Speeches

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Vice President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Expresses solidarity with Ukraine. It connects us beyond divisions. But to be honest, Commissioner, I would also like to ask for expressions of solidarity with countries that are helping Ukraine, such as Poland, which has so far received very little financial assistance from the European Union, precisely when it comes to Ukrainian refugees. We've taken in nearly nine million of them. We expect at least some of the assistance that the European Union has offered to Turkey, a country that is not a member of the European Union. 2021, which we are discussing, was the year of the pandemic. The EIB has signed new loan agreements for a record €95 billion, contributing to the protection of almost 450,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. Praise the bank for that. But I would like to ask from this place, what about the financing of nuclear energy? Because the EIB is helping to create wind and photovoltaic companies, but the real energy is nuclear energy. The current energy crisis in Europe shows that this nuclear energy is necessary. Hence the request that you pay attention to this.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Belarus is part of Europe. The people of Belarus are Europeans. They have non-European authorities, but I would very much like us not to turn our backs on Belarus. And that means we have to support those who think like us: They think in terms of freedom, in terms of human rights, in terms of media freedom. We must also stand up for national minorities in Belarus today. There, the largest minority are my compatriots, Poles, who have been very unequivocally in favour of freedom and are therefore being repressed today. That's why they're in jail today. Not just them, of course. In my opinion, our voice must be loud. And it is good that he is a voice from different parts of our Parliament. Let us not relativize the politics that take place there. Let us not pretend that Lukashenko is not Putin’s helper – he is.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. This is a very important debate, because it is needed especially by those of us, including those of EU diplomacy, who want to have such a "realpolitik" with Afghanistan, who want to sacrifice human rights, including women's rights, on the altar - well, certain relationships, maintaining certain relationships, maybe improving them. And I think that, in fact, the message of this debate, in which I see, and well, we are above the divide, should go to those on our side, on the side of the European Union, who really prefer to be blind to what is happening in Afghanistan, to what is happening under the Taliban. Of course, we hear all the time that they are better than those Taliban 20 years ago, more educated, more moderate. But it's all about the same thing. It is all about human rights violations, including women's rights. In this case, we must really stand in solidarity and we must convince our colleagues who want to be for such a ‘realpolitik’.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Once our compatriot the Pope from Poland said that the Polish nation expresses itself through its culture. I think that can be said of any nation. The Ukrainian people also express themselves through their culture. These actions, which are trying to annihilate monuments and cultural goods, are actions that really strike at our national identity, i.e. Poland and the European Union, neighbours. It is good that we have a debate on this. It is good that, despite the differences that divide us, we speak with one voice in this matter. Can we do much? We can speak, we can appeal, but we can also influence the European Commission, as it has committed, to pass on the promised funds to Ukraine. And I am a little sad when I hear from our Ukrainian colleagues that the Americans, as they promise, give it. And as the European Union promises, it either borrows or delays even these loans. The situation in which the President of the European Commission is once again in Kiev and repeats the same promises as before, without having yet fulfilled them, is a bit embarrassing for us as a Union. I am pleased that we are speaking with one voice – we need to support Ukraine.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, The European Union has made some mistakes in its policy in Belarus, maybe naivety, maybe sometimes lack of some flexibility, but this is not the place and time to talk about these mistakes. Today, it must be made clear that Belarus has become part of Putin's Russian war machine, that it is providing its garrisons, training grounds, railway network, including road transport, in order to increase the strength of Russian aggression, also to bind Ukrainian troops at the border with Belarus, which clearly weakens Kyiv's counteroffensive in the south and east, which is crucial for the Russians. It must be said very clearly that Lukashenko is not the same as Putin, but today it is necessary to threaten sanctions very hard, and the Belarusian opposition must be asked whether it certainly has the same vision of foreign policy that we think it has. Because sometimes I have the impression that, unfortunately, it has some illusions about Russia, which a number of its representatives unfortunately proclaim.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all, congratulations to the new President of the Court. You are taking up this function at a very difficult time, at a time when European taxpayers will be looking in particular at how the money of the European Union, the EU institutions, is spent. So the more we keep our fingers crossed for you and for the whole Court, me and my political group. I also welcome the presence of Commissioner Hahn, the most experienced Commissioner in the European Commission, one of the most substantive, who will certainly support your institution. It has been a difficult year for the EU and its member states. I would like to thank all the staff of the audit institutions for keeping an eye on and monitoring the expenditure of the institutions of the European Union, despite Covid. I note that, despite this difficult time, the overall error rate was the same as in previous years, less than 2%. I would also like to commend the results of the inspection of my country. Namely, this is a result comparable to Italy, a little better than in the case of Germany. And when it comes to open notifications, we are at the same level as France and Italy. Thank you very much, I wish the President and the Court good luck.