Government of Poland

Policy topics Government of Poland is active on

What Government of Poland has said (80)

• 2026-06-16 “Thank you Marilena. I'd like to thank the presidency for their effort and for navigating those conflicting expectations. I know it's not an easy job. We feel the presidency is right when it comes to preserving budgets for cohesion, common agricultural policy and fisheries. And let me remind my my colleagues that in the commission's proposal, those are frozen on the level, uh, on the current level in nominal terms. Uh, so we all know what that means in real terms. To put that in context, heading to competitiveness, even after cuts proposed by the presidency would increase by 122%, 122%. So we need to recognize those major shifts that have already happened in the budget. So I'm really surprised to see calls for even more changes or cuts. I don't think that's realistic or constructive on specific items. Um, we very much appreciate the recognition of the specific situation of eastern border regions, including those bordering Ukraine. However, the proposed provisions are general in nature. At the same time, several dedicated solutions are proposed for outermost regions, and we are happy to see that. However, also for eastern border regions, we feel we deserve specific solutions as the outermost regions have. Uh. As regards the de facto disappearance of the Cohesion fund, it is not only about money. It's main advantage was the possibility of EU co-financing of up to 85%.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you Marilyn. So Poland supports reaching an agreement on a partial general approach regarding three key sectoral regulations as part of the next MFF. The negotiations were very intense. We appreciate the Cyprus presidency's commitment to achieving a compromise remains under discussion. Many elements still require further refinement and polishing. We stand ready to engage constructively and contribute to that work. Poland supports concluding the negotiations on the next MFF, including the regulations and the discussion in 2026. Although the quality of our work matters when it comes to the regulation. For Poland, it was particularly important that during the negotiations in the council, we strengthened the provisions regarding the active role of regions in the design and implementation of an RRP increase, the visibility of cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy while preserving its key features and principles, ensuring flexibility and simplifications not only for commission but for all member states and provide appropriate dedicated support for eastern border regions. When it comes to the ECF regulation, Poland supports the fund focusing on projects with a clean, clear pan-European impact. We are open to discussion on the final wording of this provision. In order to reach an agreement within the Council, the criteria of excellence remains key, but it should be supplemented by the need for the spread of excellence and the building of European value chains across the EU. In light of the above, we call for an explicit reference to these elements in the operative part of article three. Such a provision will strengthen the EU's economic resilience and reduce dependence on non-EU suppliers. Thank you.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• 2026-06-16 “It supported major transport and environmental projects across the entire territory of a Member states, regardless of the category of regions. We are also happy that the presidency chose the option in which member states will be able to tap simultaneously. Wide range of sources for crisis response cascade mechanisms was not acceptable for us. We'd like to see more progress on the implementing rules, co-financing higher pre-financing and the commitment rules. We argue for higher co-financing for transition regions that are upgraded from less developed status. We believe that extending the commitment rule should go further, which would better reflect implementation needs on cap. To ensure a level playing field in the internal market, we propose clarifying the maximum levels of national co-financing for Cap interventions. Without such limits, there is a risk of excessive national. Uh, support regarding the proposed cuts under heading two. We have concerns about the reduction of funding for the defence component of the ECF and also, uh, for agora EU, especially financing for democratic resilience. Those areas require adequate financing in light of growing challenges that we keep on discussing here. Finally, the rebate system and own resources should have been dismantled after the UK left the EU. We are open for new owner sources except the ETS, which is highly regressive. Thank you.