Speeches

It’s not that it strikes me, it is always about protecting the European values here in the chamber, also in the whole European Union. And when the propaganda in Poland is saying that they are attacking Poland or Hungary, it is not true. We are always protecting here in the European Parliament the European values. That’s our role here in the European Parliament.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Illegal surveillance and persecution of independent judges are symptoms of the same disease, the disease of lawlessness, the disease caused by the virus of populism, which has infected different countries. First he poisoned Hungary, then Poland. It even hit the United States. This virus does not choose. It attacks in different places, and its effects are devastating for the entire organism of the democratic state. Resilience, the resilience of the rule of law institutions, plays a key role. In Hungary, the patient died, in the United States he was saved. The question is, where is Greece going today? Will it deal with violations of citizens' rights? Will he explain the illegal surveillance? Quo vadis Greece? Poles, Greeks and Hungarians are citizens of the Union and have specific rights, including the right to respect for private life. And our role as Members of the European Parliament is to intervene when citizens' rights are violated. People like Ziobra or Kamiński and their counterparts in other countries must be deprived of dangerous toys to watch innocent citizens. (The speaker agreed to answer two questions raised by raising a blue card)

Madam President, I'm sorry. Troll farms on the Internet, completely subordinated to power public media, regional ones, taken over by a fuel company, surveillance of the opposition by Pegasus software, false propaganda of an economic miracle and describing the European Union as a rotten West. The denial of European values and the separation of powers. Is this just Putin's Russia? No, I don't. PiS is very similar in Poland, as is Orban's Hungary. What's more, the Americans already informed the Polish prime minister in November about Russia's attack on Ukraine. What did he do? He called a pro-Putin coalition to Warsaw, the same Orban who is now blocking sanctions on Russia and the same Marine Le Pen that Putin financed. That is why we must restore the rule of law, the separation of powers and free media in Poland and Hungary. Luckily, Poland is not just PiS. You all saw it when we opened the borders of the heart and wallets for refugees from Ukraine. But the best defence against the Kremlin is to build a more integrated European Union and an informed civil society. This is what all autocracies are afraid of: Putin, Orban and Jarosław Kaczyński.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I would like to appeal to you MEPs from Kaczyński and Ziobra from this place: Stop destroying the European Union. Take care of your work, not beating foam and building an alternative reality. Instead of building a community of 450 million Europeans, you are dealing with nonsense. Budapest was supposed to be in Warsaw, but Orban played you like children in the fog. It was supposed to be Turkey. For now, it is Turkish expensive in Poland. You've got it all mixed up. Generations of Polish citizens wanted to be in the European Union, and every day you cynically try to shout it out. Poland's membership in the EU is a Polish and European raison d'etat. Those who think otherwise are either Putin's allies or complete fools. Because it is July 2022, not September 1939. Berlin is our ally, not our enemy. And the Ukrainians are dying for the Union and for the European values that you have been ridiculing for seven years. You were elected to the European Parliament, not to the Parliament of the Three Seas. The European Union needs a strong Poland, not a Poland from sea to sea.

First of all, if you don't want an abortion, don't do it. As you know, I'm from Seattle. I have 22 kilometers to the Czech part of Silesia. How will you explain to the Silesian frelkom, Polish citizens, this paradox and these limits of absurdity?

Madame Prime Minister! Just look at this: Whether in Houston or Warsaw, men whose faith deprives them of reason want to decide the fate of women. Today, they are raising their hands on women's rights in the United States. In my country, in Poland, thousands of women are afraid. Every second Polish woman does not want to be a mother, because Polish women were intimidated by restrictive law. They are afraid that when they miscarry, the police will knock on their door, because the government in Poland is introducing a pregnancy register – new weapons to fight women. The Ministry of Health says that this register was created out of concern for the health of Polish women. But we already know that when the government in Poland talks about caring for citizens, citizens have something to fear. And women in particular. The state of PiS has betrayed them many times. Abortion is always a very difficult decision – for everyone – for the mother, for the environment, for the family. But it is a woman who should decide about her own body and about her future.

