Debate contributions by Beata SZYDŁO

Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today we are faced with an initiative that, under the slogan of defending democracy against manipulation and hybrid attacks, actually threatens its foundations. For what is the most doubtful element of this Commission proposal that raises such associations and doubts? It's about interfering in elections. You say that you want to protect Europe, the European Union, the Member States from foreign interference. Yeah, that's what you have to do. Russian influence must be strongly resisted. Europe must be protected from these attacks. But at the same time, it is not possible to try to appropriate the competences of sovereign states, to create a political tool that will allow to influence electoral decisions in individual Member States. No treaty, no agreement, no obligation on the part of the Member States confers such competences on the European Union. It does not give Brussels that competence. This is the basis of sovereign states. And you can't agree to that. On behalf of the ECR Group, I declare that we will not support solutions that deprive individual citizens of their right to free choice in individual Member States. This is destroying the foundations and foundations of the European Union.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, There is a time of war and today, for Europeans, for Europe, for all of us, security is the most important thing. This budget does not adequately reflect this priority. Competitiveness, the economy – this is what we talk about in virtually every debate. It should also be noted that this needs support, but people want to feel safe, to feel that Europe is a place where they can build their future in peace and security. And you also need to keep this in mind when talking about the budget, and maybe above all about the budget. We can talk here about all kinds of ideas, projects, mainly ideological, but they do not have to be at the heart of the conversation about what the future of Europe will be like. And the future of Europe will depend on whether we assess the risks at this point in time and whether we will also adequately safeguard them through financial means.

Madam President, I'm sorry. From what we have heard from President von der Leyen, unfortunately, there is no picture to solve the problems of the European Union and to guarantee the European Union that it will be competitive, safe and develop. I am sorry to say this because, for several years now, the President has been giving the same speech, in which she draws a very attractive vision of the development of the European Union. But then the reality is completely different. Because today we're talking about what? We are talking about the fact that Europe must be competitive. But it is the policy of the European Commission and also the decisions taken here in the European Parliament in recent years that have led to the fact that European industry is in a huge crisis, and one can say: He's dying. Steelworks are disappearing. The car industry is disappearing. Small electric cars won't win this competition. The world is running away from us. We are talking about low energy prices. But Europeans today are paying the price of the policy pursued in the European Union, the Green Deal policy. We are talking about food security, about the situation of European farmers, but it is the decisions taken here in the European Union that have led to the fact that European farmers will face problems today resulting from the agreement with Mercosur. It can be exchanged indefinitely. In addition, there is a desire to take over the sovereignty of the Member States, to subordinate them to one another, to take away their competences. That's not the way. I think that this is not the Europe that Simone Weil, also mentioned by the President, was thinking about. Europe should be competitive, it should develop, it should be safe. While respecting and supporting our Member States, we should stand together and stand in solidarity. But this programme, which President von der Leyen has presented at the moment, unfortunately does not offer such guarantees.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, Representatives of liberal and left-wing groups, including the Greens of course, complain that they cannot achieve the right goal of competitiveness because of the conservative groups that are supposed to block these wonderful ideas of yours for the development of the electric car industry. But you are in charge. It is you who have the majority and it is you who have been pushing these sick, ideological economic ideas for a long time, which can be so briefly called the Green Deal. It is your responsibility to finish, among other things, the car industry. Because let's talk about the facts – people are losing their jobs. And when it comes to competitiveness, go out on the street and count how many Chinese electric cars are driving there right now – here in Europe – using the very ideologies you are introducing. And you're destroying the industry. The fact that you jump into a pool without water and pretend to beat a world record – yes, a world record, in stupidity you could say – is your business, but you cannot drag the whole of Europe, the whole of the European economy to the bottom. And the symbol of European competitiveness is to be a small electric, autonomous car, as Mrs Ursula von der Leyen says. I suggest you call him Ursula.

Madam President, I'm sorry. We have been talking for many years about how much we want to defeat Putin. And we're still in the same place, and we're even going backwards. He is becoming more insolent and ruthless. Why is that? Because we are not united in our purpose. And there is still a belief, among many parties, among many countries, among politicians, that it is possible to get along with Putin. No, you can't get along. When yesterday Polish services were fighting drones that were flying over Poland, dozens of planes were flying over Europe with Russian tourists returning from holidays. Outraged people raised this topic, because it is a symbol of how Putin, Russia, the Russians approach what we are talking about and still stand still. We have to finally act. Words are not enough. But this will happen, and we will only defeat Putin if we walk together, all in one direction.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Dear Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen, I listened very carefully to what the Commissioner said. And these are fundamental to democracy and, I believe, also to the European Union. Freedom of speech, defence against foreign influences are today really those matters, those values that are threatened in the European Union. We know this perfectly well and – also observing actions, even today’s ones, what happened in Poland related to the war in Ukraine, Putin’s attacks, various types of disinformation – we experience it every day. And it is becoming more and more our reality. Of course, we are also talking about the rule of law. Commissioner, the problem is that these important things that you have spoken about, these values that should be the foundation of our community, must be measured by an equal measure for all, regardless of whether there is a conservative or a different government in a given country of the European Union. Everyone must be judged equally. And so far, and I say this from my experience as Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, it was not so, but I want to believe...

