Debate contributions by Kamila GASIUK-PIHOWICZ

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, before we adopt the new rules, we must first focus on enforcing the existing ones. The cost of ineffective enforcement of EU product safety rules is around €11.5 billion per year. Only in relation to rectifiable accidents. Harmful online commercial practices cost EU consumers another nearly €8 billion a year. Therefore, let's first focus on reducing these costs, using the tools that we already have. Upcoming acts of digital integrity cannot be the next edition of the Digital Service Act. Instead of creating new rules, we should, for example, develop guidelines that explain how to implement existing ones. Such guidelines should not further complicate the situation or attempt to rewrite the law, but should support companies and authorities in applying it. Adding more regulations while we are still implementing the current one is counterproductive and creates confusion among consumers, entrepreneurs or authorities who are supposed to watch over their implementation. Our legal framework needs to be adapted to the digital age to effectively counter addiction, dark pattern (mechanisms that use game elements to become more attractive, especially for young users) and unfair practices of large Chinese e-commerce platforms. However, we already have a lot of tools to do this. The new rules must be targeted and based on the prevention of clearly identified gaps, sound impact assessment and stakeholder consultation. It is time for simplification, clarification and effective enforcement.

Mr President, thank you very much. No one is above the law no matter how powerful he is, how rich he is. This is especially true of tech giants. I welcomed the Commission's decision because it sends a clear signal of our commitment to law enforcement. This decision concerns elementary justice in the European digital economy, the protection of fair competition and freedom of the press, two key pillars of our European democracy. Holding big tech companies accountable for abusing their dominant position is our duty to the media and, above all, to citizens. For too long, this abuse has distorted the advertising market and deprived journalists of their fair share of revenues. This clearly weakened media pluralism, and in particular hit small, independent local media, the ones that are the first to provide us with reliable, reliable information straight from the source. And it is our duty to create and maintain a level playing field in the digital world, so that not only large corporations, but also small local and regional media in Central Europe, such as small local media in Poland, have access to the market and receive fair remuneration for their work. Finally, I would like to stress one more point: Beyond enforcement, our task is also to invest in and support innovative solutions that will help build a sustainable and sustainable business model for independent media. Equal opportunities in the digital world mean stronger media, more innovation and a stronger Europe.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, We have to be credible. We have to be fast. We have to be smart. Otherwise, we will lose in this race for market dominance of new technologies with America, with China, and maybe with other Asian countries. Europe has the best digital law in the world, but too often we do not use its full power. In the UCPD (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive) we have provided for very high financial penalties for online sellers who cheat customers, send dangerous goods or fakes. However, the implementation of these rules in the Member States is still protracted. Examples can be multiplied. The same goes for DSA or GPSR. These are great tools, but they must be used, because today both entrepreneurs and consumers lose out on the lack of their implementation. I think about Polish consumers, Polish e-commerce companies, small online stores, but also about our champions, such as Allegro. Who's threatening them? Who brings billions of illegal, often dangerous, products to Europe? These are primarily Chinese platforms, such as Shein, Temu, which overtook European companies because they cynically exploit vulnerabilities in the system. These platforms do not bear the costs of legal compliance, certification, testing, security, handling complaints. They benefit from subsidies in their own countries. They use unfair practices in applications that make users addictive and artificially conquer sales. Let's put an end to this in practice, not just on paper. Let us do this for our entrepreneurs, but also for our citizens.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Imagine that you want to open a bank account in another country. Well, it's a simple matter, isn't it? Well, not at all. Each country has different procedures, different forms, different fees. The same applies to VAT refunds or bankruptcy procedures. The Single Market was created 30 years ago and this is our biggest European achievement, but it is still full of barriers and instead of investing in innovation, our small and medium-sized enterprises spend 40% of the IT budget on compliance itself and lose their advantage over competition from China, where there is simply no such burden. That is why today we need to implement concrete solutions. Firstly, the 28th regime for companies, i.e. one common set of rules that would work across the Union. You meet these criteria and can operate throughout the European Union. Radical improvement of the Single Digital Gateway: a simple digital ‘one-stop shop’ where the trader must find all information and procedures in a comprehensible language. And finally, the end of Gold-plating, i.e. when countries, when implementing EU directives, add their own rules and additional obligations. And as a result, instead of simplifications, we have additional barriers. Enough excuses. This is a game for the future of our entrepreneurs, for innovation, for jobs, for the competitiveness of the whole Union. Globalization is accelerating. Geopolitical tensions are intensifying. And Europe needs courage, resilience and economic independence today.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today Poland is fighting on two fronts. On the one hand, Russian drones appear in the European sky, but on the other hand, we are also dealing with great Russian disinformation. We hear here statements about the climate, about coal, about Nord Stream... I mean, really? About the past? In the face of Russian aggression, Poland needs one common effort. We have a strong army that shot down drones. We spend 5% of our GDP on defence. We are the largest beneficiary of the SAFE program. We have also strengthened Poland's position in alliances, in NATO, in the European Union. And today, here in this room, instead of building security, we talk about the weakness of the Polish army, about the fact that Polish, Ukrainian drones attacked. The Kremlin's narrative is repeated. I ask all of you to devote at least 10% of this energy to joint preparations - because this is a responsibility towards Poland, towards Europe, towards our citizens. Because a united Poland and Europe is invincible.

