A debate was held in Strasbourg during the European Parliament’s plenary session on the escalation of gang violence in Sweden and the need to step up the fight against organized crime. Speaking on behalf of the ECR Group in the debate were PiS MEPs Joachim Brudziński and Małgorzata Gosiewska.
Joachim Brudziński recalled: “When Angela Merkel shifted into high gear in 2015 to implement this idiotic multicultural policy, announcing ‘Herzlich Willkommen’ and throwing Europe’s borders wide open, the then-leader of the opposition in Poland, the head of my party, Jarosław Kaczyński, warned Europe.” The MEP said that the PiS leader had cited examples from Stockholm at the time, where there were over 50 Sharia zones that were off-limits to the Swedish police. He added that the then-Swedish ambassador to Poland intervened through Strasbourg and Brussels at the time, “and Angela Merkel’s devoted disciple, the then-President of the European Council Donald Tusk, threatened penalties against those who would not accept illegal migrants.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, today we all stand with the victims of these crimes; we stand with the citizens of Sweden,” said Brudziński. He emphasized that everyone cares about security, “but we will not defeat this crime if we remain paralyzed by political correctness and the fear of calling things by their proper names.” He also referred to remarks made by Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque. As he noted, it’s impossible not to agree that the law must be strengthened, but he raised the issue of law enforcement actions. “Do you remember the images of British police officers kneeling before thugs who were wreaking havoc on the streets of London? You fired the head of Frontex for supporting the Polish government in preventing illegal migrants from entering Poland. To call you hypocrites is an understatement,” he said.
Małgorzata Gosiewska noted that shootings, attacks, rapes, and gangs terrorizing residents are an everyday reality in Sweden, a country that was, until recently, safe. “This is the result of the open-door policy pursued for years by left-wing politicians,” —stated the MEP, recalling that everyone who opposed the European Union’s migration policy at the time, including PiS, was accused of xenophobia. She also pointed out that while Law and Justice effectively defended Poland against the influx of refugees during its eight years in power, including those from the East brought in by Lukashenko, the current Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, was scaring Poles with threats of penalties for not accepting migrants, while his party colleagues were attacking the Polish border guard. “All of this was done to gain your support in the elections, for which Poland is now paying with its security,” she stated.
“Today, the European bureaucracy is forcing my country to accept migrants, and Tusk is pretending he doesn’t consent to it,” Gosiewska said. The MEP stated that everyone knows “that this is simply a scam for the sake of the presidential campaign.” “Soon, Poles, just like the Swedes, Germans, and French, will begin to face the consequences of your harmful decisions. You want to rule the world, but you’re dragging Europe down,” she concluded.
Sweden is currently grappling with a wave of gang violence, often involving teenagers who are recruited by criminal networks to carry out acts of violence, including vandalism, bombings, and contract killings. In January 2025 alone, the country recorded approximately 30 explosions linked to gang activity, often in residential areas and mainly in the capital, Stockholm.
The plenary debate also follows the recent high-profile murder of the Iraqi anti-Islam activist Salwan Momika in Södertälje. Salwan Momika, who gained international attention by burning copies of the Quran in public places in Sweden in 2023, was killed on January 29 by assailants whose identities are not yet known during a live broadcast on TikTok.