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Maria. Uh, chair. Commissioner. Ladies and gentlemen, as we know for some time, those issues are at the center of interests of farmers and ministers. And it relates to relations with Ukraine, Mercosur and India and their impact on the agricultural sector. The debate is taking place both at the Council of Agricultural Ministers and in many member states, and many agricultural organisations and producers take part in these discussions suggest that in addition to opportunities for export growth and trade agreements also pose serious threats to sensitive sectors of the agricultural market. The note presented by Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia contains a proposal for a summary of possible solutions and protective mechanisms that were put forward during the discussions. They concern effective protective mechanisms in the event of excessive imports. For example, mechanisms with the Mercosur countries are far from satisfactory. The need to deepen the analysis of the cumulative impact of agreements on agriculture. I will remind you that Poland appealed for that a year ago, and this type of analysis will give the impact of liberalizations and allowed imports to Europe and the adaptation of imported products to the EU production standards. This is key, in order to maintain the level playing field, the establishment of appropriate financial mechanisms to compensate farmers for possible losses. We believe that the implementation of these solutions is necessary for the future of the EU agricultural sector, and the European model of agriculture. It is also essential to guarantee food security. Thank you very much for your attention.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Yes. Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, in our opinion, agreement today is achievable. We should all aim at the timely adoption of the budget. And the success will depend on the willingness to find compromise. So second, we strongly contest combining [00:26:30] work on the draft budget for next year with the ongoing negotiations on the MFF revision. And that is why we support the Spanish presidency and call on the European Parliament to conclude an agreement today. Let me add a few points in more detail. First, the sufficient level of payments is crucial to safeguard the implementation of all EU objectives and priorities. And in this regard, [00:27:00] the draft budget is a minimum for us, in particular in the cohesion and agriculture and therefore the Joint Declaration on Payments. Enabling smooth mobilisation of additional funds during the budgetary year is the crucial element of the final compromise. We consider the Council's position as the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament. We are open to European Parliament demands in respect to certain programmes that are not related to unagreed issues [00:27:30] included in the MFF revision. We are concerned by the low level of new commitments provided for the needs related to the war in Ukraine. [00:27:39] We were particularly disappointed by the lack of support for the Member States hosting refugees therefrom. At the same time, we are open to new proposals to increase humanitarian aid in the Middle East, exceeding the Council's position. However, additional humanitarian support for the Gaza Strip should [00:28:00] not come at the expense of support for the Ukraine, and therefore we welcome the increase of commitments for Erasmus and humanitarian aid in the first draft elements for joint conclusions. But we still expect an increase of commitments for Amif and BMV. We are also open to an increase for impact activities in Europol's budget, as suggested by Bulgaria at the last meeting. Lastly, all possible [00:28:30] increases of commitments should be followed by appropriate increase of payments. We welcome that it is included by the Commission in the first draft of the elements for Joint Conclusions, and we hope the presidency and the Commission will continue this good practice. So Poland is ready to work with the presidency and other member states in order to find an acceptable compromise. Thank you very much, madam.”
  Size of EU budget
• “During our presidency, we will also stress the role of research and innovation and digital digitisation and precision farming in order to enhance the competitiveness of EU agriculture in ensuring food security. On the 15th of June, it will hold a high level conference in Warsaw concerning digitization in agriculture and veterinary issues. We will continue work on the regulation on protecting animals in transport. Our goal is to arrive at solutions for some of the provisions in this proposal. We will also negotiate with the EP on the proposal for regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability. We are ready to go ahead with this work as soon as the European Parliament arrives at its position in sanitary issues. We will continue work on the proposal for a regulation on the proposal for a regulation which on plants which are obtained from the latest GM RTS. We would like to take stock of the existing results of negotiations. Our goal is to maintain the competitiveness in the plant sector in the EU. We will also continue work on the proposal for a regulation on plant reproductive material in fisheries. We will focus on ensuring competitiveness of EU fisheries and in including its interest during regional negotiations in regional management fisheries organizations in agreements with third countries. We will make take efforts to make sure that decisions are taken to take stock of the socio economic aspects, as well as the existing scientific advice.”