Madam President, dear colleagues, Mr Commissioner, simplifying the rules and fully implementing our legislation concerning the single market is an essential condition for surviving globally and making Europe competitive. Small companies spend too many resources on compliance, on finding information about the rules they need to follow – all at the expense of innovation and productivity. It is not just one big barrier that they need to overcome, but hundreds of small obstacles that stand in their way to scale up and grow. Our lack of enforcement allows unfair competition to get ahead of European business. Chinese e-commerce platforms bypass our rules and make huge profits while European businesses are struggling. They only do it because they can. We need to finalise the work on legislation proposed for the omnibus simplification package and, more than that, our resources should go towards more enforcement. Let us use the DSA, the UCPD and the Consumer Rights Directive and let us make this framework effective.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Holidays are for rest, but what happens if you have to cancel them due to exceptional circumstances, such as a pandemic or war? Thanks to the new directive, it will be possible to opt out of departure in advance without incurring any costs. During the pandemic, the massive cancellation of leave led to huge delays in refunds, but also resulted in a loss of liquidity in small travel agencies. To address this, the Directive introduces a more flexible solution – vouchers. You will still be able to receive a refund, but you will also be able to choose a voucher that may be worth more than the amount originally paid. In the end, if we do not use the voucher, the consumer will receive a refund anyway. What if the travel agency goes bankrupt? The Directive protects consumers. It introduces safeguards to ensure that returns to consumers are prioritised. Finally, information on consumer rights will be clear and available in advance. Simple, clear, practical recipes to have a quiet holiday.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Today, in the face of the threat, we really cannot divide European society and we cannot replicate Russian disinformation. We cannot really allow any relativization of the fact that Russia is the biggest mortal enemy of the whole of Europe and that it really deserves sanctions. This morning, the remains of a Russian drone fell in the Polish village of Czosnówka, 30 kilometres from my family’s home. And the war is very close. We picked up fighters, Poland shot down Russian drones, defended the European sky. This is the state of Europe on the eastern flank. Therefore, we must show that we are absolutely strong, absolutely united. Moscow understands only the language of power.

