Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Thank you for a very good debate. The Istanbul Convention is also a choice of civilization. Governments blocking decisions in the Council must answer the question, where is it closer to them? Whether to the murderers from Turkey, who recently denounced the convention, or to Ukraine, which is being shelled, it has signed this anti-violence law. Joy of Courage! Democratic leaders must not be held hostage by populists who are loud but in the minority. It is time to ratify the Istanbul Convention. When Member States fail, the Union must act, the Union must protect its citizens. Mrs Kempa, these tools that you mentioned are thanks to the Istanbul Convention. Learn, not rely on Kremlin propaganda from Ordo Iuris. I would like to thank Arba Kokalari and all the rapporteurs, as well as the advisors, for their constructive and hard work. We have proven that women's rights can be beyond the political dispute of democratic parties in Europe. History is happening before our eyes. At the same time, I would like to dedicate this moment in history, this report, to all those who have fought so bravely for women's rights and democracy in Poland for eight years. It is a great pride to represent you here. Thank you also to the two women who are no longer there: my mother Grażyna and my grandmother Irena, without whom I would never have been here. And they two, Silesian strongwomen, with their whole life proved that a woman can very, very much. And despite the hard experience, it can reach its peak.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr. Secretary of State! One in three women in the EU has experienced sexual or physical violence. One in three. Sixty-two million European women! Violence happens in homes, in taxis and on the streets. Violence happens offline and online. Violence happens, but our role is to make laws that ensure security. The Istanbul Convention does just that. It's for safety. The Convention is the most effective tool to combat and prevent violence against women. It imposes specific obligations on States in this area. Creates a protective umbrella. In our report, which we wrote together with Swedish MEP Arba Kokalari, we call for the adoption of the Istanbul Convention by the entire Union. With this document, we are sending a strong signal to the European Council, which now has the final decision on its ratification. Joy, don't be afraid! It is about the lives and health of millions of Europeans. The adoption of the Convention by the whole Union will provide better protection for Ukrainian refugees. They are fleeing their homeland through Slovakia or Hungary, where the Istanbul Convention does not apply. Let us extend the EU anti-violence umbrella over them. It is thanks to the Istanbul Convention that the Kremlin, Putin's standard, according to which the first beating in the family is not considered violence, cannot apply. The case is also extremely important for Polish residents, because we give them a guarantee, a fuse, that as long as Poland is in the European Union, the anti-violence law will apply. In defence of the Istanbul Convention, demonstrations were held throughout Poland, not only in Warsaw, but also on the Katowice market, in Sosnowiec or on alleys in Częstochowa. The voice of these women must be heard more strongly here in Europe. Women and men supporting them protested for weeks when the illegal Constitutional Court banned abortion in practice for Polish residents. Access to safe and legal abortion must be restored. This is what we call for in our report. Choices on the women's side. This is what we call for in our report. Another important issue is access to sex education. Something obvious from the perspective of Scandinavia or France, but in many countries very often a taboo topic. Absolutely unnecessary. At a time when pornography is ubiquitous and sexist advertisements are shouting in the streets, reliable and universal sexuality education is absolutely necessary across the Union. Systemic reliable sex education, not gossip from Instagram influencers or a porno point of view. We call for this in our report! The next point is the victim support system. We call for financial support, psychological support, access to social housing for people experiencing violence. Instead of "Willi plus" for writers, "Shelter plus" for victims of domestic violence. The money should go to non-governmental organizations that actually help people, not to colleagues of Prime Minister Orban or Minister Czarnka. Effective and long-standing support to women’s rights NGOs, including through the existing Citizens, Rights and Values programme, which I had the honour to negotiate. As a result, the money will go directly from Brussels. This was my priority, which was also included in our report. The Istanbul Convention for the whole Union is a step in the right direction, a step towards a secure Europe. A step towards a more integrated European community and equality. Putin and other autocracies will certainly not be pleased.