  Digital and precision farming
• “Madam Chair. Poland strongly supports the name of the Epsco and adding equality into the name. We believe the core value of equality, one of our priorities, deserves a stronger visibility and support, not only but also on the symbolic level. And we all know that the change often begins with the language. Thank [00:09:30] you.”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you very much, Theresa. And I first must commend you for this excellent work you did on this proposal. I think a few months ago it wasn't obvious that you could take us that far. And I think that's already [00:22:30] a great, a great success, regardless of the outcome of our discussion today. There are four points on my side to be fully able to agree to. To that general approach. First of all, the development of enabling conditions for the decarbonisation of heavy duty vehicles will require a significant investment and adequate time for implementation. So it is therefore for us important to have realistic targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040 and [00:23:00] an extended timeline on. And in this context, we very much support the Italian proposal of a carbon correction factor to allow to better reflect low carbon fuels in this sector. Second point and second, major concern on our side is regarding connectivity and competitiveness of EU transport companies. Road transport with third countries is characterised by high mileage, and there is little infrastructure and regulatory [00:23:30] stability in those regions. To ensure that they will. That EU transport companies would be able to sell access road transport markets there. And therefore we should reflect that in the proposal at the least by introducing a review clause monitoring that possibility of using vehicles outside the EU. Thirdly, on the issue of semi trailers, 7.5% is a step in the right [00:24:00] direction, a 5% target accompanied by a flexible approach would be the best for for us. And last but not least, on the requirement concerning city buses to be zero emission by 2030, we fear that that may be difficult for porous municipalities, and therefore we can support the French proposal to postpone the targets to 2035 at least, [00:24:30] and a more flexible approach for smaller cities, for instance, based on population density or population thresholds. Thank you.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “Um are important. We need to strengthen knowledge exchange and the implementation of innovative practice, practice driven solutions responding to real farmers needs. It is equally important to put in place support mechanisms to provide incentives to create favourable conditions for farmers. The upcoming EU digitalisation strategy for agriculture could be helpful in achieving those goals faster. The Polish presidency calls for action and within the biased initiative, strengthening the inter-institutional cooperation in terms of research and innovation as a next step. A roadmap could be elaborated in order to explore the possibilities of a Europe wide R and D initiative. Using the capacities of Central and Eastern Europe member states, the Western Balkans and candidate countries. Strengthening the European research area. The Polish presidency wants to support the research and innovation in order to improve competitiveness of European agriculture and strengthen our food security. That would be all on my part. As far as this conference is concerned, dear colleagues, this was an AOB, so no debate has been foreseen. Nevertheless, if any of the delegations wishes to take the floor, you're welcome to do so. Could you please limit your intervention to one minute? I would like to stress that Um. Um. The commission was very strongly represented, um, and its, uh, research and innovation, um Directorate. Let me now give the floor to Hungary. And then Latvia. Hungary.”
  Digital and precision farming
• “Thank you very much, Commissioner Labib. I would like to ask you if there is anyone wishing to take the floor, and if not, we can conclude. So I conclude that the Council has approved the conclusions on advancing gender equality in the AI driven digital age, as set out in the document number 9408 25. The statements by Bulgaria and Hungary are set out in the addendum one and addendum two to document 9408 25 will be recorded in the minutes. ***A Roadmap for Women’s Rights”
  Gender roles, equality and inclusion
• “Thank you. Poland supports long awaited proposal to simplify the legal framework applicable to securitisation in the EU. In our view, revitalizing the securitization market is an important step in unlocking investment capital so needed in Europe. Well-functioning securitization markets can contribute to faster economic growth and facilitate the achievement of EU strategic objectives. From Poland's point of view. It is important that the proposed solutions are designed to facilitate securitization activity in the EU while preserving financial stability. The proposals to simplify due diligence and transparency obligations and to introduce proportionate requirements depending on the level of risk deserve support. We welcome them as they can significantly reduce transaction costs and increase the efficiency of the securitisation market. We also support the direction of amendments to the Regulation on Prudential Requirements for credit Institutions regarding calibration of capital ratios. The current levels, as indicated by the Commission, are too high and lead to unjustified levels of over capitalisation in some transactions. During further work, we will aim at adopting solutions that will reduce barriers to the development of the securitisation market. Thank you.”
