30 January
'The European way of growth. A growth policy for a secure, resilient and globally competitive European Union' conference with the Speaker of the Sejm
‘It is obvious that security does not require us to eschew our humanity. Being a proud nation that has brought the idea and the practice of solidarity to the world, we cannot now run away from the fear of right-wing or any other extremism. We cannot cower in fear of someone who shouts louder and who offers xenophobia instead of solidarity. Security does not require us to eschew our humanity, but at the same time, security needs to be our top priority today,’
the Speaker of the Sejm said to the invited guests. As he pointed out, as a Pole he feels immense ‘pride in how our country is developing, and how it is investing its European funds.’ ‘Poland is an example of how European funds can be invested in a meaningful way. It shows how this can change the world, Europe and our country. We in Poland have dealt with all the unnecessary complexes we had. And we want to make it clear to Europe that we do not want to be a second Canada, a second Japan or Korea. We want to be the first Poland – a country whose growth others will try to emulate, asking “when will we become the second Poland, when will we finally catch up?”’ Szymon Hołownia pointed out.
During the speech, the Speaker of the Sejm drew attention to the great crises that our generation has faced, including the migration crisis, the economic crisis, the climate crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis. ‘We must be prepared for these crises, we need to have four great responses ready and we need to carry them out as quickly as possible. If we do that, it will be a chance that Europe believes in itself again, that its people will believe in Europe again and that the world will believe in Europe and in the European project of well-being, justice and just growth above all’, Szymon Hołownia said.
‘The first recipe is investment. As probably everybody knows, wealth does not come from stashing money away. As Mario Draghi aptly noted in his report, for the sake of competitiveness, we need to invest in our economy. In fact, we need to increase our investment by 800 billion euro annually compared to what we have been doing to date. We need this money to fuel the European economy, so that Polish companies can grow and thrive in Poland and in Europe’, the Speaker of the Sejm noted.
He then mentioned cheap energy as a second recipe. ‘I want to be clear in this regard: The concept and the pace of the reform, which we technically refer to as ETS-2, clearly shows that the European Union insufficiently looks at the point of view of countries such as Poland. These solutions might be acceptable to wealthy countries that have gone down a very different path. But for Poland or the Czech Republic, they are definitely premature and far too radical’, he explained.
The third recipe is security. The time of globalisation is gone, and today we have to defend our security and our market. We need to change the rules of investing our shared European funds. As I said before, there is no reason why we should not develop the European defence industry with our European money’, Szymon Hołownia pointed out.
The fourth recipe is the European way. This is crucial. I am convinced that over the years we have cultivated a twisted sense of multiculturalism. As of today, we have reached the point where many Europeans are speaking out about it. Multiculturalism should not be about inclusion no matter the cost. Europe can justly speak of a beautiful and proud tradition and values. We should defend them. We have the right to require those who wish to live here to respect our ways. We cannot give up our identity to make others feel comfortable. After all, we are never going to agree to underage marriage in Europe. We are not going to accept drastic inequalities between men and women. This is not our way. This is an alien concept from the point of view of our culture, our sensibilities and values’, the Speaker of the Sejm emphasised during his speech.
Investment, energy, security, and the European way. These are the four guidelines that will make Europe and the European Union competitive and proud, which I firmly believe will become the world’s largest economy,’ Szymon Hołownia concluded. ‘You are likely much more familiar with these topics than I am, but try to keep one thing in mind. Hope always sells better than fear. Do not be afraid. Give people hope. They will wait for it. They are waiting everywhere, in Poland, but also in every city, town and village in your countries, in every corner of Europe, in every place. People do not want to be afraid. People want to meet someone who will show them the right way, who will show them the light and hope. Europe is exactly that – a project of hope. Europe is hope’, the Speaker of the Sejm concluded.
The visit to Krakow was also an opportunity to talk to Younous Omarjee, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who is responsible for relations with the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee. During the meeting, they talked about the challenges and conditions for the development of the European economy, paying particular attention to the need to ensure that the countries of the community have access to cheap energy.
On Thursday, 30 January, the Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia visited Krakow, where he took part in the conference titled ‘The European way of growth. A growth policy for a secure, resilient and globally competitive European Union.’ In his speech, Speaker Hołownia focused on growth, security, energy, and the future of Europe.