Madam President, I'm sorry. PiS is like a sapper who plantes bombs, then disarms them and expects praise. Like an arsonist who sets his own house on fire, then extinguishes it, and now expects compensation. ‘Solidarity Poland’ – like an attacker who renounced an attack in exchange for money. Ziobro – like a thief caught red-handed, but innocent, because he stole less than he intended. And Kaczyński – like Nero setting his own country on fire. And this is at a time of record inflation growth, at a time when the ubiquitous expensive drains Polish wallets, when eco-pea has increased from 700 to 3 thousand zlotys, and gasoline has exceeded the record 8 zlotys. If it wasn't for your stubbornness, this money would have been in Poland a long time ago. I am pleased that the RRP has been accepted, but we have lost five billion euros in advance and, above all, we have lost precious time. It is your fault, not the opposition's, that the KPO was not accepted earlier. Madam President, congratulations on the agreement, but please check. They must not be trusted and I ask for close supervision of these funds so that not a single euro is wasted.

Dear Member, One tonne of eco-pea has increased from PLN 700 to PLN 3 000, and people need 7 or even 9 tonnes to heat their home in one season to keep radiators warm. Because the fact that you are blocking the energy transition, we know well here and we also know that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has given up huge money for the Just Transition Fund, which we in the ITRE committee negotiated. So, what have you done to really help people in this situation? What specific actions have you taken as a government in this regard? I'm asking for facts, because you've been in charge for seven years.

Mr President, thank you very much. We have already defeated many nationalisms in the European Union. Not all, but many. One of the things that we are still dealing with and that we have to overcome is energy nationalism. Shared responsibility for EU citizens and their energy security is as important as the single market. The Energy Union must finally become a reality. And it is happening before our eyes – joint purchases of gas and fuels, state support and the end of Nord Stream 2 projects. This is the best time. The moment when the word solidarity ceases to be just a word. The vast majority of Member States have looked at energy security issues through the lens of their borders, their economic and financial interests. But this war overturned that table. The direction we are heading – the green transition – is the only right direction. We need more photovoltaics, heat pumps and the development of hydrogen technology. Energy Union, diversification and energy solidarity are milestones for a stronger, safer and more integrated Europe. I hope that Jarosław Kaczyński and his best friend Viktor Orban will also understand this.

But, Mr MEP, this debate is about the rule of law, not about spending EU funds, so please do not turn your cat around. That's in answer to the first question. As far as the second question is concerned, as I said, this debate is about the rule of law, about the fact that the Disciplinary Chamber should finally be abolished and then the money will simply go to Polish citizens. That's the truth.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Law and Justice MEPs: how is it that, on the one hand, every week you go on a pilgrimage to Brussels after the "ojro", and on the other hand, you are ganz egal, will Polish citizens get European funds? What's it like? Are you doing this out of stupidity or out of calculation? You have been chosen to take care of citizens' rights, to protest when someone tampers with the fairness of lawsuits, to try to make citizens live at least a little lighter in these difficult times, to intervene when someone is unlawfully spying on citizens. That's why you were chosen, and you chose private and toxic relationships with Ziobra over your own citizens. This union costs Poland millions of euros every day. We in the opposition know who we are dealing with. That is why, together with the members of the Platform, Poland 2050 and the Left, we tabled an amendment to this report. The idea is to make the funds directly available to local government and private entities. In the mouth. 57 We call on the Commission to propose legislation to ensure that, if the rule of law mechanism is used, EU money reaches the people of Poland. In contrast to you, people in Poland simply need this money. Let them catch their breath. Zbigniew Ziobro, and especially his ‘deforms’, must finally leave. (The speaker agreed to respond to the speech signalled by the blue card)