Ladies and Gentlemen, raising recycling targets cannot be done at all costs, especially when it leads to the creation of new dependencies on strategic rivals such as China. The automotive industry is a pillar of the European economy. It directly employs almost 2.5 million Europeans, including over 200,000 Poles. And that makes my country the third largest employment center in the industry. For Poland, it is a sector of strategic importance not only economically, but also socially. And our task is to protect these jobs and ensure that the transition does not come at the expense of workers and entrepreneurs, because there will be no one to support it. Let us not reduce our ambitions, but focus on technically feasible solutions. A good law must presuppose a gradual pursuit of objectives. Therefore, it is good that the recycling targets for plastic have been reduced from 25 to 20% and caravans, semi-trailers and small manufacturers have been excluded from the regulation. This approach is particularly important for Poland, where small and medium-sized companies are the backbone of the automotive industry.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. 19 billion euros per year. That's how much Europeans spend on products that can poison us, hurt us, destroy our economies. Last year, the European Union received as many as 4.6 billion so-called low-value shipments below EUR 150, of which 91% came from China. In Poland, we have a great, well-known Allegro platform, 25 years of building security, supporting local entrepreneurs, protecting consumers. Unfortunately, last month Temu became the leader on the Polish market, ahead of Allegro by one and a half million active users in a very short time. Platforms are simply growing faster than the law keeps up. Their actions do not affect them, because they know one thing: They can break the rules before anyone can punish them. Fast profit, no responsibility. If we want to defend consumers and fair business, we need to act now. Firstly, we should abolish the €150 threshold for low-value goods. Secondly, specialised e-commerce enforcement teams must be set up at European level. And thirdly, we need to reform the CPC Regulation, which is about consumer protection cooperation, because pan-European infringements can only be effectively prosecuted at European level. Europe must act as one in protecting consumers. Otherwise it will be ineffective.

Mr President, thank you very much. Today, the Commission presented an ambitious strategy for a simpler and stronger Single Market. Fragmentation and overly complex rules cost us huge amounts of money, up to €457 billion a year. And removing these barriers could double the benefits of the single market, strengthening the global competitiveness of the European Union, which we so badly need in the face of growing economic tensions, for example with China or the United States. Imagine a small business owner who plans to expand into foreign markets, and in the first country he wants to enter, it turns out that the already complicated provisions of the GDPR are interpreted differently than in him. He resigns, tries in another Member State, where he encounters the need to block 100,000 euros as a guarantee in a special bank account. In the end, he makes an attempt in a third country. Before he can start his business there, he has to pay very high registration fees. It is precisely these types of barriers that effectively discourage European entrepreneurs. The most important objective of the strategy is to remove the so-called terrible dozens of the most serious barriers and to create the 28th regime of company law of the European Union, uniform for the whole Union. Today, the implementation of this strategy is a matter of our security. Today we need to act really quickly and decisively, as the European Commission has just shown, because a strong single market is simply a secure European Union.