  Financial regulation
• “In other business, it is the challenges for the livestock sector related to the revision of the European regulation on transport of live animals. It's an information from Italy supported by Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. The information note was provided with the number of 9278 stroke, one stroke 25. As you know, the analysis of the proposed regulation on protection of animals during transport. This is taking place in the Working party of the Council for many years. It's a complex proposal. It has to take into account the welfare of animals and to balance this against the interests of the livestock production sector and the internal market.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “Thank you. Thank you colleagues. I can conclude that the general approach has been reached. The Council's statement will be entered in the minutes. The council will need to reconcile the European Parliament on this directive. A written procedure to that effect will be launched shortly after the council meeting. I propose we now move to any other business on the current financial services proposals still in public session, as was the case already in February. Ecofin. ***AOB: Current financial services legislative proposals”
  Financial regulation
• “Ladies and gentlemen, let's move on to point two. We will now reach a general approach on the proposal for a regulation on insolvency proceedings to replace its annexes A and B, to avoid any misunderstanding, because I think this is important also for our viewers. I just wanted to add that here we're not dealing with the Insolvency Directive draft, which is something that we will discuss later on during our meeting today. Here we're dealing with the proposal for a regulation which is, um, supposed to adapt the names of insolvency procedures and practitioners listed in the annexes to the 2015 Insolvency Regulation. So here we're supposed to adapt to the latest changes in national insolvency procedure. This proposal aims at ensuring that the scope of the regulations, adjusted to the actual current legal framework of the Member States on insolvency. The Council shall not be able to reach this general approach. I can't see any requests for the floor. Anyone voting against with respect to this general approach. Therefore, I note that we have reached a general approach as set out in document number 8878. 25. Dear colleagues, let's move on to point three. We continue with the adoption of an amendment on the regulation on prudential requirements for credit institutions as regards requirements for securities financing, financing transactions under the net stable funding ratio. This is a targeted amendment of the Capital Requirements Regulation. It renders permanent the transitory stable. Securities financing transactions with financial customers. The council should now be able to approve the European Parliament's position as set out in document. P e cons 1425.”
  Financial regulation
• “Madam chair. Mr. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we fully support efforts aimed at increasing the welfare of animals. But they must not ignore the free market and have to ensure access to affordable food to the consumers. We believe that it's better to encourage than to force the farmers to increase the welfare of animals. Therefore, we believe that future Cap Camp should allocate funding to farms that undertake additional commitments in this regard. As far as the fur farming is concerned, we believe that it from 2034 we will have a ban on fur farming. However, let me express certain reservations in this area because we believe that restrictions in this area are an excessive interference in the freedom of choice of our consumers. Thank you.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “We strongly support a lot of aspects of the joint letter by Hungary and Slovakia, especially in terms of the need to review the impact on agriculture of different trade agreements, including the one with Mercosur and Ukraine. And as far as the alignment with our production standards, that would be equally restrictive. As for the EU producers, we find that especially important in terms of increased duty protection of the grains market, especially in terms of maize imports. In terms of our Ukrainian partners, we support the position that the bilateral protection measures should be an integral part of the Dcfta. We need to have the ability to have an interim preferential cancellation for all agricultural products now.”
  Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports · Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Thank you. Lars. Um, I'm. I'm really glad that I'm on this part of the presidency seat now. Uh, thank you for your hard work on this file. Um. Uh, it's it's certainly not easy. Um, and thank you for not pressing for a for a vote on a general approach today. Um, because we've, uh, we've been working very hard to to have this discussion on, uh, on the ECL at the, at the UCO and I'm really glad that it will. It will happen. Um, it's a it's a very much strategic, economy wide, um, debate that, uh, that requires exactly the European Council and the heads of state and governments. So I really appreciate we really appreciate that this this goes to, to, you know, um, today the presidency presents us with, uh, with progress report and, and some discussion of main elements. Again, thanks very much to to Lars and your team, uh, and the commission for, uh, for progressing this file. Um, there's certainly encouraging elements like, you know, uh, beefing up the text, considering competitiveness and and growth. This is very much welcome because, you know, this is not just climate policy. It needs to be economic policy growth policy, competitiveness policy because otherwise we will not have a just transition. So that's that's to start with. Um, certainly further work is needed. Um, and uh, please consider the five main elements we would like to put on the table as the, as the enabling conditions going forward. Um, there's plenty of small issues, uh, important issues that we've provided as a textual, uh, textual proposal. So these are still valid, but I'll just want to focus on five main elements. First, the the the issue of future burden sharing.