Mr President, thank you very much. We are about to vote on a report on the security of energy supply, which means that we are going to vote on a report on the security of our countries, on the security of the European Union. Today, secure energy supplies are a guarantee of the security of the European Union and our sovereign states. If we all agree that this report should be adopted, we have a chance that it will be our common European voice on security of energy supply and it will be the only one. As I recall, the Council conclusions on this subject have previously been rejected. Unfortunately, I regret to say that also by the forces that are in this Parliament, and this is, of course, about cooperation with Russia. And I will refer here to the words of the Danish Prime Minister, who will now chair the European Presidency. It is impossible to cooperate with the aggressor, and security should be above political divisions, regardless of which side of the room we are sitting on. The Prime Minister comes from groups sitting on the left side of the room of the European Parliament. I'm here on the right. But like her, I also know from my own experience that consensus and cooperation on security is our great duty and our common cause. I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs with whom we have worked on this project for many months. This is a good consensus. We are different politically, we have different views, but we have managed to find an agreement that guarantees the security of the European Union.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Dear Minister, It is good that this document, the road map, has finally been made public by the European Commission. But it was supposed to happen much earlier, because this sluggishness also spurred all sorts of speculation that perhaps it was a return to the principle. Business as usual with Russia. Unnecessary confusion in this matter. And now the question is whether this road map will be an effective tool or whether it is simply a publication, in order to calm the mood of those who are constantly calling, like Poland, to finally end this import of Russian energy sources into the European Union. Because it is fueling Putin with money for which he can wage war. I hope that's the case. I have my doubts. Let me give you an example of Nord Stream 2. Nord Stream 2, for which there were also warnings, was consistently implemented until it turned out that it was indeed an investment that harmed the European Union when there was no exit. And a short corrigendum, if the President will allow it, because there have been lies from this lectern on the part of one of the Members here. Donald Tusk supported this project all the time and supported Angela Merkel's policy. It was only under the pressure of other European countries that he got to write...

Madam President, I'm sorry. Dear Commissioner, Mr. Secretary of State! Ladies and Gentlemen, Poland was the first country to provide very extensive assistance in the first hours of the war in Ukraine. We sent weapons, we sent ammunition, we received refugees from Ukraine. Poland has shown Europe how to support Ukraine. We talked before the outbreak of this war about the dangers of the Kremlin's policy. We warned that not seeing what Putin is doing could end tragically. And that's what happened. Ukraine needs to be supported. We must all strive for peace on Ukraine's terms. But above all, the European Union and the European Commission must be consistent. President von der Leyen spoke today about the adoption of a roadmap for abandoning Russian energy sources. But this document was supposed to be released a few months ago. I wonder why he didn't show up just now. Beyond words, there must be actions. And one more thing: we must not forget...

This is the biggest problem in Europe right now and we need to wake up. Finally, we need to reflect and learn from history. Today, Europe needs a strong economy, a strong industry. This road, which was adopted a few years ago, leads nowhere. That is what this discussion is about today. You are preparing a plan to correct what you yourself have broken. And there will be more debates, more plans, and the European economy will be in a worse condition, it will collapse and those who benefit from it will be happy. Today, we are allocating huge billions to the Green Deal and, at the same time, we are allocating further billions to...

Madam President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Mr. Minister, I'm sorry. I regret to say that this plan is, unfortunately, worthless. Why is that? This is because it ignores the most serious reason that has contributed to the collapse of European industry, including the steel industry, namely the Green Deal. You are pretending that it is not the Green Deal and the regulations introduced precisely through this climate ideology, which is being pushed through in the European Union, that are contributing to the collapse of the industrial sector. China, India and other countries that produce cheaper steel send it to Europe and are satisfied with our stupidity and naivety that we are constantly wading into this ideology. Because what's it all about? The Green Deal is causing huge costs and an industrial catastrophe, but it is still being implemented and billions more are being spent on it. Now they are trying to repair this damage with the next billions that will be pushed through. And yet the Green Deal continues to be implemented. Only a move away from the Green Deal can save the European industry and steel industry.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. I listened attentively to your speech. You focused primarily on crisis management in relation to natural disaster risks. But the document you published on preparedness takes the matter more broadly. Let me focus on this second dimension. First of all, I doubt, it also results from my experience, when I was the prime minister of the Polish government, whether central management at the level of the European Union in such crisis situations is the best idea. We certainly need support, solidarity and cooperation. There's no doubt about it. However, in crisis situations, you have to act quickly and you have to make decisions here and now. I'm afraid the clerk's machine will be too slow. And the second reflection, which comes very shortly in this connection. The boundary between support, assistance, the desire to defend a democratic process and the attempt to interfere in democratic processes in individual Member States is very narrow, very thin. In recent months, we have also seen...

