Speeches

Madam President, I'm sorry. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine provokes harsh reactions in the societies of the Union towards the citizens of that country. We cannot see all Russians as aggressors or supporters of this aggression. There is an opposition in Russia, there are citizens with whom we will want and should talk in the future. The Russian government, in the person of Putin, has severely restricted the freedom of the media and assembly. For the slightest criticism of government policy, for the slightest protest against the war, Russian citizens face 15 years in prison. Thousands of people are taking to the streets. Nearly 5,000 people were arrested in protests in more than 60 Russian cities in early March alone. Russians protest in different ways, for example by placing in supermarkets, in places of product prices, inscriptions informing about the aggression against Ukraine. Alexei Navalny called for a protest against the war in Ukraine. Russia and those responsible for the deaths of civilians in Ukraine and the destruction of cities and villages must be punished accordingly. Remember that not everyone who is silent is guilty.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I would also like to draw attention to and clarify the issue of refugees at the Polish-Belarusian border. Talking about these people as economic refugees is due to ignorance of where these people come from. These are people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, and they are people who are fleeing wars, persecution. Those who lost their lives – 24 people who were pushed into the forest – are people of the same nationalities. Ten women lost their children because they were repeatedly thrown into the forest in the frost, so a lot of people died on this border. However, I would very much like us to get acquainted with the situation that is happening there, and not accuse these people of wanting only to improve their lives, although everyone has the right to do so.

Mr President, thank you very much. Poland and its government are now seen as a refugee-friendly country supporting Ukraine, but this has not always been the case. Poland is currently flooded with a wave of help and solidarity. I would like to make you aware of the fact that it is not the government, but the Poles who welcome guests - because this is how we talk about Ukrainian refugees - to their families, it is NGOs and local governments that organise this huge help and volunteers present wherever someone is in need. In this way, the Poles restored the image of Poland welcoming and open to refugees, which has been destroyed by the rulers in recent years. I appeal to the European Union institutions to provide funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and assistance to refugees in Poland in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. I also call for the creation of paved humanitarian corridors that allow humanitarian aid to be delivered and civilians to leave the war zone. Today, however, help, support, warmth and hope are reserved only for some refugees, those who are culturally closer, who speak a similar language. Helping other migrants seeking international protection at the Belarusian border is criminalised and those providing such support are persecuted. Currently, the government does not allow non-governmental organizations to enter the Polish-Belarusian border. Let's not make a difference between refugees: where they come from, what color their skin is and who is more deserving of help. The Geneva Convention applies at every border to everyone.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I sincerely hope that the sixth summit of the European Union and Africa will be a turning point in relations between the two continents. This is truly a unique opportunity to introduce and re-launch a deeper partnership based on an understanding of common interests. I believe that education, including in fragile and conflict-affected countries, is one of the areas of cooperation immediately after ensuring access to water and food security. This is possible, among other things, thanks to digital technologies. Africa's population will double by 2050. Every month, about one million young Africans without skills and education reach productive age. Today's labour market is very competitive and only people with the skills that match its needs will be able to get out of poverty and break the vicious circle of violence, inequality and political instability. Our role is not to provide concrete solutions, but to engage in discussions on an equal footing with our African partners. Let's share each other. This will benefit the people of both continents.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The European Commission has proposed changes to the migration and asylum rules for Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. It is unacceptable in this form. There are only a few thousand applicants for international protection on the eastern border of the Union. There is no reason to apply any exceptional measures, you only have to comply with the law. The state of emergency introduced on 2 September, which was unlawfully extended on 1 December, the violation of the law of hundreds of thousands of people living in border areas, and the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the exclusion of humanitarian organizations from the zone contributed to the deaths of several people. The rules proposed by the Commission will lower the standards guaranteed to applicants for international protection, which will be decided arbitrarily by a Border Guard officer. I am therefore opposed to the provisions repealing the application of the Return Directive to persons who have been refused the right to lodge applications. This means that these people can be expelled to Belarus, which is an attempt to legalize export practices. The Commission’s support for the Polish government’s actions implies the government’s acceptance of human rights violations and thus undermines the fundamental values of the Union. I suggest that the Commission realistically assess the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border and invite you to the border.

