Today in Strasbourg, on the first day of the European Parliament’s March plenary session, a debate took place on the “Omnibus” package—a new European Commission proposal on reporting rules designed to reduce bureaucracy and simplify regulations for businesses in the EU. MEPs Tobiasz Bocheński and Kosma Złotowski spoke during the discussion.
Tobiasz Bocheński said that nearly all members of the European Parliament agree that the European Union needs to quickly change course. “The Commission and the bureaucracy it has created result in more time spent on inactivity and overcoming obstacles that were concocted in the minds of leftists,” stated the PiS politician. As he emphasized, because of this reckless approach, Europeans are in grave danger, and the EU is losing the international race against China and the U.S., which, in turn, are developing faster and have more stable and innovative economies. “With such excessive bureaucracy, our continent has become the ‘sick man of the world.’ We urgently need to deregulate our economy. We must break the chains that hinder our growth,” the Polish MEP urged. According to Bocheński, the Omnibus package proposed by the European Commission is a step in the right direction, albeit a very small one. “That’s not enough. The Omnibus initiative is superficial,” said the PiS MEP, accusing the European Commission of trying to avoid making difficult decisions. “We need new deregulation measures that will scream: cuts, cuts, cuts, and more cuts! We must throw many directives in the trash, where they belong. We have a lot of work ahead of us to rid our economy of this unnecessary burden,” said Bocheński, concluding that the Omnibus proposal must be amended and expanded.
Kosma Złotowski stated: “It’s great that, once again in the last six months, we’re debating—as we do every month—plans for deregulation and simplification in the EU.” The MEP pointed out that the Commission may finally have realized “how far off track its ideas had gone” and — as he put it — it would be better if, when it has to act, it focused precisely on deregulation and simplifying regulations, “rather than paper straws or attaching caps to bottles.”
The Polish politician said that while the topic of the debate is indeed “cutting red tape,” “there is another, similar slogan—also with a color in its name—that should finally be cut as well.” “That slogan is the ‘Green Deal,’” the MEP explained, noting that climate policy is the EU’s greatest burden. “While we’re debating here, back in my district—in Janikowo, in the Inowrocław County—the cost of the Green Deal is being borne by the residents, the local government, and the workers at the chemical plants that are about to be shut down, and as a result, the entire chain of businesses will shut down, people will lose their jobs, and the entire county will soon become a ghost town,” he said, describing the dire situation facing businesses in his district.
