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Brussels Live
Transcribed and translated by AI

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Ms. Counsel, you are
accompanied by the Marshal.

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We may begin, Mr President.

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Good morning to you all.

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A very good morning to all
of you, ladies and gentlemen.

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I'm resuming this session, Adama Gomoło.

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Jacek Niedźwiecki and Weronika Smarduch,
Adrian Wicza-Kulbis, Secretaries to this

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session,

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and the first round, Weronika Smarduch,
Adrian Wicza-Kulbis Secretaries.

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A list of speakers and minutes will
be taken by Madam Smarduch and Mr.

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Niedźwiecki. The committees have come
up with reports on revised law on higher

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education and science,
and some other three.

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33, and the revised law on
education and science, 3000.

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At another senior citizens' convention,
I decided to supplement the agenda with

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points covering the
consideration of these reports.

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Under Article 51, paragraph 2 of the
Rules of Procedure of the Sejm, entitled

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entities have submitted motions to proceed
to second readings without observing the

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deadline set out in Article 44, paragraph
3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm.

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The sponsors justify the motions by the
importance of the matters addressed in these

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draft laws. I will put these
motions to the vote in turn.

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We are proceeding to the vote. On the report
by the Committee on the Government Bill

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on the Amendment to the Act on Higher
Education and Science and Certain Other Acts.

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Which of the ladies and gentlemen of the
Members of Parliament are in favour of

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adopting the motion to proceed to the second
reading without observing the deadline

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set out in Article 44(3) of the
Rules of Procedure of the Sejm?

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Those in favour of the draft law contained
in the report from print number 3303,

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please raise your hand
and press the button.

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Who is against? Who abstained? Thank you.
416 MPs voted, 263 in favour, 152 against,

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and 1 abstained. The
Sejm adopted the motion.

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We now proceed to the vote on the committee
report on the Government's draft Act

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amending the Act on Higher
Education and Science.

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Which of the ladies and gentlemen Members
of Parliament are in favour of adopting

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the motion to proceed to the second reading
without observing the deadline set out

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in Article 44(3) of
the Rules of Procedure?

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I invite the Members to raise their hands
and press the voting button for the draft

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law contained in the
report from print No 3304.

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Who is against? Who abstained? Thank you.
417 Members voted, 264 in favour, 152

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against, 1 abstention. The
Sejm has adopted the motion.

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Madam Speaker, I welcome to Poland the
President of the European Parliament, Ms

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Roberta Metsola, who is here on an
official visit with a delegation.

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I welcome the Marshal of the Senate of
the Republic of Poland, Ms Małgorzata

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Kidawa-Błońska, I welcome the Members of
the European Parliament present in the

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gallery who will be listening to the
speech by the President, Roberta Metsola.

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The Polish Sejm and Senate are actively
participating in the work at the EU forum.

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In the Sejm, we highly value the activities
of the Committee on of the European

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Union, chaired by Ms Agnieszka Pomacka.
Polish parliamentarians are taking part in

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numerous forms of parliamentary cooperation
national parliaments of European Union

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Member States, as well as in debates
organised by the European Parliament.

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Here, they often have the opportunity to
collaborate with female and male Members of

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the European Parliament. We are all the
more pleased by the presence of MEPs at

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today’s sitting. I now call on the President
of the European Parliament, Ms Roberta

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Metsola, to take the floor.

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Okay. Mr. Marshall, Prime Minister,
Honourable Members, of the same senators,

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members, of the European
Parliament, Excellencies.

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Mr President Biżoga, thank you.

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For. Inviting me to address
this House, dziękuję bardzo.

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Wislawa Szymborska's
'Once Road' was published.

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that we only know ourselves
as far as we have been tested.

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If that is true of people,
it is true of nations too.

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And very few nations have
been tested like Poland.

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Yet Poland has always shown what
it means to emerge stronger.

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Fairer. And prouder. The toughest steel
is forged in the hottest of fires.

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And Polish steel like Polish
spirit is unbreakable.

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Dear friends, dear friends, I am the
President of the European Parliament, I am a

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mother of four boys, I am a proud daughter
of the Mediterranean, from an island in

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the middle of our southern sea. I
am a patriot, and I am a European.

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Those of us from the Karol Wojtyła generation
know that there is no contradiction in

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those two terms. As children,
we saw the fall of the wall.

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The end of communism and felt the optimism
that solidarność embodied not only for

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Poles, but for all Europeans. We were guided
by the Cardinal from Kraków, who became

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our Pope, and called
on us, "Be not afraid!