Mr President, thank you very much. It is up to us how we build our common European home. Will it be strong and rules-based, or weak and robbed of value? Yes, the Union is a home, and our role is to strengthen that home. That's why we were chosen: that it may be protected from enemies, that it may protect the weakest, and that its inhabitants may live in harmony and abundance. However, in this house there are those who slander the family and take silver from the house. There are those here. Some torpedo sanctions against Putin and do not give weapons to Ukraine, others, day after day, spit on the Union, duplicating Kremlin propaganda. This is the moment in European history when we need a stronger and more integrated Union. First, the pathology of the Council's veto rule, which allows Orban to block sanctions, is over. Secondly, the energy independence of the European Union as a whole. Third, Putin's Black Dream: a common European army and a common foreign policy. A strong European Union is a secure future for millions of Europeans.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Let the facts and figures speak. Poland today and Poland eight years ago. Bread from 3.30 to almost 6 zlotys. The government will feed itself. For bread butter from 3.60 to over 7 zlotys. That's what they've funded for the last eight years. Such an eldorado with sunflower oil at 13 zlotys per liter was arranged by the citizens of Poland. A bowl of rice PLUS - this is happening before our eyes. People borrow to survive to the first. They pawn wedding rings at the pawnshop, and seniors choose which prescription drugs to buy. You won't see that on TV. PiS inflation is almost 17%. In the Eurozone, it is 9%. This is how incompetence ends. Therefore, Commissioner, have you made recommendations to the Polish government to reduce inflation? Have you indicated to them the specific instruments that need to be mobilised today? If not, please act as soon as possible.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Prime Minister, I'm sorry. I am delighted that the Kingdom of Sweden will lead the European Union for the next six months. I am happy because I know that Sweden has the courage, it has the courage to act, it has the courage to face challenges. You're joining NATO. The Union needs courageous leadership in these difficult times and consensus in building a European security and defence policy. We need help for Ukraine. Ukraine is fighting for European values for all of us. But there is also a need for leadership that is not afraid to take up socially important topics. Therefore, as co-rapporteur of the report on the Istanbul Convention, but also as a feminist, I am pleased that the ratification of this law is a priority for your Presidency. I believe that the legislation we are working on here with Swedish MEP Arba Kokalari will change the reality in many homes where violence is taking place. I believe that together the European Parliament and the Council will open a new chapter in the history of women's rights across Europe and that, in the end, the Anti-Violence Convention will be ratified by the whole Union. Tack så mycket och lycka till, Sverige!

Mr President, thank you very much. January 45 – The Soviet offensive continues, ultimately leading to liberation from Nazism. At the same time, enslavement and murders in Silesia continue, carried out by Russian soldiers and the new Polish power. One totalitarianism has been replaced by another. The first victims of the Upper Silesian Tragedy were women. It's the Silesians. On January 27, the Red Army entered Przyszowice, near Rybnik. The Red Army drove all women into one place - girls, teenagers, mothers and grandmothers. All of them were repeatedly and brutally raped. All of them. They were murdered trying to protect their sons, husbands, fathers and grandparents. Even the defending women escapees from Auschwitz, citizens of Italy and Hungary, were murdered. In Miechowice, now the district of Bytom, hell lasted three full days. Rape in front of the children, husbands or parents of the victims. We have to remind. We can't let them forget. Not to scratch old wounds. But we must remember through respect for the victims. Honor the memory of the victims of the Upper Silesian Tragedy!