Madam President, I'm sorry. Dear Commissioner, The European car industry is a victim of the Green Deal and I think it is obvious to all of us here. And today we are debating, wondering how to save jobs, how to prevent Europeans from being excluded from communication. We can have these fantasies that people will be able to afford to buy electric, expensive cars, put in between fairy tales. This will not be the case and many thousands of people will be deprived of the opportunity to move. On the other hand, we are talking about jobs. Practically every day we get information about the fact that subsequent plants make redundancies. But today we are wondering what to do to continue this Green Deal and still save the car industry, i.e. de facto add to something that we already know will be destroyed, because the Green Deal project leads to this economic and competitive disaster. There is only one solution: We need the car industry in Europe and for social and economic reasons. And the solution is one simple: The Green Deal must be rejected.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if anyone thinks today, as I said in this previous debate, that Europe can afford to leave the alliance with the United States, that it can afford to leave NATO, it is profoundly wrong. And it is those who say and think so who act according to what Putin wants. Europe needs to think about its own energy security. We have sufficient resources to guarantee this security. We need to have a wise policy that is safe for us. And you have to arm yourself, ladies and gentlemen, not make a dream.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Dear Commissioner, What is this clean deal? In short, it's like this: from one pocket, the European Union is to draw more and more money for the Green Deal, and from the other, more and more money to repair the damage caused by this bad project. We are talking all day today about security, about the need to rebuild Europe's defence, about the need to build a European defence industry. But in order to produce tanks, you need steel, and in order to produce steel, you need steel mills that need coking coal. The defense industry was destroyed. There are practically no smelters today. More mines are being closed. So how are we supposed to produce this defense industry? How do we make the tanks we all need? Do they have to be electric? A symbol of the success of European climate policy is a plastic bottle with a permanent cap attached to it. And our symbol is to be the tank that will defend Europe.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. The war is going on here and now, and the actions we have to take must be taken immediately. Of course, a discussion on the future of Europe's defence and security is necessary and it is good that it is going on. But, ladies and gentlemen, do you remember the Versailles summit in 2022? After all, there were also discussions about what to do to increase Europe's defence capabilities. After three years, we are in the same place. Well, maybe the difference is that in the meantime, economically, Europe has lost competitiveness, and Europe's heavy industry has practically disappeared. So where are we right now? All those who think we can do without NATO and all those who are trying to offend the United States right now are making a huge mistake. We have to learn, we have to move forward. Polish President Andrzej Duda proposed to the Polish government to change the constitution and enter 4% of GDP from the Polish budget as guaranteed defense funds, despite the fact that Poland already spends 5% of GDP. I hope that the Polish government will accept this proposal, that the government majority will accept this proposal, and I hope that other NATO member states will understand that it is necessary to fulfil their obligations in order for Europe to be safe.

Madam President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, In the previous legislature, the European Commission led by President von der Leyen led to a deep crisis in the European economy, a lack of competitiveness, a deep crisis concerning the security and standard of living of Europeans. All this was caused, among others, by the Green Deal, the migration pact. In this term of office, the European Commission, led by the same President von der Leyen, decided to bravely tackle the problems it had itself generated in the previous term. How's he gonna do it? It will continue the Green Deal. It will continue with the migration pact, and it has also added the Mercosur agreement, which is hitting European agriculture. Europeans are getting worse, less and less safe. The prices of energy and current life are soaring. Further plants fall, further industrial plants are closed. People are losing their jobs. Can this be remedied? You can do it. What do you need to do? Give up the Green Deal, Mercosur and the migration pact.

Madam President, thank you very much. Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioners, Indeed, only a month has passed since the last Council, and we are already in a completely different geopolitical reality. And it's time to learn from the mistakes that have been made in previous years. Listening to President von der Leyen, however, I have the impression that, although he says that it is necessary to take into account, for example, Mr Draghi's comments, to strengthen the competitiveness of the European economy, he still shows the same direction, which unfortunately has led to an economy that is less competitive and that Europe has huge problems and crises. And it all started from the moment it was forcibly pushed through, and all the time we are going in that direction, the Green Deal. Madam President, we need to move away from fossil fuels, we need to strengthen energy. That's all right. The only question is this: Why did Germany start all its coal-fired power plants? Why do they want to buy new coal deposits in Poland, for example? The President is talking about the Marcosur agreement. Today, European farmers will be on strike in front of the European Parliament, here. They are not happy with this agreement. I hope, as a former Polish Prime Minister, that the Polish Presidency, which began its work in the European Union, will be the moment and the Presidency that will lead to the fact that Europe, indeed, and the European Union, will change this wrong direction and finally wake up.

