Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. Representatives of the Commission! This is a very important and necessary report, which is a continuation of the work of the European Parliament from the previous legislature. This report argues that the work of our committee is essential, because in fact other committees in the European Parliament will not replace it. I believe that this report is a signal that the work of our committee can be extended for another period. I believe that the information that appeared there about Russia today takes on a different meaning. Even those who were skeptical today understand that Russia has run a certain, whole disinformation campaign. Of course, this report does not only talk about Russia, but today, in the context of what is happening in Ukraine, we are talking mainly about Russia. This war has been going on for a long time, in the military dimension, the thirteenth day, but in fact for Moscow this war is going on for a long time. Of course, there are wordings, in this report, which raise my concerns. There was absolutely no need for the Pegasus case in the context of my country. Such a metaphor: Sometimes a good student gets a bad grade. This report is great. This passus is completely unnecessary. I think that this report should be a signal to the political elites that disinformation, fake news campaigns, especially from large countries, those governed in a dictatorial way, should not be underestimated, because they know why they are doing it. They want to harm democracy, they want to harm the West as such. We have to remember that.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Friends and colleagues! I was in Burkina Faso. I remember my conversations with Europeans who lived there for years. I asked about the relationship between the Christian majority and the Muslim minority. I heard the answer ‘everything is fine’. A week after I left, there was the first attack by Islamic terrorists. I think that this coup d'état, which is evil, cannot be understood without Islamic terrorism. This terrorism showed the weakness of the army, an army that was frustrated. And I think that was one of the main reasons for this coup d'état. It is, of course, an evil to be condemned. What is happening in Burkina Faso, as well as in other Sahel countries, is also (which is perhaps less talked about in this room) part of the game conducted by Russia, which exports weapons there, but also offers its services, the services of these famous Wagner soldiers.

Mr President, thank you very much. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Elections in the Philippines in three months. The same Filipinos who have decided that their president is Duterte will decide who will rule their country. It is not us, it is not the European Union, we will decide this. I think that what is happening in the Philippines needs our attention, because it is a country that has many connections, also cultural and even religious, with Europe. The fact that today the authorities of this country are fighting drug traffickers by going beyond the law (as our joint resolution says) is due to the fact that the previous authorities of this country did not pay effective attention to this great challenge and the great problem in this country. However, it is certainly worth looking for what connects. Let's remember about cooperation with this country, let's also remember about values that are common.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Oh, Mrs. Spokesperson! Mr President of the Commission, I think this is the time when we should talk about the most important things and the problems that the spokesperson faces in his work. I have the impression that one of the problems that the Ombudsman should address is the issue of the democratic deficit, the issue of the lack of transparency of the decision-making process in the European Union. I remember in the 2004-2009 legislature that was the plan – D for democracy – because it was considered that there was not enough democracy in the decision-making process. After a few years, we can say the same thing. I think it is necessary to say very clearly that the Ombudsman is also about making these processes more transparent, otherwise there will be a lack of trust in the European Union among our voters and taxpayers.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Congratulations to the President on his election. We are from neighboring countries, as a neighbor I keep my fingers crossed for the neighbor. I will not start my speech with politics, because we are all human beings. I think that condolences and condolences should flow from this room to the families of those who died in Kazakhstan. In my opinion, we should do so and wish this country and its society that, as for the last 30 years, it continues to be (as already mentioned here) a country that is an example of stability in post-Soviet Asia, in Central Asia. I have been to Kazakhstan 11 times. I'll never say I'm an expert, but I think I know a little bit about the situation in this country. For those who have not been there once and are making far-reaching conclusions, I would like to wish modesty. I think that today we must wish our partner - because Kazakhstan is a very important partner of the European Union, one of the 10 largest countries in the world - precisely stability.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am one of those – and there are not so many of us in this room – who remember the award of the Sakharov Prize to Memorial twelve years ago. We remember the visit of Mrs. Alexeyeva, Mr. Kovalev, this different face of Russia, as well as their sometimes bitter words to the West. I think, however, that what is happening with Memorial at the moment shows a certain regression, because this organization could have functioned a dozen years ago, it could have functioned only a few years ago. It was on the sidelines, it was pushed back, the repressions as they are today, there was then. I think that this also shows perhaps the fear of the Russian power elite, but it is also a signal of the necessity of our solidarity.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. We can still give a thousand speeches that will rightly criticize Mr. Putin, but let's think about our reaction not so much verbal (it is needed), but political. Well, I think we should learn from the past, from what happened at the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, when the lack of Western unity and the blockage of the road map for Georgia by the three countries caused a few months later Russia's intervention in the country. Today, we should remain united at all costs. It is good that we pass sanctions against the Russian Federation every six months. However, it must be made clear that any attempts by some countries to get along with Russia harm the entire European Union, and not only the countries that, like my country, Poland, border Russia. I believe that it is necessary to be in solidarity, because this is a fundamental European value today. Solidarity in the context of Nord Stream may sound strange, but we must be solidarity.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr President of the Court! It's like in the American film "A year at the same time". We meet here every year, we always get a solid report. Mr. President, thank you for that. I draw attention to the stabilisation over the last few years of the estimated error in payments from the Union budget at a rather low level of 2,7 %. It was the same last year and two years ago. This year, however, spending in the EU budget is growing at the highest risk. In cohesion, the error rate decreased by almost 1%. In terms of natural resources, this area is at the same level. I think it is worth emphasizing that, when it comes to expenditure in the form of reimbursement of incurred costs, the error rate continued to be a significant decrease, almost by a percentage, of less than 5% to 4% this year. Finally, it should be noted that this report should be seen in the context of several years, the multiannual nature of the European Union's intervention, net financial corrections. And here, according to the methodology of the European Commission, the level of risk in the implementation of programmes is less than 1%, which is well below the materiality threshold. This is generally good news, although you have to sniff it cold. We live in difficult times. Thank you for this report.