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased that today in this debate we are discussing whether Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism or, as we have just heard, a terrorist state. This is an example of how far our Parliament has come. After all, in this House a term ago, two terms ago, there were many more friends of Russia or very naive people who believed that Russia was a country like any other. That's changed. Oh, that's good. Although, of course, there is a terrible price that we all pay, a free Europe, for the political class in Europe to mature to recognize Russia as American President Ronald Reagan (I know not everyone likes him) for an empire of evil. That's the way it is. It is good that we all speak with one voice on this issue. The more solidary our voice is, the greater Russia’s losses – and that is the point.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is good that Parliament has taken up the case of the Maltese journalist. It is a pity that this is only the second debate on this subject in five years. It is a political murder. And it is true, as my previous speakers have said, that very much has not been explained in this matter. Nor has this context of the interaction of politics with the criminal world been clarified. I was in a special delegation to another country of the European Union, Slovakia, also ruled by the same political option. We dealt with the murder of Ján Kuciak, his fiancée, also a man who investigated the interests of the authorities and those who wanted to make money in contact with the authorities. Let us now consider whether these matters have actually received the right interest on our part as well. And was our interest in Poland, for example, proportional to what is happening here? Let's think about it. Please reflect on this matter.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Why are we dealing with countries on another continent? Perhaps because some of the EU's member states are colonial countries that once benefited greatly from this. Perhaps because European companies operate with high profits in these countries. Perhaps because, for many people on these continents, the European Union, with all its flaws and mistakes, is a source of hope? I was recently in an Asian country. I met with ordinary people, the injured. They believe in the Union. Maybe more often than we do. Today we are talking about people who live in the beautiful surroundings of the Great Lakes of Africa. 100,000 people may be displaced from there, because the longest oil pipeline in the world is actually being built. On the one hand, you can say: It is good that such investments are taking place in Africa. On the other hand, one should ask: At what cost. And it's good that we're asking this across political divides. Finally, let me quote the motto of a well-known book by an English writer – I am talking about Hemingway – who, quoting the English poet J. Donne, wrote: ‘Don’t ask who the bell is ringing, it is ringing for you.’ That's why we're on this case.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Soviet Union, Red Russia, had a population of 287 million before, fortunately, it collapsed. At the moment, it counts exactly twice as much. Putin has repeatedly said that the greatest tragedy was the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the moment, this red, and already Putin's Russia, is trying to demographically increase its empire in a different way. It's in the hideous way that my previous speakers talked about. Of course, also in a different way, because for years Putin's Russia has been conducting a very conscious migration policy, which consists in bribing residents, citizens of the former Soviet Union and their descendants, houses, apartments, salaries paid throughout the year. What is happening right now in the case of Ukrainians who are being coerced into Russia deserves our Parliament's unequivocal condemnation.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. I am probably the first speaker in this debate who does not speak German. It's a big deal. Let's remind you where this is happening. This is happening in post-Soviet Asia, the only country where Iran has real historical, cultural and religious influence. The rest of the countries are at the moment such a ball in the game between Turkey – as is the case for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan – and Russia. This is all the more important geopolitical context, although of course my previous speakers are absolutely right. Here we need to talk about human rights, we need to talk about certain standards. We are associated with this as the European Union and this is what we should proclaim, without forgetting, however, as politicians, that in all this there is a geopolitical match in which we, as the West broadly understood, we, as the European Union, individual member states of the European Union, also have our place. So the call is to see on two levels. Firstly, the level of human rights – and on this, of course, we must be clear, this is a black and white film. On the other hand, the geopolitical context, which we must not forget even during the debate on human rights. Because it is important that the West is also present there not only in the sense of human rights standards, but also in the economic and geopolitical sense.