Speeches

Mr President, thank you very much. In three or four months, the harvest will begin. In the warehouses of farmers in the European Union there is a surplus of cereals estimated at over 20 million tonnes, of which up to 9 million tonnes are cereals in the warehouses of Polish farmers. This is, of course, the result of Russia's criminal aggression against Ukraine, but also of the mistakes made by the European Commission. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, said a year ago that the import of cereals into the European Union was very much needed. As it turned out, the abolition of customs duties to help Ukraine made the costs of this aid dramatically burden our farmers. This surplus must be removed from the market and exported to countries in need. The European Commission should find the means to do so. Russia, which is the largest player on the world cereals market, cynically and deliberately lowering prices, led to the devastation of this market and to the pushing of Ukrainian cereals, EU cereals from the markets of African countries and from Asia. Russia treats grain as a weapon, a weapon also against the European Union, not only against Ukraine. As if that were not enough, Russia and Belarus still have access to the EU market. In the face of this catastrophic situation, I call for an immediate embargo on imports of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus.

Mr President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen! Mr. Commissioner, I'm sorry. We are guilty, of course, of all help and support for Ukraine, which is resisting Putin's aggression. But this aid provided by us, by the European Union, must not lead to catastrophe, to the bankruptcy of tens of thousands of farms, also in Poland. I am convinced that mistakes have been made both at national level and at the level of the European Commission. In May last year, the Polish government actually gave up quality control, introducing the category of technical cereals. At the beginning of March, the European Commission believed that grain imports from Ukraine were desirable. There was talk of solidarity lanes, but today it is known that only a few percent of this grain, which reached the territory of the European Union, was exported, flowed further. These corridors need to be cleared. This temporary instrument for Ukraine's neighbouring countries must be continued. He doesn't interfere with the transit. Commissioner, this really needs to be done.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Ladies and Gentlemen, We owe solidarity and all kinds of support to Ukraine, also in terms of the possibility of exporting agricultural products through Ukraine. But this cannot be done in a way that leads to catastrophe, to the bankruptcy of thousands of farms in countries bordering Ukraine, including Poland. The Solidarity Lanes proved to be a fiction and the Commission ignored the problem for a long time. In February, Commissioner Wojciechowski wrote that this import of grain into the Union is desirable and the Commission will investigate the situation of front-line farmers. Commissioner, this situation we are facing is a sample of what awaits European agriculture, EU agriculture after Ukraine's integration into the single market. We need to build a strategy of selective transition periods today, but also a strategy of strengthening farms in the European Union today, in order to strengthen their resilience and competitiveness for this future time when we will have Ukraine in the European Union.

Madam President, I'm sorry. Commissioner, thank you very much. The new rules of the common agricultural policy mean a greater involvement of agriculture in environmental action. In parallel to these changes, I believe that too ambitious Green Deal targets will be implemented, as shown by the impact analysis unfortunately hidden by the European Commission. It must also be made very clear today that Member States are given much greater powers and responsibilities in exchange for implementing and achieving the objectives of the common agricultural policy. And here I ask the European Commission to look very closely at the national draft strategic plans for the implementation of agricultural policy. I know another version of the draft prepared by the Polish government and, unfortunately, also referring to experts, I must say that this draft violates Article 4 of the Strategic Plans Regulation. In fact, this project mocks real, active Polish farmers, who will not be able to get a single euro of support for direct payments - zero on half of the land used. Even worse: they will not be able to implement agri-environmental programmes in the second pillar on this land, they will not be able to implement the eco-scheme in the first pillar. I do not turn to Commissioner Wojciechowski in this matter, because unfortunately, real, active Polish farmers cannot count on his help in this matter, but the European Commission as a whole must be aware that if it accepts such draft strategic plans that openly violate the provisions of the regulations that we are about to adopt, then in the case of Poland, the Commission will take joint responsibility for the pathological situation related to informal leases. True farmers will lose because they will not be able to recover the premium for environmental activities, and landowners will lose because they will have less subsidies and the environment will not gain.

Mr President, thank you very much. Dear President, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm sorry. Polish entrepreneurs are waiting for funds from the recovery fund, local governments are waiting for these funds, the health service, which has been so badly affected in all countries, is waiting for these funds. These measures, Mr Prime Minister, are not blocked by the European Commission, by Parliament, by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Unfortunately, these measures are blocked by your government's dark game, a game designed to change the Union without changing the treaties so that you can choose from it what you want from its principles and rights. You simply want to rule without the control of an independent, independent judiciary. It is a demolition of the principles and foundations of the European Union. The European Union, which gives us security and such dynamic development. Poland has never developed so dynamically and has never been so safe. Mr Prime Minister, I am not a lawyer, you are not a lawyer either, but we both know very well, contrary to what you just said here today, that no national constitutional court has so far questioned the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty of Accession. At your request, the so-called The Constitutional Court, made up of political nominees, has done just that. By not respecting European law, you do not respect ordinary people, you do not respect your compatriots. But by the time Mr. Prime Minister, very soon. Until then.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The authors of the analysis of the impact of this strategy on EU agriculture mentioned today state that there may be a reduction in agricultural production by 20% or even 30%. If this were to happen, it would be a real disaster for the European Union's food security. This would be a real disaster for agricultural incomes and it would also be a serious problem for consumers. How does the Commission intend to check and ensure that imported agricultural products meet the very strict health and environmental requirements of European farmers? There is no Commissioner Wojciechowski, but I must say here that the symbol of Commissioner Wojciechowski's actions is the priority support for small farms with extensive production. This is good, but medium-sized and larger family farms are a cornerstone of food security in the Union. It is these farms that will carry such ambitious goals of this strategy. Unfortunately, these farms are treated by the Commissioner – to put it mildly – as stepmothers. The proof? The Commissioner very often quotes statistics from Poland: 1 300 000 farms, an average of 11 hectares. The problem is that these data are completely detached from the realities of Polish agriculture. Experts – I stress – experts in Poland state that 80% of those receiving direct payments do not carry out agricultural activity, and active farmers cannot benefit even from direct payments from agri-environmental programmes and, in the future, from eco-schemes. If this problem is not solved, then how to achieve these goals. The Commissioner isn't just helping, he's hurting. It hurts more than lack of resources.