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" Be not afraid! As teenagers, we were
shaped by his message of freedom, peace, and

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dignity. As democracy came back, as
students we listened as he spoke of hope for

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Europe despite his public suffering.
And as adults, we celebrated as he was

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canonized Saint John Paul II. My generation
knows what a Europe with and without the

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European Union looks like.
We are far from perfect.

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We must be open to reform, to
change, to fix what is needed.

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But ultimately, a world with the European
Union in it is a better place for all of

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us. And sometimes it is necessary to remind
ourselves and the people that we serve

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of what is at stake: of how far we have
come together, of what we can lose, so it is

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an enormous honor to stand here as a
representative of the European Parliament in

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this historic nation chamber of
this great nation and speak today.

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Poland has always felt like home to me. We
joined— We joined the EU on the same day.

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We share so much. My sister studied here,
and as a student I traveled across this

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country and every time I come back it
feels like coming back to old friends.

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Our— Now, our challenge in the EU today is
to do more, to rediscover the enthusiasm

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and hope that swept our countries in 2004.

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To return to the big bold courageous ideas
that make a real difference in people's

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lives. Ideas that we can deliver on at
speed that place our union as the global

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player we know it to be. To ensure that
we are truly an accelerator of growth.

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To end the unnecessary
red tape and bureaucracy.

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Acting as a brake on European innovation.
To rally with one another when we face

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down common threats to our
security and our people's safety.

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Now, I am not here to lecture
and I am not here to preach.

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I am here for all of us to roll
up our sleeves and work together.

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Poland is a proud nation. Baptized more
than a thousand years ago, that gave Europe

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its first modern written constitution. That
held the line at the gates of Warsaw in

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1920 and held it for all of us. That
in many respects holds the line still.

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Through 123 years of partitions,
Poland never once stopped being Poland.

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Your anthem was born in
those years with a promise:

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Poland has not yet perished,
so long as we still live.

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And you kept and you kept that promise
in your language, in your culture, and in

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your families. Then came
the occupation. War.

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And half a century behind the iron curtain,
where Poles were told what to think,

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what they could say, and
where they could travel.

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Where fear ruled. The evils of totalitarianism
and communism were felt by every

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family in this country. But it is not the
bleakness and suffering of those years

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that marks Poland. It is how you
responded that the world looks at.

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Poland was tested, and it was
Poles who stepped forward.

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From the shipyard in Gdańsk, with
solidarność at the round table and in the

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elections of June 1989, Poland showed the
world that the system could be beaten, and

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then Poland did something
remarkable, almost overnight.

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You chose freedom, democracy,
democracy. And open economy.

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And you never looked back. You know,
there is a saying about those who make the

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loudest noises. Now, you
stood up. It took courage.

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And it asked a great deal
of a whole generation.

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You built again and you
promised never again.

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You had those big courageous
ideas and you delivered them.

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And that, in many respects,
is also the story of Europe.

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And I see the European Union as the
guarantee of that promise made in 1989.

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Of freedom, of dignity,
of security. Of hope.

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That's what Europe must mean for so many.
In a single generation, income per person

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in Poland has grown more than eightfold.
Since you joined the EU, your economy has

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grown twice as fast as
the European average.

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You are now counted among the 20 largest
economies in the world and will soon take

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your place at the G20 table,
hopefully permanently.

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Now, people call it the Polish
miracle. But this was about hard work.

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It was built by millions of Poles who got
up early, set up businesses, went to other

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EU states to learn, and came home to build
and refused to accept that their children

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should have any less than
anyone else in Europe.

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And Europe— And Europe was proud
to be part of that journey.

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Membership opened doors to new markets and
new investment, to universities, and to a

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whole

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continent of opportunity for young Poles.
And this was never a one-way street.

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Poland brought its energy. Its
talent. And ambition into our union.

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And today it is at its heart.
Pushing Europe forward.

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It is Poland who warned about
the threat from the East.

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It is Poland who tells us, when we go too
far, too fast, or not far enough, your

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government asked entrepreneurs which rules
were holding them back, and hundreds of

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their ideas have been taken forward. That
is the spirit that we are bringing to

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Brussels and Strasbourg. Because, you know,
sometimes, just sometimes, Europe writes

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rules with the best of intentions. That end
up weighing on the very people they were

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meant to help. So the European Parliament
has been delivering on one simplification

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package after another, taking around 9
in 10 companies out of sustainability

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reporting, helping secure our energy
supplies as we decoupled from Russia.