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Simply put, the report in question has no real connection with the PIF Directive. Rather, it is a list of the European Parliament's expectations of OLAF, of the European Commission, of the Member States, without, in fact, any quantitative or qualitative data. This is a list, a little – sorry – wishful thinking, a bit like in a restaurant, where we come and choose from the menu what we like. In principle, there is no reference to Article 25. It seems to me that this is a shooting act, rather than a reference to a specific project.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr. President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, I congratulate the bank with its branch in Luxembourg, especially for what you did during the pandemic, when half of the disbursements to small and medium-sized enterprises were paid out immediately in the first year, which helped preserve the liquidity of small and medium-sized companies. For what you have done for the health sector: more than €5 billion – exactly €5.2 billion, including €175 million for vaccines: These are concrete and I thank you for that. I also want to thank you for what you have done for our country, my country, for Poland: disbursed a record €6.4 billion last year, similarly this year, for the public sector, for local governments, for the private sector. But I have a feeling there will be no agreement between us on one thing. There are important priorities, i.e. war and COVID, but they obscure environmental issues, Mr President. There will be a protocol of discrepancies in this matter, but I thank you very much for other matters.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. This is an important topic. Of course, in some countries it is actually a bigger problem, in other countries it is a smaller problem. My country, Poland, has a very sensible, sustainable forest policy. We have been investing in forests for at least seven years, but we will not impose this model on anyone. We treat forests as a national good. But I would also like to stress that this is certainly a problem on the scale of the European Union. I would like to thank the Commissioner for her very professional speech. I am glad that our colleague from the European Parliament has been in this position for 6 years. I thought the Commissioner would tell you if there was illegal logging in Dubrovnik, beautiful Dubrovnik, where you were mayor for two terms. I haven't heard that, but maybe the problem isn't there. I think it would be good for us to act to a certain limit in this matter. This cannot be used as a pretext to create instruments that go beyond the current framework of the European Union and allow the Union to enter into the competences of the Member States.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I have a personal affection for Georgia. I've been to this country more than 10 times. I received a very high state decoration from President Saakashvili. We know what is happening to it, and I know that Georgia was the first country attacked by Russia 14 years ago at the Beijing Olympics. I also know that the Georgian people, no matter how we judge the current power, deserve a place in the European political family, which is the Union. I think that the EU summit should decide to invite Ukraine, which deserves it, but also Moldova and Georgia to the European Union as candidate countries. I think these countries deserve it. If this does not happen, it will be the best gift for Russia and for Putin. I warn against attacking these countries, especially now.

–Mrs President, I would like to thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, along with Haiti. It is a country where 40% of citizens live on less than $2 a day. And this is perhaps the biggest accusation of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo. On the one hand, Nicaragua borders the Pacific Ocean, but there is no peace in this country. On the west side, it borders the Caribbean Sea and I have the impression that these pirates from the Caribbean Sea rule this country. Pauperisation and lack of justice – these two things go hand in hand. It is good that the European Parliament is taking the floor. It is a pity that he has to take it for the twentieth or thirtieth time in the last years.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr President of the Court! Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. There is one factor that cannot be used as a pretext to soften our assessment, but it is a fact: 2020 is a pandemic and this obviously could and did have a clear impact, at least as far as the JUs are concerned (I am the rapporteur for most of them), also on the fact that there were some shortcomings. Here we should apply a reduced tariff. We shouldn't extend it for years to come, but let's be honest here. Second, I am surprised, to be honest, that in the nine weeks (more than two months) of the war in Ukraine, we do not want to grant discharge to Frontex. This is the agency that deals with the external borders of the European Union. It seems to me that she should focus in the coming weeks precisely on these challenges of the war, not on the struggle, in order to convince us that it should be granted discharge. Another issue is the discharge for the European Commission. This is a very political issue, I must say. So far, there have been no such customs. These were very substantive assessments when it comes to monitoring EU funds. If there is a postulate, the issue of making EU funds dependent on the assessment of a rather arbitrary understanding of the rule of law, it is, however, a very political one. I don't think that's a good step, that's not the right thing to do. You have to say it out loud. I would also like to thank very much all those who have worked on my reports, including the administration of our committee.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr President of the Court! Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to deal with seven joint ventures. It's a bit like shooting a bird on the fly or shooting darts (there's such competition in shooting). They are changing their location, including their names, as the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking is now called the European Rail Joint Undertaking, the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking is now the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, the SESAR Joint Undertaking is now the Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking, finally the ECSEL Joint Undertaking is now the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking is now the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. I think these are changes that better show what these joint ventures are doing. Only one European Joint Undertaking has not changed its name: for the implementation of the ITER project and the development of fusion energy. And I also have one completely new Joint Undertaking to present to you: in the field of European High Performance Computing. All this, of course, applies to the 2020 budget year. The Court of Auditors, represented by the President, issued unqualified, clean opinions on the annual accounts and transactions underlying these nine Joint Undertakings. (Another two will be presented shortly by Mr Joachim Brudziński.) Although the Court has identified weaknesses in the functioning of the ITER Joint Undertaking. I have already stressed that a new European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking has been set up and is being audited for the first time for the financial year 2020. I would stress that for all Joint Undertakings, the Court has issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying their annual accounts and on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying those accounts. However, in my reports, I have made a number of observations on various issues requiring some improvement, both in the areas of budgetary and financial management, the internal control framework and monitoring in relation to grant payments or staff policy. Regrettably, there are still weaknesses in the annual payment planning. For the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, far fewer payments were made than planned for supercomputers and grant agreements, resulting in a low budget implementation rate for operational payments of only around 23 %. ECSEL again made available over €57 million in unused payment appropriations under the operational budget for Horizon 2020 activities, but managed to use only 70% of this amount. The JUs also had difficulties in implementing Horizon 2020 activities. There is a risk that the level of administrative resources needed to manage the funds in a timely manner will be insufficient, given the increasing number of simultaneous projects implemented from different CFF programmes. As regards the 2020 grant payments, the main reasons for the errors detected, already at the end, were as follows: First, the use of an incorrect method for calculating personnel costs. Second, non-compliance with the maximum number of hours worked on the project. Third, to declare costs that were not directly related to the project. Finally, declare purchases from another beneficiary of the consortium as other direct costs. Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, I propose to grant discharge to all these joint undertakings.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Numerous memes have been written about the leader of communist Korea. The last I saw today is that the smiling leader of the communist state says: “I am no longer the craziest leader in the world.” Of course, in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. But this laughter really dies on the lips, because can we laugh? But let's remember those 50,000 or maybe 70,000 Christians who are in communist prisons in North Korea just because they are Christians. Let us remember the persecution of other religious minorities in this country, which is like a dinosaur, because it exists, although communism has long since collapsed in most countries. In this case, we really must strike the table with our fist and bring about the total ostracism of this country of the freak.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is good that we are talking publicly about those who have spoken about Putin in the public space, and how they have spoken. It needs to be condemned, and I'm with those who do, unless it's part of some internal political game, so then I'm not with you. On the other hand, all those who did good to Russia and Putin deserve rebuke and criticism. And I agree with President Glucksmann, whom I respect and who said that this is about both the extreme right and the left. Because there is no shortage of such statements, as the representative of the Spanish Partido Popular party just spoke here. Like everyone else, it's everyone. Let's be objective. The question is, who is doing more harm? Does one who, out of stupidity – and this is reprehensible – puts on a t-shirt with Mr Putin – pure stupidity – or does one who has invested in Nord Stream over the years, and thanks to such efforts Russia is strengthening itself? We should also mention the Russian payroll. It's a shameful thing. Chancellor Schröder was on it, he's still there. The Austrian Foreign Minister, Mrs Kneissl, was there. It's still there. But there are also politicians like François Fillon, who resigned, but for years he was. He was also the Chancellor of Austria. And one option, and the other option, and the Socialists and the Christian Democrats, Mr. Kern and Mr. Schuessel. It's a good thing they quit, but they've been there for years. There was also Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. So let's throw a stone where the right addressees are. And to the far right, and to the left, and to all those parties and leaders who have been at fault in this matter.