Madam President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, The problem of high energy prices, the lack of competitiveness of the European economy and the fact that we are starting to have more and more serious problems is due to one simple reason. And this is the reason for the Green Deal – an ill-conceived, unadapted programme, a programme that has been pushed through purely for political and ideological reasons. Of course, we all know that transformation must happen, but not in this way. Lessons must be learned from these mistakes. People should be able to afford heating, to pay their bills. Entrepreneurs should have a chance to produce here in Europe. It is in the interest of all of us, it is in the interest of the European Union. Meanwhile, it has led to the fact that today people pay electricity bills and cry; Entrepreneurs are tearing their hair off, firing people, and shutting down their businesses. Therefore, in the next term of office of the European Commission, it is necessary to draw conclusions and finally adapt the Commission's programmes to the real possibilities and needs of Europeans.

Mr President, thank you very much. Dear Commissioner, If today we are talking about disinformation and provocations, I am waiting for someone to finally apologize to the Polish services that closed the Russian spy Gonzalez. But it was then that there were rwetes and shouts in many circles, which accused Poles of detaining and oppressing an innocent journalist. The Gonzalez case shows a more complex situation with regard to disinformation and Russian influence in individual European Union countries. We are focusing and talking here primarily about this digital plane. Extremely important of course, and it must be under special control, but Gonzalez was the pet of many liberal-left salons in Poland and when he was closed down, as I mentioned earlier, there were immediately accusations that an innocent journalist, a guru for many of these elites, was wrongly detained. However, when he landed in Moscow and was greeted by Putin, these voices went silent, but no one apologised to the services. This shows that we should not only be interested in this digital space, but we should also focus on what is happening among the liberal-leftist elites, those media that also dictate certain standards to the public and impose a narrative.

Madam President, thank you very much. Dear Prime Minister, This was supposed to be a debate on the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency – very important issues. We were supposed to talk about the economy, about security, about working for people, about what is most important for Europeans today. Meanwhile, this debate has turned into a court over Hungary, the Hungarian government democratically elected by the sovereign Hungarian people. Mrs von der Leyen gave an outrageous speech. No one gave it the power to review the independent governments of sovereign states. And I want to remind her that the European Union is made up of sovereign states, and Mrs von der Leyen is not the queen of Europe. And I also want to say one more thing: You talk a lot about democracy, you talk a lot about the rule of law, but how do you understand it? When your friends, your colleagues, rule, it is democratic and law-abiding. Look at what's happening in Poland right now. The rule of law is broken at every step. Are you guys talking about this? Is that bothering you? No, I don't! Because your colleague Donald Tusk is the Polish Prime Minister at the moment.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Ladies and Gentlemen, The car industry in the European Union is dying, people are losing their jobs, the economy is in trouble. Are any conclusions drawn from this situation, which is caused by the decisions taken in recent years in the European Union, the projects prepared by the European Commission and taken here by Parliament? Yes, they are. President von der Leyen announced that this line would continue. What does that mean? This means that the industry will have more and more problems, more and more people will lose their jobs. Who will benefit from this? First of all, it will benefit the Chinese, who are very happy to enter the European market with their products. The alternative for Europeans is electric cars. Only that people do not want to buy them because they are very expensive, and even if they choose them, it is not those produced in Europe, but those produced in China, because they are cheaper, because producers clearly say that energy prices in Europe are too high and that they have problems with production costs. In fact, what has been taken away from Europeans is, above all, freedom of choice.

Mr President, Dear Commissioner, Ladies and Gentlemen, The European Union's economy is in a worsening state. Companies either shut down their production or relocate it outside the European Union. People are losing their jobs. The cost of living is increasing. What is the reason for this? You may wonder what the reasons are, but I think everyone here in this Chamber knows that these are, among other things, the wrong decisions that have been made here in the European Union in recent years. The Green Deal, everything related to these ideas, has led to this very situation. The European Council will discuss competitiveness at its next meeting. And do you think that there is some reflection or will there be a debate about what to do to change these reasons to move away from those policies that have led to the fact that precisely this competitiveness of the European economy does not exist? No, on the contrary, this line will continue exactly. If we act in this way, the economy of the European Union will soon be absolutely, completely uncompetitive.