Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. Report of the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) The elimination of discrimination against women is an opportunity for us in this House to repeat what is obvious to us. Polish anti-abortion law today is, firstly, extremely restrictive, secondly, it interferes in women's decisions, thirdly, it violates human rights, including Article 16 of the UN Convention. My party, Poland 2050, as part of the current government coalition in Poland, as well as I in the European Parliament, as the only Polish member of the Renew Europe faction, we are constantly standing up for women's rights. The current state of affairs following the judgment of the Constitutional Court is absolutely unacceptable. Every year, tens of thousands of women are forced to have abortions abroad. Women's rights must be guaranteed in Polish law as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it seems that in the current Polish Sejm, which consists of less than 30% of women, there is not enough support for this. The still incumbent president of Poland, in office until August next year, also leaves no doubt that he will veto any liberalization of the regulations. In this regard, to all those who have women's rights at heart, I say: Let's give the decision back to the citizens, Poles and Poles, let's liberalize abortion law through a nationwide referendum.

Madam President, thank you very much. Friends and colleagues! Today, the European steel industry is experiencing the biggest drop in demand in decades. Polish steel mills are going back to the sales results of the 1950s. The twentieth century. The situation is odd, because the demand for steel in Europe does not fall at all. On the contrary, it is still high, and it will be higher and higher, because thousands of tons of steel will be needed for the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is high time for politicians to defend European steelworks, and consequently our entire economy, which depends on the price and availability of steel. In particular, this is crucial for our arms industry, which for obvious reasons needs to be strengthened and accelerated today. What do you need to do? The key factor is the reduction of energy prices, very high in Europe, almost the highest in Poland. It is necessary to accelerate the use of renewable energy sources for steel production, to promote green steel production. Subsidies and temporary forms of protection for our European steel industry are needed at Union level, not at the level of individual Member States. Without rapid action, our arms production and construction will become dependent on supplies from China.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Dear Colleagues, The automotive industry in Europe, including the boom of the automotive industry in Poland, our manufacturers and our suppliers has always been the subject of our pride. Today, we are stunned by the news about the closures and, above all, about the redundancies – most recently, the news about the 500 workers who are about to lose their jobs at the Stellantis factory in Gliwice. The reasons for this situation are many. Of course, European and EU regulations could always be better, but I would also look for the reasons for this situation either primarily in the short-sightedness and lack of vision of the leaders of the largest automotive companies. The dieselgate scandal, i.e. de facto cheating of consumers and market surveillance authorities, was a great warning to the industry. Unfortunately, no conclusions have been drawn from this scandal. But I don't want to focus on who's at fault today. Now, when jobs and Europe's competitiveness are at stake, all hands on deck! I look forward to the concrete proposals of the new Commission. Raising tariffs on electric cars from China is unfortunately the right, but far from enough, step. A step worth considering is to facilitate the consolidation of the European automotive industry before it becomes...

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we talked a lot about how dramatic a natural disaster can be. These phenomena are to some extent independent of us. However, there are things in which a person should be efficient and have the right to decide for himself. This right is given by democracy. Belarusian society still dreams about it. Next year, presidential elections will be held in Belarus. Lukashenko rigged the 2020 elections and has already announced that he will not give up now either. Today, Europe wants – and this is what we are doing in our resolution – to make it clear to all Belarusians: We're on your side. We want you to finally have an impact on what the governments of your country look like. Today, with a strong voice in our resolution, we demand, among other things: holding free and transparent elections, freeing all political prisoners (including Andrzej Poczobut), depoliticising court trials. Dear friends from Belarus! As a Pole, I fully understand and share your democratic aspirations. As the European Union, we cannot stand by and watch post-communist Russia aggressively defend the sphere of influence it considers its own. We, like you, want a free and independent Belarus. Therefore, in our resolution, we call for sanctions to be extended to Lukashenka. There is no place for dictatorship in 21st century Europe. Lively by Belarus!

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the situation in Central Europe, including the south-west of Poland, is truly dramatic. Thank you for all your empathetic interventions and for your willingness to bring immediate support to the people and communities in need because of this terrible disaster. We welcome the planned visit of President von der Leyen to the flooded region of Poland, Lower Silesia. Commissioner, we count on your positive response towards Member States which, like Poland, ask for more flexibility for the disbursement of EU funds in the areas that suffered from flooding. But beyond immediate help, we need long-term thinking and concrete actions on climate change mitigation, and specifically on rivers. The Odra river passes through Germany, Czechia and Poland, connecting countries and people. It's a source of life and a large ecosystem, with fish, plants, groundwater, rain. People want to live around a healthy and safe river. We need to think in the European perspective – also in terms of funding. The next MFF should bring adequate allocations so we can avoid such terrible situations in the future. Now is the time to help, as people are suffering and fighting to survive. It's time to show not only European solidarity, but also our effectiveness and efficiency.

Dear Madam President, Dear colleagues, Today, our thoughts are with the victims of the tragic flood that hit Poland and Central Europe. We are thinking about how to help the victims of floods. We're going to debate this here tomorrow. But today, as my colleague pointed out, it is impossible not to mention the 85th anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Soviet Russia, which is taking place today. On September 17, 1939, Poles faced brutal Soviet aggression, which resulted in the death and suffering of hundreds of thousands of people. Now we see that Russia's aggressive and powerful policy, the successor of the Soviet Union, continues and we must oppose it as the whole of Europe. Only then do we have a chance to stop her. Oh, my friends! Ukraine stands on the front line not only in defense of its land, but also in defense of the values that are the foundation of our common civilization, democracy, human rights and international law. Europe and the whole world cannot leave it alone. Every investment in Ukraine's defence is crucial for our common continent. Let's work together. Let us act now, immediately, for the sake of common security.