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. Don't ask who the bell is ringing, it's ringing for you. This is our drama, our tragedy, because Ukraine is part of Europe, so it is a tragedy of Europe. It's not something out there next to us, exotic. It is also our responsibility. We can't be idle. So from words to deeds, because, of course, it is easy to express solidarity, it is easy to declare support, and it is more difficult to go into specifics - concretes, that is, help for these people, both in the framework of great internal immigration, that is, almost 7 million people in Ukraine, as well as in the framework of huge, at least three and a half million external immigration, of which 70% went to my country, to Poland - two and a half million. It is easy, of course, for someone on behalf of the European Union or the European Parliament to say: we're helping. However, these words must be followed by financial decisions. For now, it's much worse. For now, aid to countries that have accepted refugees is more than symbolic. It can't be like that. I agree with my colleague Mrs Sippel from the Social Democrats, who said that this is not just a matter of civil society. Yes, state structures play a huge, crucial role in helping refugees, especially in certain categories, and it is necessary that these funds also go to individual countries. Finally, the scenario of Putin and Lukashenko regarding the hybrid war on the Belarusian border with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland is still being implemented. Let's not fall into this scenario, I warn against it. Let's fight for help for refugees.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I was a member of the Union-Moldova delegation and many times I was in this country, which in the cultural, civilizational, not only geographical dimension, is absolutely part of Europe. My colleagues have talked about how Moldovan society has opened hearts and houses to refugees, but I also think that the efforts of the President of Moldova, the Prime Minister of Moldova, of all those who think in European terms, of a common European home, should be appreciated. Moldova needs to be supported, but, contrary to what we hear in this Chamber, it needs to be supported in order to open wide the door for the country in the future when it comes to the membership of the European Union, which is simply what they deserve. Europe must be with Moldova, Moldova must be with Europe.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. As a human being, I can talk about the human dramas of those who live there and those who had to flee from there. As a historian, I can talk about the long and complicated history of this region. But above all, as a politician who has been to this region more than 20 times, and so I know a little bit about it, I can say, looking you in the eye, that this conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the most pleasing today for the one who is waging war against Ukraine, Colonel President Putin. He is the beneficiary of this conflict. We remember the meetings conducted by him, for example in Sochi, between the President of Azerbaijan Aliyev and the then President of Armenia Sargsyan. Putin was the judge, the governor, the one who ruled. Remember, we answer the question ‘Cui bono?’: Russia and Putin.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Madame Prime Minister! Mr. High Representative, thank you very much. Real sanctions – yes, but no exceptions. Russia is dependent on arms exports and exports of raw materials. If the countries of our Union say: sanctions – yes, but ..., then it will be a gift for Putin and it will be a seeming solidarity. The President spoke about peace talks under the auspices of the UN. Tomorrow there will be talks in Turkey, on the initiative of Turkey, between the heads of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine and Russia. We have no influence on these conversations. For negotiations under the auspices of the UN, perhaps we would have one. Someone was faster, someone was slower. A beautiful metaphor, Mr President, about the European garden and the jungle. There was a lack of solidarity in the garden. In our garden there were internal disputes and attacks on countries that are adjacent to the jungle. Now I would like you to promise that there will be no more of these attacks in the event of a jungle invasion. Especially in countries that border this jungle. And finally, a few words about NATO, because that's what we're talking about. I am delighted that Finland will make this decision. Especially after last week's talks between Helsinki and Washington. On the other hand, one very important thing: NATO's joint actions, not that individual countries will make decisions on their own, because there will be no such decisions.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. 500 years ago, the English poet John Donne, later quoted by Hemingway, wrote: ‘Don’t ask who the bell is ringing. It beats you.’ After five centuries, we can say the same in the context of Ukraine, people – because they are people – people from Ukraine who are looking for help, our help, help in the countries of the European Union. I am proud, as a Pole, that my country, my nation, the society of which I am a part, provide this help. I would also like to thank the other countries that are doing this. And I also thank those Members of the European Parliament with whom we sometimes differ in this room, and who today have noticed this Polish help, a great help. Thank you so much for that. I would like to say that Mr Waszczykowski was right in showing what happened six years ago: EU-Turkey deal, €6 billion in two instalments, where – watch out! – Turkey has taken in 1.7 million refugees. To date, Poland alone has accepted 1.2 million refugees. I think it is worth thinking about similar help, but also dedicated very specifically. We gave money to the Turkish state for the fact that children could use schools. I think that similar aid instruments must be available to the countries that offer this aid today and to these refugees. I just wanted to say that today we have an open heart. What will happen in two months, what will happen in six months, when the number of refugees can be more than 5 million? May we then be as open in six months, with hearts on our hands, as we are today.