Mr President, Commissioner, dear colleagues, the internal market is one of our greatest achievements and yet our businesses and our consumers still face barriers, are confronted with unpredictable legislative changes and a lack of consistency in the implementation of our single market rules. We need to simplify our rules we currently have in place, making sure that we keep those that protect consumers and entrepreneurs, but remove those that create excessive burdens. It is not enough to cut norms on paper, to delay them or to simply exempt certain categories. We need to change them in substance in order to make them easier to comply with. Online, our businesses face the challenge of complying with all these norms while foreign traders, especially from Asia, China ignore our rules and yet face little or no consequences at all. This is not a fair situation. The Commission is currently working on a new Digital Fairness Act (DFA). Before this is presented, the Commission should present a plan to cut unnecessary norms and only then legislate, in a very targeted manner. The next DFA cannot be another DSA. Businesses and consumers need predictability and a level playing field through the enforcement of existing norms.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, one of the biggest challenges for protecting 450 million European consumers is online commerce. In 2024, 70% of consumers shopped online and bought absolutely basic necessities such as clothing, cosmetics and toys. And in such products used on a daily basis, non-compliance with safety regulations can have very serious consequences for health and even for life. This problem concerns in particular goods purchased by Asian platforms such as Shein and Temu. Let me give you a few examples: plastic toys containing endocrine disruptors 240 times above the acceptable limit, infant carriers bursting at the seams, toys falling apart in the hands, posing a choking risk, sensitising cosmetics and even containing carcinogenic ingredients, clothes soaked in toxic chemicals. Europe has legislation to protect consumers. European businesses are making a huge effort and incur significant costs to provide consumers with the safest and best possible products. Let us not allow unfair competition of sellers from outside the European Union, breaking the law, disregarding people's health. That is why, firstly, I call on the Commission to set up a task force on e-commerce in order to coordinate the activities of all services at European Union level. Secondly, it is finally time to abolish the duty exemption for products worth up to €150. We all know that this regulation is being abused to avoid tariffs on products of actually higher value. Last year, more than 4 billion Chinese duty-free consignments arrived in Europe, and this number has doubled since 2023. And thirdly, on consumer day, I wish 450 million people in the Union to buy European products because they are safe, healthy and of good quality. And I wish the Commission a strong and effective Buy European campaign.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, This is a critical moment. Security is not just a well-armed military. Security is also a competitive and strong economy in which entrepreneurs produce services and products rather than performing dozens of unnecessary duties imposed by the administration. Poland was experiencing legislative madness by the previous PiS government, which passed 200,000 pages of legal acts. And with this experience, stopping legislative madness is one of the priorities of the Polish Presidency. We already operate in Poland. We have a set of proposals for deregulation of the Polish economy developed together with entrepreneurs. We know that redundant regulation is also a crutch for the European economy. In a world that has become even more competitive, we need to change that and we don't have time to waste. Last week, I participated in an event with representatives of the Polish cosmetics industry, who presented us with ‘tsunamis of EU regulations’ to which they have to adapt. There are more than 300 specific sector-specific regulations for cosmetics only. They change so often that running a business becomes unpredictable. That is why I am pleased to see the first Omnibus proposal, and I appreciate President von der Leyen's commitment to making life easier for our entrepreneurs. But deregulation must be more than a change to new rules or a postponement of their application. There has to be radically less regulation. Let's fight for our entrepreneurs. It is they who generate the wealth of the European Union. And let's wake up so it's not too late.

Commissioner, I'm sorry. Restrictions on the export of chips from the US are an attempt to undermine the integrity of the European digital market. They are an attempt to undermine the unity of Europe. And we cannot agree to restrict access to processors for more than half of the Member States of the European Union. Artificial intelligence today is not only a rocket engine for economies, for the development of economies. Today, it is microprocessors, not just fighters, that determine victory on the battlefield. The transatlantic partnership is not just about buying arms. This partnership also involves the joint development of critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence. As you can see, graduates of Polish universities are good for our ally when they develop artificial intelligence in the United States, just like the head of scientists at Open AI Dr. Jakub Pachocki, a graduate of the University of Warsaw. However, if they would like to develop AI in Poland, they will not have chips to secure the necessary computing power. It's hard to call it anything other than a brain drain. How does the European Commission intend to respond to the dangerous precedent of dividing the Union? What steps does it intend to take to ensure that the new administration in the United States lifts unfair and dangerous restrictions?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Freedom of speech is not the same as spreading lies online with impunity. Freedom of expression does not mean disinformation. Freedom of speech does not give the right to manipulate the free will of citizens and interfere in democratic elections. This year, 30 million Polish citizens will go to the polls to elect their president, and the decision must remain in the hands of Poles, not in the hands of X, TikTok or Meta. In Poland, we have experienced the cruelty of totalitarianism and dictatorship, so we cannot allow Elon Musk, someone who supports German right-wing extremists who believe that Poland led to World War II, to push us into the arms of a new axis of evil with his algorithms. We won free and fair elections in 1989 and now we will defend them because we know what censorship is. We were her victims, and we'll never bring her back. However, this does not mean that we should tolerate the spread of lies and disinformation on social media. And what else is Mr. Zuckerberg's decision to stop working with independent fact-checkers in the United States? Other than an incentive to spread hate speech, intimidation and cyberbullying. Those who commit these acts now know that they can act without restriction, and we cannot allow it. I believe that Vice-President Virkkunen will fully enforce the Digital Services Act and send a loud and clear message: those who do business in Europe must respect our principles and values. European democracy is not for sale.

