During the debate on the programme of Ursula von der Leyen, candidate for President of the European Commission, ECR Co-Chairman Joachim Brudziński (Law and Justice, Poland) stated:

„Thank you, Mrs President. We can conjure up reality, but everyone can see what the state of the EU is. Europe is sinking into crisis. Trust in EU institutions is decreasing, and citizens’ lives are getting worse. Cost of living is rising and, what’s worse, it will continue to rise, because the left-liberal establishment prefers to remain in the soteriological delusion that it will save the planet with its climate policy, but in reality its effect will be economic suicide. Companies are fleeing our continent, desperate farmers are taking to the streets, the EU economy is losing its competitive advantage, and we are no longer considered a world-class player.

„Dear Mrs von der Leyen, you were a very poor president; perhaps the worst. As ECR, we unenthusiastically supported your candidacy five years ago. We made this decision, choosing the lesser evil because, at that time, the fanatically ideologised Frans Timmermans was competing with you. I remember that meeting with you, during which you tantalized us, just like today, with various promises. But we won’t be fooled today.

„Your management style was terrible. Decision-making in a narrow group of German advisors, arrogance, hypocrisy, lack of cooperation with commissioners, exuberant ambitions and passionate concerns about your own image; this was your work style. Truthfulness was also not part of it. You have been deceiving Poles for a long time about the funds from the National Recovery Plan. Pacta sunt servanda - in the presence of the Polish Prime Minister and the Polish President, you promised to unblock the funds, and then you withdrew from it. Transparency wasn’t your forte either. We remember the miraculous disappearance of text messages exchanged with the head of Pfizer.

„A separate topic is how you treated my homeland, Poland. The position of the Head of the Commission requires basic decency, which is called impartiality. Meanwhile, you were outrageously biased. You unabashedly supported the then opposition and worked to change the government in Poland, blocking funds from the National Recovery Plan or activating Article 7. It was outrageous; an unacceptable interference in the affairs of another country. And what the Commission has been doing recently in the face of brutal violations of the law by Tusk’s government shows that the issue of the lack of so-called rule of law during the times of Law and Justice was one great arrogance, chutzpah, reaching the heights of hypocrisy.

„After all that, the current Polish government took over the public media by force. Now forceful actions are being taken in courts and prosecutor’s offices. Investigations ordered by the authorities are underway and preparations for political trials are in progress. Torture is used against those arrested, including women, to force them to give false testimony. By the way, where are all the feminists today who shouted so loudly about women’s rights?

„Despite all this, today you are now closing the procedure under Article 7, yet still no legal act in Poland has been changed. The only thing that changed was who occupies the role of Prime Minister, which went to your colleague, Donald Tusk.”

Source: ECR