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Fixing our defense and security systems.
And clearing paperwork of our farmers'

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desks. Bringing billions of euros a year
back to the people who create jobs putting

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affordability and fairness
at the heart of what we do.

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But simplification is only the start.
Ultimately, Europe has to be a place where it

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pays to invest, to make
things, and to grow.

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And our single market is
at the center of that.

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It is the reason a company in Poznań or
Bydgoszcz can sell to customers in Lisbon or

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Helsinki without filling
in a single customs form.

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The reason that so many investors have
chosen Poland and a big part of the reason

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Polish growth has been so
strong for two decades.

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Now we must take it further. A single
market that works as one in energy, in

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capital, and in services. With energy
prices that do not hold our industry back.

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And rules that are clear and predictable.
And we can do it in our unique European

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way, with open markets, and social safety
nets, so that the people have the freedom

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to take the risk and the security of
knowing that they will not be left behind.

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Last June, in Łódź, where the University
of Technology did me the great honor of

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welcoming

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me to its community, I met a
city that had to rebuild itself.

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And is proud that it did. It is the same
story in Gdańsk and Kraków, in Lublin,

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Rzeszów, and Białystok. And in thousands
of towns and villages in a new road a

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restored market square.
New sports facilities.

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That, too, is Europe in action. Real,
concrete, and tangible investments in

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improving lives. Now, I
know there are worries.

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From farmers about their
incomes and fair competition.

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From smaller towns about young people
leaving from regions afraid that decisions

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about them will be taken
further and further away.

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Now, these are fair
concerns and we hear them.

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And that is why, in our position on
Europe's next long-term budget, the European

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Parliament understood the task we were
given and why we stand with our farmers,

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while we push for real investments in
young people, in Erasmus, Horizon, for

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example. And why we want regions to have
a real say, particularly the Eastern

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regions along the borders with
Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.

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Which carry a weight on behalf of
all of us that Europe must recognize.

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Wysoka Izbo. Poland also saw the danger
coming long before the rest of us.

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For years, you warned us about
Russia. About energy dependence.

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About what the Kremlin was capable of.
And too many in Europe did not listen.

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Now you are right. Europe
should have heard you sooner.

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Today, no. Buddy needs convincing. Your
presidency of the Council of the European

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Union put security at the
top of Europe's agenda.

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You are building the East Shield and you
are the first to draw on Europe's new

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defense funding, with almost 44 billion
euros coming here—most of it spent with

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Polish companies. And Poland— And Poland
has now been chosen to host the only center

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outside the United States for servicing
the packed missiles that arm patriot air

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defense systems. So what you are
building protects us all, too.

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The Via Baltica is a lifeline
for the Baltic states.

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And the Suwałki Gap is one of the most
sensitive places on our continent.

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What happens there impacts
Brussels as much as Vilnius.

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This time last year, I
visited a NATO base in Latvia.

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Where Polish soldiers serve alongside
troops from across the alliance.

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Young men and women standing guard over a
freedom the rest of us too often take for

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granted. We owe them an everyone who wears
the uniform a great deal more than words.

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Much more. That is why Europe has put its
money where its mouth is and invested in

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defense and security. Poland knows what
it means to stand on Europe's front line.

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Whether it is the illegal Russian war
of aggression against Ukraine, or the

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instrumentalization of migration at your
border with Belarus, drones over your

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territory, or sabotage on railway lines.
You have met all of it with determination

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and clarity of purpose. These threats
are designed to test our resolve:

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divide our societies and
undermine our democracies.

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And across our Union,
all of us now face them.

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When Poland's security is tested,
Europe's security is tested.

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And we must, and we will, stand together
to face it down, shoulder to shoulder.

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We will never forget that when Russia's
war came to Ukraine's door, Poland opened

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its own. In those first days, people
crossing at Medica and Dorohusk were met by

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Polish families with hot
soup and warm blankets.

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At Przemyśl station, rows of empty prams
stood waiting on the platform for mothers

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stepping off the trains
with babies in their arms.

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I was in Otwock at schools in those early
days, watching Polish teachers comfort

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children that they never met. Mothers
cooking meals for young girls, who could not

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understand what happened to their country.

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That was European
solidarity at its truest.

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It was a test. It was a test of Polish
character in the worst of circumstances and

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you showed the very best of this country.
So, colleagues, no big idea, no response

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to any test happens by accident. Every
choice was argued over and carried through by

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elected representatives
in chambers like this one.

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Because I believe unapologetically that
parliamentary democracy is the best model we

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have.

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But it is up to all of us
to prove that it works.

