place of production at all'. This sentence perfectly captures the moment where we are today. To be honest, I think that Europe can be the world's greatest engine of growth, but only if competitiveness is placed at the head of decision‑making. Today is not the time for diagnosis. It is time for decision. If Europe wants to regain its competitiveness, it must do three things. First, as we know in this House, reduce energy costs, and stop – we have to stop ETS2. Second, the same standards that apply to European companies must apply to importers. Competition? Yes. Unfair competition? No. And third, invest in Europe through a strong competitiveness fund and simplify regulation. Europe does not have to choose between climate and the economy. It must choose a smart transition over the loss of its industrial base.
Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Today's vote on Mercosur here in the European Parliament makes it clear that no agreement, but no agreement, should be signed without the participation of those directly affected. And today we are discussing another agreement between the European Union and India, which is very important, very important and very much needed. But again, there are certain sectors, even strategic industries, which are already calling for help today. It is the ceramics industry, the aluminium industry or the steel industry. Last year, at the end of last year, they made a pact and called for support, for help. Why is that? I will give an example of only the ceramic industry, which is very important, because each of us, when doing renovation at home, needs to buy ceramic tiles. In India, ceramic tiles are sold for one euro. With us, the cost of production – not only in my country, Poland, but in Europe – is 3 euros, that is 1 in 3, and customs duties are between 7 and 8%. If we, Commissioner, do not help these companies today – not in 3 years, but today – and do not raise these tariffs, do not protect the market, then this ceramics industry will stop working at all. How long can you compete when it's three times more expensive? And it is more expensive, among other things, not because it is less competitive, but because there are different production standards in India, environmental, energy and social. That is why I appeal, Commissioner, until it is too late, for support and assistance for these industries, especially for the ceramics industry, because this is a very important industry from a European point of view.
Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. After 11 years, it is high time to conclude the debate on passenger rights and adopt it. I would like to warmly thank Andrey for his very hard work. Aircraft passengers in Europe want fair prices. They don't want marketing tricks. And I'll give you an example. Flight in May from Warsaw to Brussels. The cheap line: 72 euros. Regular Polish Airlines: 121 euros. We all see this difference, but when a passenger wants to take 7 kg hand luggage, the situation changes absolutely. In Flight, which is the regular line, the price remains the same, and in this low-cost line, it rises even by more than 100%. So the passenger pays almost the second as much as for the price of the ticket. And that's where the problem is. The price of the ticket cannot be a marketing procedure. It must be the real price that the passenger sees and understands from the first click. Hand luggage is an absolute standard of travel, not a luxury. Therefore, its cost should be included in the ticket price, not hidden in the surcharges. And our Polish carrier, Polish LOT, shows that transparency is possible. He can be punctual. And what is more, I believe that now is the time for the European standard. Finally, I would like to say that the Committee on Transport supported these provisions, one could say unanimously. There were no opposites. This also shows, which is rarely the case, that the committee supports it. I want to thank Andrey again for his hard work. And I hope that the European Parliament will support these solutions in the interest of passengers. And I want to say that we will fight for passenger rights.
Development of an industry for sustainable aviation and maritime fuel in Europe (debate)
Mr President, thank you very much. If the transformation is to be real and harmless, we must look at the facts where we see that the goals set are falling apart with reality. Europe wants to produce, as we hear, 20 million tonnes of green fuels by 2035 and we need, as the Commissioner said, almost EUR 100 billion, but we have planned less than EUR 3 billion for this. Of course, green fuels are much more expensive – up to 10 times more expensive – than fossil fuels, so without financial mechanisms such as subsidies or long-term contracts, industry may not invest. And that threatens the wrong wheel. On the one hand, the lack of demand, then the lack of investment and, of course, maintaining high prices. So without a guarantee of stable prices, airlines as well as shipping companies will not sign long-term contracts. What's more, we hear that there is still a lack of a simple system that would allow to increase demand faster and launch investments. So if we don't close this financial, regulatory hole, we won't even meet our own goals, and there's no way to be a global leader. It's not about new declarations. It is about some funding, clear rules and introduction book and claimto turn ambitions into real production. Europe can build this industry, but only if the targets finally match the tools we really have at our disposal.