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Putin has been attacking the European Union energetically for years. Turns off the gas taps. He's blackmailing us with energy supplies. Therefore, no more business as usual with Russia. The black dream for the Kremlin is an energy independent Europe, a Europe based on renewable energy sources, a self-sufficient Europe that does not need a cubic meter of gas and not a ton of imported coal. The European Commission and the Silesian local government have proved that this goal is soon achievable. They agreed in spite of the written diversion. There are EU programmes for the energy transition: €5 billion. But beyond that, we must create a common energy fund directly for the people of Europe, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the RRP and the Just Transition Fund, which depend on illegitimate governments. We live in the 21st century. Europeans have the right to heat their homes without worrying about bills and the availability of raw materials. They have a right to clean air. As a Union, we will achieve this goal against Putin and against the autocrats.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Two years ago, during the debate on Minority Safepack, for the first time in the history of Parliament, I used the Silesian language and proved that Silesian is a separate language and not a dialect of the Polish language. However, the history of our Silesian struggle has many levels. The recognition of the Ślonski maiden as a regional language in Poland has been sought several times – so far without result. Because there is always something more important than the Silesian issue. We are only needed when there are elections and when we supply the raw material – as a misunderstood folklore, somewhere on the border. We demand recognition of our language. We demand that Silesians and Silesians be recognized as an ethnic minority. Soon there will be a law on this issue in the Sejm. We demand regional education in Silesian schools. Because the history of Silesia is different from the history of Poland. Different, as different are the Oder and the Vistula. We learn about the akerman steppes, and we do not teach our bytes the rich history of our Silesian cities. Our heroes are omitted in all pantheons. The Silesian Nobel Prize winners are omitted. Last year, we were pushed into the ‘Others’ category of the census. We're outlaws, they don't want us to be ourselves. Today, a year and a half after the census, after the hard work that I did with the Ślonska Sztama, they do not want to give a lot of this nose richtig shrajbło ślonsko nacyjo and Ślonsko godka. It's happening here and now. What are you afraid of? Multiculturalism is a positive thing. Because it is normal to be a Silesian or Kashubian and at the same time a citizen of Poland. Don't be afraid to quote a classic.

Mr President, thank you very much. There are no sacred cows in the European Parliament. The vice-president is arrested. What is the Union's response? First of all, full cooperation with the services. Second, the immediate suspension of all powers. Thirdly, the deprivation of the function of Vice-President. Fourth, the plenary debate and resolution. The EU reacted in full force of law, because there is no reduced tariff for those who have violated European values. Because this is what the rule of law is all about, to react, to fight against violations of the law, to which everyone is equal. And today those on the right who howl about the lack of rule of law in the Union have forgotten. They forgot about two towers, about Mejza, about ventilators, they forgot about envelope elections in Poland. Who was responsible then? Learn from the EU, learn how it reacts to breaking the law. Zero tolerance for corruption, zero tolerance for breaking the law.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. A few days ago, Polish MP Katarzyna Kotula gave her testimony. She told her story, the story of the predator who was supposed to hurt her. He gave courage to the other victims. We, as men in politics, must also have the courage – the courage to speak out against those who abuse women, against those who defame them. But we must also have the courage to legislate, to legislate against violence and to legislate in support of victims. That's our role. One of the instruments protecting women is the Istanbul Convention. I have prepared a report on this subject together with MEP Arba Kokalari. I fought for the project to include a call to provide financial support to any organisation that tackles gender-based violence. We know what writers have priorities. We know that they spend our taxes on surveillance of the opposition, on eavesdropping on Krzysztof Brejza instead of supporting victims of domestic violence. That's enough! Courage, Europe!

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. A week ago, Russian criminals carried out the largest missile attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the aggression, an attack on critical infrastructure. The goal of the Kremlin terrorist is clear: break the spirit of the brave men defending their land, break the spirit of their families. Soon many Ukrainians will face a choice: Going out with the kids again or staying in cold homes. As a Union, we must be ready for any scenario. We need to learn a lesson from the past. We must both be ready to provide support on the ground and be ready to take back refugees. Over six months ago, the inhabitants of Poland showed what European values are, what solidarity is in practice. They took in refugees. They gave them food. They clothed them. Local governments, NGOs and citizens have played an important role. That is why you see the importance of a wide support mechanism, direct support, so that help reaches as close to people as possible, so that we are always prepared.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. In the heart of the European Union in the 21st century, President Kaczyński, the ruler of writing minds, calls Polish women drunkards and says that instead of giving birth to children, they give in the neck. Honourable Members of the European Parliament, this is a lie, this is despicable disinformation. Polish women are ambitious, they are caring and they are simply wonderful. And equality and respect should be out of the question. They should be obvious. The fear of strong, independent women is politically determined. Women are great managers, they do great both in companies and in all management positions. And this is what they are afraid of misogyny, who do not want to come to terms with gender equality, who are afraid that they will simply not meet women. Jarosław Kaczyński will lose this battle, he will lose to women, he will lose to men who defend women's rights. It's coming soon.