‘It is obvious that security does not require us to eschew our humanity. Being a proud nation that has brought the idea and the practice of solidarity to the world, we cannot now run away from the fear of right-wing or any other extremism. We cannot cower in fear of someone who shouts louder and who offers xenophobia instead of solidarity. Security does not require us to eschew our humanity, but at the same time, security needs to be our top priority today,’ the Speaker of the Sejm said to the invited guests. As he pointed out, as a Pole he feels immense ‘pride in how our country is developing, and how it is investing its European funds.’ ‘Poland is an example of how European funds can be invested in a meaningful way. It shows how this can change the world, Europe and our country. We in Poland have dealt with all the unnecessary complexes we had. And we want to make it clear to Europe that we do not want to be a second Canada, a second Japan or Korea. We want to be the first Poland – a country whose growth others will try to emulate, asking “when will we become the second Poland, when will we finally catch up?”’ Szymon Hołownia pointed out.
‘I know that just as Poland does not need to copy any other country today, the European Union does not need to copy the United States, for example. Europe is already great, we don’t need to make it great in the future’, Mr Hołownia continued.
During the speech, the Speaker of the Sejm drew attention to the great crises that our generation has faced, including the migration crisis, the economic crisis, the climate crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis. ‘We must be prepared for these crises, we need to have four great responses ready and we need to carry them out as quickly as possible. If we do that, it will be a chance that Europe believes in itself again, that its people will believe in Europe again and that the world will believe in Europe and in the European project of well-being, justice and just growth above all’, Szymon Hołownia said.
‘The first recipe is investment. As probably everybody knows, wealth does not come from stashing money away. As Mario Draghi aptly noted in his report, for the sake of competitiveness, we need to invest in our economy. In fact, we need to increase our investment by 800 billion euro annually compared to what we have been doing to date. We need this money to fuel the European economy, so that Polish companies can grow and thrive in Poland and in Europe’, the Speaker of the Sejm noted.
He then mentioned cheap energy as a second recipe. ‘I want to be clear in this regard: The concept and the pace of the reform, which we technically refer to as ETS-2, clearly shows that the European Union insufficiently looks at the point of view of countries such as Poland. These solutions might be acceptable to wealthy countries that have gone down a very different path. But for Poland or the Czech Republic, they are definitely premature and far too radical’, he explained.
The third recipe is security. The time of globalisation is gone, and today we have to defend our security and our market. We need to change the rules of investing our shared European funds. As I said before, there is no reason why we should not develop the European defence industry with our European money’, Szymon Hołownia pointed out.
The fourth recipe is the European way. This is crucial. I am convinced that over the years we have cultivated a twisted sense of multiculturalism. As of today, we have reached the point where many Europeans are speaking out about it. Multiculturalism should not be about inclusion no matter the cost. Europe can justly speak of a beautiful and proud tradition and values. We should defend them. We have the right to require those who wish to live here to respect our ways. We cannot give up our identity to make others feel comfortable. After all, we are never going to agree to underage marriage in Europe. We are not going to accept drastic inequalities between men and women. This is not our way. This is an alien concept from the point of view of our culture, our sensibilities and values’, the Speaker of the Sejm emphasised during his speech.
Investment, energy, security, and the European way. These are the four guidelines that will make Europe and the European Union competitive and proud, which I firmly believe will become the world’s largest economy,’ Szymon Hołownia concluded. ‘You are likely much more familiar with these topics than I am, but try to keep one thing in mind. Hope always sells better than fear. Do not be afraid. Give people hope. They will wait for it. They are waiting everywhere, in Poland, but also in every city, town and village in your countries, in every corner of Europe, in every place. People do not want to be afraid. People want to meet someone who will show them the right way, who will show them the light and hope. Europe is exactly that – a project of hope. Europe is hope’, the Speaker of the Sejm concluded.
The visit to Krakow was also an opportunity to talk to Younous Omarjee, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who is responsible for relations with the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee. During the meeting, they talked about the challenges and conditions for the development of the European economy, paying particular attention to the need to ensure that the countries of the community have access to cheap energy.
