“Americans are a very difficult ally, but one we absolutely need, because right now they are the only country capable of influencing and restraining Russia. This is the country the Russians take seriously, knowing it is stronger than them,” declared PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński during the panel “The Future of Poland in Europe” at the ECR Youth Congress in Lublin.
The ECR Youth Congress is taking place in Lublin. PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński participated in one of the panels titled “The Future of Poland in Europe.” He spoke, among other things, about the role of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) — the group to which PiS belongs in the European Parliament.
“In light of these changes in the European Parliament, the role of the ECR is significant. The situation is still taking shape, but in the future it could be very promising. We have numerous delegations in strategic countries — the Baltic and Scandinavian states. There are many opportunities to build a system that would strengthen this part of the EU and NATO. This is the path to gaining a very serious instrument for Poland — and other countries — to influence the state of this part of Europe,” Kaczyński pointed out.
Relations with the United States: “A Very Difficult Ally”
The PiS leader also spoke about Polish–American relations.
“Americans are a very difficult ally, but one we absolutely need, because right now they are the only country capable of influencing and restraining Russia. This is the country the Russians take seriously, knowing it is stronger than them. This makes the United States the main guarantor of security for the whole of Europe. We must maintain these relations. Any stories claiming that security can be ensured in some other way are nothing more than stories — fantasies. This issue does not unite politicians in the European Union. People talk about the EU’s strategic autonomy. It could only be achieved if the EU built an army at least comparable to the American one — if the 5 percent of GDP proposed by Trump were actually spent. One has to consider the realities. The only real ally is the United States,” he said.
Russian Imperialism
The PiS chairman also recalled the words of the late Lech Kaczyński about Russian imperialism.
“When my late brother once said that today’s Russia is imperialism and chauvinism, the politically correct voices in Poland protested loudly — but it was the complete truth. Today’s Russia is a state driven by such motives, such ideology, such a mindset — a mindset shared by a large part of its society, outside a segment of the intelligentsia,” he stated.
He added that “to stop this drive toward restoration — because one can say it openly, and Putin himself says it — the restoration of an empire, one must possess arguments that, in the Russian imagination, in their political thinking, deprive such plans of any rationality.”
“Russia simply has to suffer a series of very serious defeats — on the battlefield, and simultaneously in other areas,” he said.
ECJ Ruling: “We Are Losing Sovereignty”
Kaczyński also commented on the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which — responding to a question from the Polish Supreme Administrative Court — ruled that “a member state is obliged to recognize a same-sex marriage legally concluded in another EU state, even if that country’s domestic law does not recognize such unions.”
“I believe that at least in this room — because not everywhere in Poland — but in this room there are no supporters of Poland ceasing to be a sovereign state. And yet we are constantly losing that sovereignty. Just recently Tusk stated that we are losing it in yet another area — a very important one, relating to custom, family, marriage. I mean the ECJ ruling you have surely heard about. Tusk said that this ruling will be honored here,” he said.
He stressed that if this ruling is honored, “Poles will be able to travel to other countries to conclude such marriages, and they will have to be treated here as marriages — in contradiction to the Constitution. And on top of that come the regulations regarding child adoption.”
“The devil will rejoice, and reasonable Poles of sound mind will worry,” he said.
He repeated that if the ruling is honored, “Poles will be able to travel to other countries to conclude such marriages, and they will have to be treated here as marriages — in contradiction to the Constitution. And on top of that come the regulations regarding child adoption.”
“The devil will rejoice, and reasonable Poles of sound mind will worry,” he concluded.