Madam President, I'm sorry. How did you bring Poland, a country of 38 million people, into the role of a servant of four times the size of Hungary? How did that happen? Have you submitted an alliance with Orban and a license to violate the law over the interests of your own citizens? Aren't you just embarrassed? Because it's a shame and a disgrace to stand shoulder to shoulder with Orban. After all, after sowing Russian propaganda, after blocking sanctions on Putin, after hindering the transport of weapons, and today, when blocking 18 billion euros of EU aid to Ukraine. Our friends from across the Oder, with whom you are not on the way, offered us Euro Fighter planes and Patriot launchers. What did Hungary give to Poland? Indicate at least one benefit for Poland, for the inhabitants, which your alliance with Orban gave. I know, I know, you won't, because she's just not here. Come on, wake up. First of all, throw out Hungary, not a single euro for Orban. Second, bring back the persecuted judges. Mr Jak, talk to the boss. Thirdly - I am addressing the Commission here - EU funds should go to citizens and local governments.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. REPowerEU is a step in the right direction. In response to the difficulties and disruptions in the global energy market caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Commission presented a plan to become independent from Russian raw materials. REPowerEU is also a plan to save energy, produce green energy and diversify supply. It is backed by financial and legal means to build new infrastructure and a new energy system. You could say that history has come a long way. Exactly 70 years ago, the European Coal and Steel Community was established. The problem is that the Polish government does not deliver any European money against the citizens. Yesterday's poll: 64% of Polish citizens blame the Polish government for the lack of European funds. Prime Minister Morawiecki, PiS MPs, will you not take these measures also because of Mr Zbigniew Ziobro? Is maintaining a government coalition more important than the interests of the country and the future of the young generation? You've already lost a decade of energy transition, so now it's time to decide: Either you're with the EU or you're with Putin.

Madam President, we are in solidarity with Ukraine not only with guns and tanks. Defence and territorial integrity is an absolute priority and we all know that. We all tasted war in our past, but Ukrainians are able to fight for their country that strong because they know who they are, what history they have, what language and culture they own. That’s why Putin, Mr Butter, started the war. He treated Ukrainians as a less important kind of Russians, who are using the history of his country as their own. We all know, and not only in this Chamber, how wrong he was. Everyone and anyone has the right to state its integrity, state its own culture, state its own language, and I’m not saying any magical populism right now – I’m just recalling international acts. We have to be proud of the Ukrainian nation who is fighting against Putin, against the effort to destroy their heritage, culture and nationality. The hand of the devil has no mercy: Putin touched even the untouchable. He sent bombs on Babyn Yar, the Holocaust memorial where thousands of Jewish people were executed by Nazis. What a shame. That’s why it is so important to financially support Ukrainian soil and borders, Ukrainian culture and heritage. So, Madam Commissioner, the European Parliament is asking for cultural recovery in Europe, but what about the culture that doesn’t need to be recovered, but needs to be protected? We all remember what happened to the Minority SafePack in the European Commission. Everyone has written ‘united in diversity’. The EU diplomats keep saying that, but we don’t need words; we need to act. Let’s do it simultaneously. Let’s support Ukraine and let’s support our regions. (The speaker concluded the speech in an unofficial language)