Mr President, thank you very much. The Russian order is not only Putin and his demoralized state, it is a state of mind. It is a Soviet approach to standards, to the use of tools at the disposal of the state. The use of Pegasus anti-terrorist weapons against its own innocent citizens is at the heart of the Russian order. Law and Justice MPs, you have repeatedly mocked European values, trampled on minority rights, disregarded citizens' right to privacy. Putin does the same. For him, the standards of civilized countries are the fantasies of the West. Same with the rule of law. There are no rules in the Soviets. Power is allowed to do everything, to monitor with impunity, and then to wipe one's face with pseudo-patriotism. You, Mrs. Kempa and Mr. Tarczyński, broke the basic rules, you spied on your own citizens, not Russian agents or Al-Qaeda, but people who care about a strong, law-abiding and democratic Poland. That's the kind of country we need today. A state strong in the strength of its citizens and their freedoms, a state in which citizens have confidence in institutions. I believe that Poland will return. And your pathetic attempt to sovietize, to putinize Poland will be accounted for.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. You want peace, prepare for war. Old, but so current. The European Union's defence policy must now be our priority. We were very lucky, the President of the United States is a democrat of flesh and blood and took on the difficult role of coordinator and leader in the times of the Russian attack on Ukraine. But it won't always be like that. We, as the European Union, must be ready for both military and cyber challenges and attacks. Putin or another dictator does not have to attack militarily to create confusion and destroy the European Union or individual countries. Brexit campaign, Cambridge Analitica scandal, Ordo Iuris vague connections. There are many indications that the Kremlin and its cybernetic tentacles are behind all this. Let us also remember the troll factories, which are responsible for disinformation, hate speech and defamation of democratic values. We need to be ready for these challenges and traps. We need to create a system to respond to these massive cyberattacks and Russian trolling on the internet.

Mr President, thank you very much. I was born in 1982 and I remember well what long queues at the borders looked like. Travelling freely in Europe has been a dream for many generations – a dream that has come true. This was because we started to get along in Europe and think in terms of community. Let's be proud of it! Let us remember that cooperation brings benefits to all of us, and let us continue to improve citizens’ quality of life – that is why they chose us. It is good that the Commission has proposed solutions to monitor the functioning of the Schengen area. Effective external border controls and their absence at internal borders are crucial. It is good that the report includes issues of compliance with fundamental rights, because behind these rights are specific people who need our help and must be treated with dignity. And no more problems for cross-border workers! We remember the beginning of the pandemic and the chaos we managed to overcome. The Union is about values and quality of life, symbolised by the Schengen area. Let's take care of our European home!

Dear writers, do you see how the lack of the rule of law ends? Putin's agency, exactly as we have in Budapest. Over the years, your friend Orbán has appropriated his homeland just like you: institution by institution. He gagged the media – he broke the backs of some journalists, threw others on the pavement, took away the licences of the broadcasters, took over the local newspapers – just like you. In the end, he ploughed up freedom of speech and democracy in Hungary. Because no one will tell me that when 90% of the media in the country sows government propaganda, when the government has all institutions under control, and spends the equivalent of 3% of GDP on the election campaign, elections can be fair. The system, which boils down to putting a card in an urn on the terms set by the autocrat, is a mockery of democracy. It was supposed to be a great Hungary, and it came out weak healed with expired Russian sausage. Orbán created a closed system and covered his nation with a tight shade of Putin's disinformation. He feeds his compatriots with Kremlin propaganda, releasing Russian positions and accounts blaming Ukrainians in the media. Mr. Waszczykowski, did you really support Putin's servant in this election?! Members of the Law and Justice party, and especially the Ziobrists, remember! This is the last moment. Abandon this authoritarian tram, which motorist Orbán leads directly to the stop Ruski mir. Putin's biggest nightmare is a strong, united in diversity, federal Europe. This is the direction we have to go.

Madam President, Putin is a butcher. We saw this in Bucha. In Ukrainian (the speaker uses a non-official language); in Polish, Putin to rzeźnik; in German, Putin ist ein Metzger; in Spanish, Putin es un carnicero; in French, Poutine est un boucher; in Hungarian, for Mr Orbán, Putin egy hentes; in Swedish, Putin är en slaktare; in Silesian (the speaker uses a non-official language). I demand from the European Parliament to condemn Putin and call him a war criminal. This symbolic act will honour thousands of Ukrainians who were killed fighting for democracy, who were killed fighting for our common values and, non-symbolic, stop importing coal, gas and oil from Russia now. Long live Ukraine!