Mr President, thank you very much. I am disappointed by the results of the summit in Slovenia, the EU-Western Balkans summit, because these countries deserve to be given a road map for their future accession to the European Union. I remember our visits, and Mr. David McAllister also remembers them. A few years ago, we told the representatives of these countries that their accession would take place in the late 1920s, in this decade – this would not be the case. Let us remember the political consequences, namely, these are countries that have been historically in the orbit of Russia's influence, and if we push them away from the Union or prolong this path to the Union, then Russia will play on it and benefit from it. This is worth saying, although of course in the first period you have to accept Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and other countries. However, this is more complicated.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the European Parliament! We have just had a debate on the situation in Rwanda. And in this case, in the case of the hero who saved thousands of people, we were united. On the protection of life, on abortion, this Parliament, and probably every Parliament in the world, including the Texas State Congress, is divided because it is a dispute, a civilisational dispute, a dispute that is in the present world. I think we should talk about these things in a very balanced way, understand the other side's reasons. I think we also need to talk about the rights of those who cannot defend themselves, including the rights of children. In my opinion, it is really necessary to leave this matter to individual countries, and in this case one of the US states.

Mr President, thank you very much. Commissioner, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a very sad story, the story of a hero who, during the genocide, in the time of contempt, at a time when people thought primarily about saving their own lives, saved the lives of other people. He saved hundreds, more than a thousand of them. A feature film on the subject was made. And now he's in prison himself. It is a sad story, but also a story of the relationship between us, the European Union and Rwanda. I was in Rwanda, watching the moving genocide museum in the capital, Kigali, and I think that we European nations should both learn from what is in this museum, but also the hosts should respect human rights, especially as we support this country economically and humanitarianly.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, In one of his novels, Ernest Hemingway quoted a 16th-century English poet as his motto, who wrote, ‘Don’t ask to whom the bell rings: It beats you.’ What is happening in Belarus is part of a broader geopolitical plan. Russia is behind this. We have to be aware of that. I thank all those Members who have stood before me and will probably stand for human rights in Belarus, for freedom in a European country, in a country that is part of European culture. It's very important. On the other hand, we, as politicians, must see it in a broader geopolitical context, because in fact, in the shadow of what is happening there, in the shadow of all this, Mr. Putin, the Russian Federation, the Kremlin stand. It is part of the fight against the West, and therefore the fight against us, against our values. It's worth remembering.

Commissioner, I'm sorry. Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am co-author of this resolution. It describes the facts. Our demands are also described in the motion for a resolution, or better said, demands. And I think my previous speakers have said a lot. However, I would like to say that the situation in which the death penalty operates is not just happening somewhere far away on another continent. It also happens on ours. And this is in a country bordering the European Union. And even with two Member States of the European Union, including mine. I am talking about Belarus. If we want to be credible, if we want no one to accuse us, the European Parliament, the European Union, of double standards, then we should also protest very strongly against the situation in which such things take place, both formally and practically, just abroad. I say this because I am pleased that today, across political divisions, virtually all political groups are speaking out on Saudi Arabia. However, let's remember about other countries that also require our intervention. I think we should dialogue with the Saudi authorities and pass on our arguments.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Less than three weeks ago, a new president was elected, which, let me remind you, is called the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ebrahim Raisi was co-responsible for what happened 33 years ago – the massacre of 3 000 political prisoners. Today he is the head of state. I think we should also talk about it loudly, because it shows the wider context. I am glad that here we are united from right to left in a just cause. The demand for the doctor's release is something natural and obvious, something important, but we must also remember that this is not just about one person. This is about women's rights, this is about sentencing people in a country where the number of death sentences is one of the highest, if not the highest, in the world. It is good that we speak with one voice on this issue.

Mr President, thank you very much. I was in Bangladesh. We may not be very aware of this, but it is a country with a population of several million more than Russia. It is a great country that has a very difficult economic situation. And that's probably the reason for what we're talking about right now. The tragedy of eight years ago shows how much this country has to do. It is good that the European Parliament is talking about this. I think that some political families in this Parliament can do more. For example, our fellow socialists within their European family can communicate with the British Labour Party, of which the daughter of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is a member. I think this is also a form of pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities. It's worth taking advantage of. It seems that our common commitment in this matter is a good thing, a necessary one. And it's going well.