Madam President, I'm sorry. They kiss their hands, talk about morality, and then fight the law that protects women from violence. Right-wing populists are attacking a law that supports victims. They're attacking a law that protects families. They are attacking the Istanbul Convention, even here in Strasbourg, when there is such a fundamental issue as gender-based violence, PiS is voting against it. Vote against the discussion. They vote against women. Where there is violence, there is no room for ideology. Where there is violence, there is a place to discuss how to protect victims and how to punish perpetrators. But we can see clearly that you are not interested in this. Unlike you, we don't look at people in bed. You have a sick obsession, an obsession with sex and gender, an obsession that the president of Poland shows every week. An obsession that you play politically. The inhabitants of Poland expect normalcy, which is not defined at party conventions by a soulless elderly gentleman. They expect a normality in which the Justice Fund supports the victims, not the surveillance of the opposition. They expect a normality in which women are not forced into heroism by the state. They expect a normality in which the Minister of Justice does not attack a document that combats domestic violence. We will restore normality, the rule of law and European values very soon.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, thank you very much. Yes, we have a problem with the brown wave almost all over Europe. In Poland, for several years now, instead of the Independence Day on 11 November and a normal patriotic event, we have the holiday of sick nationalism – the Independence March. It is a great scandal that, with the approval of the authorities, this is how Polish independence is celebrated – with a piece of pavement in one hand, and in the other with a white and red flag drowned in rac smoke. But such a deal is in the hands of the writer's authority, because it gives Bąkiewicz more money (almost 4 million zlotys last year). And so this brown wave is growing, because the government knows that there may come a day when it will need the help of extreme forces on the streets. Just like Trump did after losing power. At the time of the women's strike, Polish women were being attacked. We'll never forget that. First, outlaw the National Guard. Secondly, not a single euro for Bąkiewicz. Thirdly, PiS will be accounted for with every 10 cents given to the nation.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Russia is a terrorist state. Putin is a war criminal. It's obvious, but you have to talk about it loud and clear, because history likes to forget. In 1945, the Red Army did not liberate in Silesian lands. He did the same thing as he did in Ukraine today. She destroyed, smoked, killed and raped. Half a million Silesians, Germans and Polish women were raped. So far, no one has accounted for this tragedy. No one paid compensation or reparations. It's time to send notes to Moscow. Those who thought it was possible to get along with Russia were wrong. The Soviet is not a democrat, the Soviet is a liar and a troublemaker. One of them is Sergei Andreyev, Putin's ambassador to Warsaw. Today, Ukrainians are dying for European values. And we here in the European Parliament must stand behind them. It is time to expel Russian diplomats from the European Union, both from Berlin and Warsaw.

Mr President, thank you very much. Six months ago, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Ukrainians were fleeing from Russian bullets, the inhabitants of Poland opened their hearts to them. At the same time, they opened their houses, opened their refrigerators and opened their closets. Long weeks, no matter what the cost. It was society, not the writing government, that dealt with this huge challenge. It was the people in Mysłowice, Rybnik, Sosnowiec and Częstochowa who took responsibility for the refugees on their shoulders. Today, however, the same people who helped then need support. They need EU help because they are ruled by losers who not only have not prepared the state for difficult times, but who are also destroying their future and the future of their children. €75 billion of cohesion funding could be lost to writers. Commissioner, create a mechanism for transferring EU money directly to local governments, to non-governmental organisations. Tomorrow we will send a letter to the European Commission with other Polish Members on this matter. Please take care of this as a matter of priority. European funds for citizens, not for inept power.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. In the beginning, good news from Poland: 79% of Polish citizens believe that the Polish government should agree to return to the rule of law and withdraw the deformity of the justice system and reach for money from the NRRP. 79%, dear Europe! Poland is not shit. Support for Poland's membership in the European Union still remains at the level of 80% of Polish society despite seven years of hard, anti-European propaganda in the so-called national media. The Schengen area is a symbol of a successful European project, as is Erasmus, the euro and the European Capital of Culture. But perhaps it is Europe without borders that is our greatest achievement in history. The first place for Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area is an absolute symbol of European unity. Europe will be a continent where you can travel from Bucharest or Burgas to Madrid or Lisbon without border control. This is our duty and our future. Courage, Europe! Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area. Eleven years of waiting is too long.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Not a single euro for Viktor Orban. This sentence is a platter on the writing bulls who defend here fiercely the interests of Putin's friend from Budapest. PiS defends a man who openly acts in the interests of the Kremlin. PiS defends a man whose enemy is free Ukraine. What did Orban promise you that you were on his side? Maybe you're planning to run from the courts and the State Court to Budapest? I want you to confess. Do you have the courage to tell the people in Poland that you are defending Hungary, which is torpedoing sanctions against Russia? Do you have the decency to say it plainly – the man we are defending has brainwashed supporters in such a way that half of them think NATO and the US are responsible for the war? Do you have the courage or don't you have it? I'm not defending Schröder, for example. It is a shame that he is still in the SPD, and I condemn his behaviour, as well as our entire Polish delegation. But, Mr. Brudziński, Jadwigo Wiśniewska, do you have any decency to cut yourself off from Orban, Putin's friend?