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. On March 23, the girls in Afghanistan heard that they would not go to school. The dreams of these teenagers were destroyed by men whose faith took away their reason. The Taliban are ruining the lives and futures of children in the name of their fanatical delusions. The boundaries between state, religion and reality have been blurred. So it is with autocrats that regardless of latitude people mean nothing to them. This is what right-wing populists think when they say: “The state is us, religion is the state, and education must be in line with religion.” This is the case in Kabul, Budapest and Warsaw, where Zbigniew Ziobro wages a cultural war for the Polish soul. Autocrats want to control the masses, they don't want self-thinking people. We need to put pressure on the Afghan Taliban on education and support Afghan society. And we cannot allow those who think like the Taliban to come to power here in Europe.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, thank you very much. On 24 February, a lot has changed, but on 24 February, the problems with climate change and the need for a just energy transition are not over. UN experts in the IPCC report under review speak directly of the ‘red allergy’, of the fact that we are on the eve of a climate catastrophe. And believe me, people feel it and know it, but they need a sensible climate policy and new jobs. They need funding to replace furnaces and purchase photovoltaics. My Silesia is a region that rebuilt Warsaw after the war. It is a region that has been economically exploited for decades. We, as Silesians, hear, like Ukrainians, that we are not there, that our language is not there. We need new green investments in Silesia, but also investments in culture and education. The European Capital of Culture in Silesia and Zagłębie would be a very good impulse for the whole region. I'm counting on you, Mr. Timmermans, because you, as a person from Limburg, also a post-mining region, know exactly what I'm talking about.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Freedom is not cheap, freedom costs, and perhaps especially energy freedom, but peace is priceless. And when we have the war criminal Vladimir Putin against us, who sits like a toad on a gas pipe, we must be strong, decisive and speak with one voice. A united Europe was founded as an anti-war alliance, a community of coal and steel. History has come full circle before our eyes. And this is exactly the moment when the European Union must go a step further. A common energy union – the essence of solidarity and support in these difficult times – must be created to prevent another world war, but also a climate catastrophe. The green transition is necessary because it makes us independent of fossil resources before our eyes, but until then let us use our European raw materials. This is the European raison d'etat. No more coal, oil and gas imports from Russia. The Courage of Europe. There may no longer be a second chance.

Mr President, thank you very much. The war in Ukraine united the whole West and the whole European Union. I am very pleased that both the European Commission and the individual Member States are speaking with one voice. We have introduced very costly sanctions for Russia, which are already in place. It is very good that Nord Stream 2 has been suspended. We are waiting for the end of the pipeline. However, we need further steps. Undoubtedly, the direction in which we are heading is good. The green transition means becoming independent of raw materials, including Russian ones. Populists are questioning the green revolution. Let's remember, however, that only three weeks ago they were cohabiting with Putin. However, we need an embargo on the import of Russian raw materials, including coal, and until the transformation, let us use our resources, even from Silesia. When it comes to gas, we need joint action by the Union as a whole. We need solidarity and joint purchasing of the whole Community. We are united, we are stronger. Therefore, a short but very specific question for the Commissioner: at what political stage is the construction of a common European Energy Union?

Mrs. Hania from Rybnik together with the women's council collect gifts, organize accommodation for refugees with the local government and Mr. Mariusz. Agnieszka from Wodzisław took on the issue of meals. Nicholas and the volunteers of the Free Place Foundation from Katowice took care of meals at the very border. They cook soup for a thousand people every day. The transport of donations from Germany is coordinated by Mrs. Esther from Jastrzębie. In Dąbrowa, Mr Tomasz and his family shared a house for eight people from Ukraine. These are just a few examples of beautiful solidarity from only one Silesian voivodeship. The scale of this assistance is gigantic, unfortunately, as are the needs. Therefore, from this point of view, I appeal for urgent, direct financial support for society, not for governments that break the law, but for those who help so that we can provide decent conditions for refugees. There are citizens on the first line of help and there are local governments. Let us direct EU aid there so that it is well-managed. I also appeal to the Polish and Hungarian Governments: The enemy is in the Kremlin, not in Brussels. Have you understood that yet? Finally, a photo from Kharkov from yesterday, which says more than a thousand words.

