Today in Strasbourg, during the European Parliament’s plenary session, a debate took place on the conclusions of the special European Council meeting held on February 1, 2024. ECR MEPs Anna Zalewska and Patryk Jaki spoke during the discussion.
Anna Zalewska spoke about the wave of farmer protests sweeping across Europe, as farmers oppose the EU’s climate policy and the lack of response from the politicians responsible for it. “Difficult times lie ahead. We must halt the proposals currently under consideration that are harming agriculture, as well as review those that have already been adopted,” she urged. The MEP also called for action to address the flood of products from large oligarchs at the Polish-Ukrainian border. “Although, as we know, the European Commission and the Council are their hostages,” she stated. Zalewska noted that, for the European Commission, a good farmer is one who “does not sow, plow, or raise livestock, but instead gives up their land for renewable energy—for wind and solar farms—so that someone else can make money.”
Patryk Jaki spoke about the amendment to the 2021–2027 budget and three new taxes (25% of revenue from CO2 emissions trading, a carbon footprint tax, and a levy on the profits of multinational corporations—ed.). “You’ve prepared new taxes for Europeans and aren’t even hiding the fact that it’s because you’re unable to service the debt from the previous National Recovery Plan, which—as we warned—turned out to be much more expensive,” he stated. As he noted, the higher costs stem from investments in the green transition, making the EU economy less and less competitive and life for its residents increasingly difficult and expensive. “And the worst part is that the countries that will have to bear the brunt of these new taxes—such as Poland—are the very ones you’re forcing into this green transition, because your Tusk agrees to everything,” he pointed out. Patryk Jaki stated that the upcoming elections are an opportunity for all Europeans to reverse this “crazy green ideology,” which is causing “us to find ourselves in an increasingly difficult situation while other continents are pulling ahead of us economically.” “This is a huge opportunity that Europeans must finally seize,” he emphasized.