Madam President, I'm sorry. I have been involved in humanitarian aid for 26 years. Every year, I observe with concern a sharp increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance. Today, humanitarian crises last on average more than 9 years. Aid is often insufficient and humanitarian law is more often violated. In the report we have prepared together, we have focused on several areas. We believe that a key one is the area of integrating education into humanitarian aid. Education is included in development aid, but this is not enough. Children and young people in conflict-affected areas in refugee camps should have absolute access to education, which is not always the case. Otherwise, we will have to deal with lost generations, as is already said today about the generation of the war in Syria. In this respect, the European Union's policy should be based on a humanitarian-development-peace nexus. The document calls for increased funding to fill funding gaps in global humanitarian aid. One way is to oblige Member States to allocate a fixed share of their gross national income to humanitarian aid, as is the case for development aid. We are also committed to ensuring flexibility in the financing of humanitarian aid in times of increasing needs. We would like the European Union's external action to focus more on compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protection of humanitarian workers, which can be achieved through an EU mechanism to monitor these violations, structured dialogues and trade agreements and, where necessary, by imposing sanctions on countries that do not comply with it.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The resolution on the situation in Somalia included key topics describing the difficult situation in the region, such as the deepening humanitarian crisis, food insecurity, violence against women and children and the still unfinished electoral process. It calls for the protection of internally displaced persons and refugees, the release of journalists, the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of an independent judicial system. With the forecast projecting an increase in the number of people in need of immediate assistance and protection to 7.7 million in 2022, we have put emphasis on increasing humanitarian aid. Information from the UN and the Somali government speaks of a rapidly deepening drought that could lead to extreme situations in the spring of next year. Approximately 2.7 million people already suffer from a lack of access to safe water, hygiene, food and animal pastures. The humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by the fact that only 3% of the population is vaccinated against COVID-19. The resolution highlights the negative impact of the pandemic on education and health. It stresses the importance of climate change and its negative impact on the economy. We strongly condemn sexual violence against women and girls. We expect preventive measures to be taken. We call on Somali leaders to complete the electoral process for the lower house by the end of this year. The increase in women's participation in elections and the election of 26% of women to the upper house were welcomed. I would like to thank my colleagues from other political groups for their cooperation in preparing the joint text of the resolution.

Mr President, thank you very much. I congratulate the rapporteur on this report. Migration movements will increase over the next few years. This is due to climate change and its effects. The report includes an important provision calling for strengthening legal and safe pathways for people in need of protection, such as resettlement schemes, humanitarian visas and humanitarian corridors. Lack of opportunities to ensure the safety of your family results in forced migration. Persons seeking refuge should be able to apply for international protection. The new trend in the Union's migration policy is to fend off, push out migrants, which only fosters the development of a network of smugglers who, with promises, lure migrants and put their lives at risk. This is happening on the Polish-Belarusian border. I believe that the external borders of the Union should be protected. However, every migrant has the right to request the initiation of an asylum procedure, although not everyone qualifies for it. These are fundamental rights-based procedures. The fate of the applicant should be decided by procedures, not by border guards.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Since the establishment of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, the European Parliament and NGOs have called for abuses and acts of corruption to be included in the Global Sanctions Regime. Corruption has a devastating impact on human rights, the proper functioning of states, societies, justice and the rule of law. I would like to ask you to extend the scope of the system to include acts of corruption. I strongly support the proposal for qualified majority voting. We must not allow the imposition of sanctions to be blocked by one of the countries because of its political sympathies or economic interests. Verification and control systems should not allow any infringements to be overlooked and monitoring should be a permanent element allowing for the best possible supervision of sanctioned entities. I believe that the European Parliament does not play an appropriate role in this system, and therefore strengthening its role and ensuring supervision will increase the guarantee of the functioning of this system.