Mr President, thank you very much. Putin, go to hell! You're a genocide. You destroyed peace in Europe. You are destroying the brotherly Ukrainian people. But you also took away Russia's future for decades. Three or four generations of Russians will carry the heavy burden of what Putin's army is currently doing in Ukraine. I argue that if civil society in Russia were strong and not systematically destroyed by the state, this war would simply not exist. Citizens would not allow it. That's all Putin is afraid of. Just this one. And that is why it so brutally suppresses protests and sends political opponents to the camps. Autocrats, dictators and tyrants hate free people and civil society. Aware of their rights and duties, educated civil society, which takes part in elections and referendums en masse, skilfully uses the media and social media, is the strongest weapon and at the same time the surest guarantee of peace. We in Europe know very well that civil society is a pillar of our community, so we need to support it. We have prepared a report in which we highlight specific areas where improvements need to be made. We call on the Commission to create a catalogue of civic space and a strategy that includes minimum legal and administrative standards. The strategy also aims to introduce the status of European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations. We call for more flexibility in accessing EU funds for these actors. Today in Poland, in the face of the humanitarian challenge, we can clearly see who passes the exam at the rehearsal hour. They are citizens, NGOs and grassroots social movements. They have taken on the burden of helping refugees. I am proud of the attitude of the people of my region and of Poland as a whole, but our society needs support now – and as soon as possible. It is important that European funds go directly to local governments and NGOs. Direct transfer of funds is also a certainty that they will be well managed, because it is NGOs and local governments that are closest to people. Last but not least, thank you very much, Anna Júlia Donáth, for the great cooperation. It was a real pleasure to work with you. I have no doubt that this war is the last backlash of nationalism in Europe, and we have to follow towards the federal Europe with Ukraine on board.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Hey, fellow writers, you can be really proud. It's your job. In response to your continuing violations of the law, the EU has created a rule of law mechanism. Thus, people who did not respect the agreements paradoxically contributed to raising the democratic standards of the Union. Oh, congratulations! Now, seriously. Look at the country you leave behind. A country without gigantic European money. A country indebted and punished for destroying the rule of law. A country whose reputation has been tarnished internationally. You, because you're playing in Putin's orchestra alongside Marine Le Pen and Orban. I know you would prefer the Union not to be interested in your rascals. But the Union is a connected vessel and must react when the separation of powers is broken. Because the people of Poland want a country in which such basic principles are respected. From this point of view, I call for regulations to be introduced that will allow the illegitimate PiS government to be circumvented, so that European funds go directly to local governments and citizens.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. In the face of cancer, we are all equal, everyone, regardless of social status or nationality, can get cancer. That is why all our citizens deserve equal treatment. It cannot be the case that in one Member State cancer is effectively treated and in another it is practically a death sentence. It looks very bad in Poland, where the Polish government is really interested in health care only until the time of birth. Instead of health care, the Polish government spends billions on party anti-European propaganda. And that is why we need more Europe, not only in foreign or monetary policy, but we also need a common health policy. All Europeans deserve good, stable and predictable health protection. This is as important as international or financial security. And this should be the foundation for building a more integrated, federal Europe from Oslo to Athens, from Lisbon to Kiev. You may say that I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one.

Mr President, thank you very much. The end of 2021 is the European Year of Rail, an initiative that promotes this mode of transport. But there are places in Europe where you don't have to convince anyone to go to the railways, like the Silesian metropolis. Getting to work by train, cugiem (it's in Silesian) is everyday life for thousands of employees. And I'm proud of it. Unfortunately, as a Union, we still spend too little on railway infrastructure. We still have trains without air conditioning, and instead of stations, a strip of concrete in the middle of nowhere. And I'm talking about the whole of Europe. Security. We often hear that the most dangerous areas in cities are those around the station. Katowice, the city in Upper Silesia, where I was born, showed that from an unfriendly place you can make one of the prettiest and safest railway stations. Let's take an example from the Silesian capital across the EU. And finally: there is no need to promote rail in order to encourage Europeans to do so. But you have to invest specific money on tracks, trains and stations in turn. This is at the heart of the European Year of Rail, a year that should last a whole year.