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FUNO— FUNO what it costs better than Poland,
where it took until 1991 for every seat

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in this chamber to be
chosen freely by the people.

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And that right comes with a duty. To show
people that the arguments made in here

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lead somewhere. And Poland has shown
the whole of Europe something else.

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That democratic institutions can be
built and rebuilt in a single generation.

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But they are never finished. We must keep
building—keep safeguarding—our values.

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Keep reminding people what is possible.
What has happened in our past.

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And why every generation
must protect our democracies.

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And that is also why a directly elected
European Parliament is so important.

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Its members answer directly to voters
at home, in Polish towns, and regions.

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And I must say, Poland's representatives—your
representatives—from different

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political families, I see many here,
today, do that work with real dedication.

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Making Poland's voice
heard in every debate.

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Now, people—our
voters—want to see results.

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They want proof that dialogue and compromise
can still deliver for their families.

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That means cutting through the noise.
Reaching across political divides.

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And never ever taking voters for granted.
It means cooperation over confrontation.

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It means being able to get our message
across better in a sea of disinformation,

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half-truths, and misinformation. Amplified
online and sometimes weaponized by malign

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actors for whom our Europe is a threat.
Now, people in every country do not want

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moralizing. They want action. They
do not want Europe to be far away.

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They do not want representatives to speak
in acronyms that they don't understand.

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They want—like many of us—to be
European, and patriots at the same time.

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They reject the confines of
narrow, inward-looking nationalism.

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But equally cherish
their local identities.

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And they expect Europe to understand that.

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To preserve our shared values.
But to never be afraid to change.

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With the times. To pass laws
that make their lives simpler.

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More prosperous. Fairer. Freer. And safer.

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It is not too much to ask.
And it cannot be too much.

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To deliver. So let me be emphatic: Europe
is not about making everybody the same.

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It is about the opposite. It is about
finding strength in our differences and

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respecting our traditions,
our histories, and languages.

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This project of ours is not about
any imposition from Brussels.

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It is about sharing the challenges and
understanding that when we act together, with

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common purpose, every member
state is a superpower.

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It is also about the understanding that
the best decisions are taken closest to the

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people they impact the most. So we need to
show that Europe is also able to deliver

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for a younger generation. Who do not
remember the battles of the past, be it

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surviving war, defeating communism,
or joining the European Union.

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Every time I visit a member state, I make
it a point to hold a town hall meeting

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with young people. And
I did that yesterday.

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At Warsaw School of Economics. And a few
minutes with Poland's youth is enough to

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convince anyone that the future
will be in very good hands.

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Young Poles are confident. Many
speaking three or four languages.

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Looking at the rest of the world as equals,
open to the world, yet rooted at home

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with the quiet certainty that
a way can always be found.

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A Pole can do it, as you say.

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— Now, our job, yours, and mine, is to give
them every reason to build their future

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here. In Poland. And in Europe. It is
the people of this land who best tell its

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story. The land that gave
the world King Jan Sobieski.

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Mikołaj Kopernik. And
Maria Skłodowska-Curie.

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Witold Pilecki and Jan
Karski. Frederick Chopin.

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Maximilian Colbert and Karol
Wojtyła. Lech Wałęsa and Jerzy Buzek.

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And so many more. They have more to the
list, shall we add more to the list?

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So many more. So many more. Who bore
witness as you faced every test on the way.

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From communism to freedom.
From freedom to democracy.

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From democracy to growth. And from growth
to the security of our whole Eastern

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flank. Now comes a different kind of test.

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The test of leadership. And I
know that Poland will meet it.

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You are already shaping Europe's
choices on defense and enlargement, on

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competitiveness, and on
how we stand by Ukraine.

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And in the years ahead, Europe
will need Poland's voice.

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Poland's experience.
And Poland's confidence.

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More than ever. And leadership in
Europe is also about the quieter things.

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Keeping our word. Doing the work we
were elected and appointed to do.

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And respecting the
rules we wrote together.

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So my message to you today
is simple. Seize this moment.

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Keep believing. Lead. If there are
things to change, let's do that together.

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Europe is you, not anyone
else. Not anyone else.

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In May 2003, just weeks before Poles voted
to join our union, Pope John Paul II said

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it very simply:

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Europe needs Poland, Poland needs Europe.

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Europe needs Poland.
And Poland needs Europe.

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It was true then. And it is true
today. So long live our parliaments.

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Long live Poland. Long live
Europe. Dziękuję bardzo.

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Thank you. Thank you very
much indeed. I manage 10.