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Europe is a strong force of its multiculturalism. As you well know, I myself am a representative of the Silesian minority, a minority still not recognized by the Polish government. And our language, the Silesian language, the Silesian godmother, is not even recognized as a regional language. But I'm fighting for it and I'll never give up. Indeed, we are waiting for the results of the census, where it will turn out, I have no doubt that Poland is not a homogeneous nation. And I'm curious how it turned out, because we did a lot as a Silesian staff to inform that another does not mean inferior and that everyone has the right to their identity and to their language. Silesia is a beautiful place on the map, our heimat, the fifth side of the world, where representatives of different nationalities have lived in harmony for years: Silesians, Poles, Germans, Czechs, Jews and Roma. And we won't get into a fight. Kaczynski, Orban and other nationalists, not with us these numbers. Another doesn't mean worse.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. In the dying Oder, you can see in a lens a whole sick, poisoned state ruled for seven years by the United Right camp. There is a senseless centralization and taking away from local governments the competences they need to manage. You can see the employment of aunts, partners, husbands and other family members, because "now we" or "we deserve it", to quote the classic. You can see the incompetence of the deputy ministers and ministers and the shoe – the already famous ‘I can take a bath in the Oder, just hold my clothes’. There is a complete chaos in information policy. And unfortunately, we can also see the demolition of good Polish-German relations. You can see the destruction of the rule of law and the destruction of the separation of powers – because the clerical authorities know that they are impunity. Therefore, without embarrassment, she swept the matter under the carpet. And the Oder is our common cause. It's a Silesian thing. It is a matter of Poland. Measles is a Czech matter. And also the case of Germany. This is our common European cause. And a shared responsibility. And there is no doubt that man is behind the catastrophe on the Oder. Golden algae may have developed through human activity – salinity of water. But we still don't know who actually caused this environmental disaster. That is why, together with Prime Minister Marek Belka, we intervened with the Polish authorities. We wanted to know if the number of brine discharges to the Oder and its tributaries had been increased. Of course, we did not receive an answer. We have requested that the results of all research be made available to scientists and the public. Unanswered, of course. Because Polish power is allowed more. Citizens can be underestimated. It is allowed to insult political opponents. You're allowed to send the D.A. to fish. They are free – but remember, pride and boots walk before they fall. But it could have been different. After all, it was possible 7 years ago not to expel professionals from state institutions. It was possible not to fill the companies with aunts. After all, appropriate alert and response mechanisms could have been created. The state could have acted. Instead, we had crap and chaos, in Silesian by the rainforest – marasThat is, the quintessence of PiS rule. We will hold you accountable for that. Not because you poisoned the fish in the Oder, but because of inefficiency and lack of professionalism. So if you didn't react to an environmental catastrophe a month ago, at least now limit its effects. Close international cooperation. Restoration of wetlands. And afforestation, not more logging. This will increase water retention. Give this river, like society, a chance to rebuild. Let's get to work!

There is a Polish proverb: "whoever agrees with someone becomes one". You joined the Kremlin collaborator, Viktor Orbán, Putin's friend, the same one who is doing the booze with the Soviets today, as if nothing ever happened. So just answer me once and tell me the truth: Who is calling for the lifting of sanctions on Putin, Orbán or Scholz? Who does not allow the transport of weapons to Ukraine, Orbán or Scholz?

This time I will answer in my native Polish. The point is, we have to check in every country whether a given authority is abusing the tools it has at its disposal. And we have this example in Poland, we have it in Hungary, we have it in other countries where Pegasus or Predator are used. And in this case, we also want to see what the situation in Greece is like. That's why there's all this discussion and debate. We cannot allow citizens to be unjustifiably targeted.