Mr President, thank you very much. In Europe, it is the people who decide who wins the elections. Not Moscow, not Beijing, not TikTok's algorithm. What we have seen in Romania is an attack on democracy and on Europe itself, because this is what the Russian hybrid war looks like in practice. In this war, social media has become a weapon for provocation, for manipulating elections, for sowing chaos, for destroying our democracy. 800 fake accounts, an army of bots, over a million euros, hundreds of paid influencers. Eighty-five thousand cyberattacks are part of the Russian attack in Romania, which resulted in the promotion of a candidate favorable to them within three weeks. Similar attacks are taking place in Europe, including Poland. Yesterday, the Polish media reported that a year ago, during the parliamentary elections, we were dealing with a mass hacking campaign, during which 187 thousand SMS messages were sent with agitation regarding the then ruling party. Control of screens in 20 shopping malls was taken over. Freedom of speech does not mean allowing the manipulation and deception of reality. Presidential elections in Poland in five months. Protecting elections is the protection of democracy, and it is our responsibility to ensure that EU citizens have access to real information, that they can make their own decisions, not that of the TikTok algorithm. I welcome the Commission's decision today. We can't be passive. This is a war, we must defend ourselves.

Mr. Commissioner, I would like to thank you. Colleagues, my friends! The European Union is at the forefront of regulation to protect consumers in the digital market, while millions of Europeans are using products that do not meet European Union standards. Why is that? Firstly, because the European market is flooded by Chinese subsidised goods sold at unbeatable low prices. 2023 year 2 billion packages, 2024 year twice as many packages - 4 billion. There are also dangerous products coming in. The letter I received from 100 Polish toy manufacturers pointed to a report by Toy Industries of Europe, from which we learn that 18 out of 19 toys bought on Temu platform pose a real threat to children's safety. Thirdly, Chinese sales platforms use aggressive marketing and manipulate customers. Often, information about who sells and for how much they sell requires dozens of clicks, and in the end it is given in Chinese. What can we do to restore fair competition? First of all, except for a few exceptions, introduce customs duties on parcels worth up to EUR 150. Secondly, the Commission needs to enforce existing legislation effectively and swiftly. Thirdly, the activities of national and EU supervisors need to be coordinated. We must stop this before it is too late, before millions of products that do not meet safety standards end up in our homes, in the hands of our children, before hundreds of thousands of places in Europe disappear. We have to do it now.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, colleagues! Poland has returned to the path of the rule of law and this report is the best proof of this. In a few days, we will be celebrating the anniversary of the removal of the PiS government from power by millions of citizens, Polish women and men, who said no to lawlessness and systemic corruption. Today, the government of Donald Tusk is making a titanic effort and step by step restores the rule of law in Poland. It frees the prosecutor's office from politics. The judiciary is becoming independent again. Special services no longer cooperate with the government media in slandering opponents of power. Where there is no rule of law, evil and corruption always triumph. And so it is now in Hungary, where a small group of privileged people have built a system of total lawlessness and impunity, where PiS politicians are now seeking refuge with allegations. In Poland we have dealt with this pathology and I wish the same for my Hungarian sisters and brothers.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Oh, my friends! Today, young people mostly learn from social media. It is also a fundamental place for them to build relationships. The network brings people closer, but it also brings huge challenges. In Poland, almost 40% of teenagers have experienced insults online. Half of them have experienced appearance-related cyberbullying with huge consequences for their mental health. Social media can not be out of control, because in this way we will allow extreme, even barbaric behavior. We will allow hatred and aggression to increase. We will simply allow young people to suffer. Unfortunately, there is also impunity behind hatred, and we must end this impunity. Cyberbullying should be punished in the same way as other forms of violence. The European Commission should enforce existing law, use the Digital Services Act to impose penalties on platforms that allow such practices. We must be ruthless, effective and quick, because millions of young people are affected. As a Member of the European Parliament, but also as a mother of two, today I call on the Commission to come forward with detailed rules that will give us the right tools to fight this epidemic – the epidemic of hate, aggression, simply hatred. This is our duty.