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Well, we do support [00:11:00] this idea to work on new vaccines for, uh, other diseases that are quite an economic threat, including AFS and highly pathogenic, uh, bird flu. We're watching other member states, what they come up with to, um, vaccinate against this, um, version of influenza. We want to reduce the risk for the [00:11:30] contamination to spread. We teach people, we check how requirements are met. We do support the ideas to practically apply vaccination in order to avoid losses in breeding. Uh, at the same time, this should not affect the areas and the ideas on how or rules how an area will be treated as free of disease.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank you Attila, and thanks for putting this topic on the agenda. Very timely. I think we all realize that Draghi is not is not Umberto Eco. But I think it's a it's still a must read for all policymakers. Um, we are falling behind. We have been falling behind China and and and America for, for a time for, for a long time now. And I think more of the same will not take us from from the situation where we where we in we need to we need to start anew. We need to try to address the situation where our competitiveness is, is really, really far behind the the main competitors. Um, I think Draghi, Draghi rightly pointed out the energy prices is one of the biggest, biggest problems we we are facing. Um, and we are not only using we are not only using green tech companies to our competitors, but also existing existing Industries. Energy. Energy intensive industries. Products. So we really need to act fast. I will just mention five points. Um, where we, we we see that the action is needed. I think first is, is clearly, um, um, technology neutrality. My, my French colleague already mentioned this Sweden as well. We not only need intermittent power sources, but also baseload. We it's not time to pick winners. I think we need all technologies to to drive us towards towards climate neutrality. Second point is the ETS system and the so-called end game and the prices in ETS towards the late 30s, and how the industries need to prepare for that. And also Cbam. I think Cbam is a very good tool, but we need to work on broadening its scope and also cutting red tape, because this needs to be usable at at the companies level. Third point is that we already have a very good council conclusions on grid, because grid will be important going forward. But we still need to need we still need to work on funding. I think CEF is a very good tool, and we need to make sure it stays around, and it has sufficient budget for helping the grid development to also, um, uh, mitigate the price increase for consumers. Um, point number four, we need to see if the energy taxation framework is fit for purpose. Um, for example, we are doing decarbonisation of transport in Poland and the directive does not allow us to reduce taxes, excise taxes for, uh, for electricity in transport. And last but not least, I think we need to look have a long, hard look at the fit for 55 and see if all the tools are still, uh, best designed for for where we are. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you very much, Commissioner, for your intervention and for speaking on the subject. Let me formally conclude this item. The Council took note of the information provided by Germany concerning the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The Council also took note of the comments made by delegations on this subject, as well as of the intervention by the Commissioner. I would also like to say a few words about this situation. It seems that we need more EU intervention, more EU um assistance to farmers who suffered losses because of this situation. I believe that we should reflect on this subject and take adequate measures. Ladies and gentlemen, a short technical break. I would like to ask the technicians to switch off the cameras, and we will have a very short break now. Thank you.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank you, dear president. Um, ladies and gentlemen, the current EU law do not protect enough the consumer interests in relation with environmental challenges, and the consumers are not fully able to make sustainable decisions, for example, while shopping. Um, currently, the consumers do not have a clear information about the products in relation with sustainable approach. That should be our common goal. That's why Poland do support this general approach. It is also absolutely crucial that we will support our local, medium and small businesses during the introduction of this regulations. I want to thank the presidency for this final, well-balanced compromise and both the fact that Poland supports it. Thank you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Madam chair, Mr. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we support the note addressed by France to the Commission with regards to the revision of the regulation on the provision of information about food to the consumers. That should be concluded as soon as possible. We believe that the labelling EU non EU labelling is enough and provides sufficient information that enables identification of products and their basic ingredients coming from third countries. Such labelling is also, in our view, the most feasible one because it means the lowest possible burden to the producers while providing sufficient information to the consumer. We also believe that it is in line with the activities promotional activities proposed by the Commission for 2026, including the campaign that was announced by the EC president, namely by European Food Campaign. Thank you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you. First of all, I'd like to thank the Commission for presenting their report on simplification. Also, thank the Danish Presidency for keeping this critical issue on the agenda. The omnibus are a good start, but feedback from our industry is very, very clear. We need to make a much bigger effort to bring the results which are tangible for our companies. We must finally change our mindset to transform the EU from a regulatory superpower into an economic superpower. We cannot do this with simplification only we need deregulation where it is necessary. The EU needs to build a true capacity for deregulation, not merely streamlining the regulatory state, but actively reducing its scope. We need to have a reality check of our legal aqui to see if it's still fit for our purpose. If the purpose of specific regulatory actions are not aligned with our current goals, we need to roll them back. If targets set in our laws are not feasible considering technological and economic capacities, we need to revise them. This refers clearly to the current discussion on pragmatic approach to green transition. This must, however, happen through a bottom up approach led by European businesses. They best understand the burdens they face. Poland has successfully tested a bottom up approach, with business leaders co-leading the work on the regulation along government. We, as the council, must also adopt a rigorous approach to new legislation. Thinking about the economic impact and a new provision or amendment will have on our companies. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Ladies and gentlemen, let us now move on to the following agenda point AOB. This is a suggestion by Slovakia, supported by Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia. The need to better combat unfair trading practices and to prevent the abuse of a dominant position by certain actors in the food supply chain. Slovakia has drafted an information note on this topic. It is. Document 5615. Slash 25. I will now give the floor to Slovakia to present this point. The floor is yours.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “However, it is essential that any such derogation be consulted with the farmers, representatives and inter sectoral organisations recognised in accordance with the CMO rules. The Council mandate allows member states to decide whether a written contract is necessary or not. If the first purchaser of agricultural product is a micro or small enterprise. And if the delivery of goods and payment takes place at the same time, or if the value of deliveries does not exceed a maximum maximum of €20,000. The farmers can trigger the revision clause for long term contracts after 12 months, rather than the six months initially proposed by the Commission. The introduction of mediation mechanisms by member states remains optional, as opposed to the commission proposal, which was mandatory. The Council mandate reverts to a status quo regarding the derogation from competition rule rules for producer organisations. Meaning that it will be applicable only to recognised producers organisations. The term direct and close connection in the definition of short supply chain has been clarified. The council is ready to start negotiating with the European Parliament once European Parliament adopt this position. The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is expected to vote on its report in September. And the approval at the plenary session is expected in September or October 2025. Colleagues, at this point, I want to thank you for your close cooperation and support reaching an agreement in such a short time. Despite all the differences, proves that we all care about improving the conditions for our farmers. It shows that when we are united around a common objective, we can act swiftly and effectively. Colleagues, this is a point under any other business and no discussion is foreseen. However, should anyone wish to take the floor, you are welcome to do so. I would only ask you to stick to one minute speaking time. Who would like to take the floor? We have a list here. France is first, followed by Romania. Go ahead. France.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Thank you very much, Marquis. Uh, we fully support rapid progress on the market integration package and welcome the presidency's commitment to intensify the work, delivering the required coordinated effort across all institutions. And continued engagement from the European Parliament will be essential. And as one of the recent presidencies, I may testify at all, the institutions will have to do their work for Europe to build a stronger capital market union, we must increase the role of regulated exchanges in equity trading and better understand why European investment banks and brokers are losing global market share. Targeted measures to support European intermediaries are needed if we want competitive and resilient markets. At the same time, integration must remain proportionate to reflect the diversity of our national ecosystems. We should avoid reforms that could unintentionally marginalise smaller markets or lead to excessive concentration of trading and post-trade services in only a few financial centres. A balanced and diversified market structure is strategic for the union strategic asset are. We recognize the value of increasing retail participation. Supported by national instruments such as investment accounts and long term savings products. We also see merit in transferring supervision of crypto asset service providers to ESMA to ensure consistent oversight and reduce regulatory gaps. However, in areas such as consolidated market data, cross-border depository or infrastructure links, we must proceed cautiously. These choices will significantly influence liquidity, operational costs, resilience of the local markets, and finally, beyond integration, we call for a dedicated EU level agenda to simplify financial services. Reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on public markets is essential if we want to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and attract long term investment. We know this process. We know the omnibus. I may also say that we have introduced omnibus one, uh, into our internal law just one week. Uh, well, we are almost there. There's still signature of our president needed. Uh, but but we are, we are working on simplification, uh, a lot. And this is very important for us. Thank you very much.”
  Financial regulation
• “We prepared for the discussion on the basis of three questions. How should, firstly, how should work continue into the future in terms of the directive and what should what should what approach should we be planning? Most member States Believe that we should continue working on this if we want to move forward with this directive. Some wanted to continue only after an agreement prior agreement with the European Parliament. Others said that they were more flexible. So, uh, the their view being that if the negotiations allow that, one could be more flexible. As regards what some of the points highlighted by delegations. They stress the fact that one needs to ensure consistency in terms of the practical goals and the principles, and that in terms of pay and social welfare protection, one should ensure the necessary level of protection. What is what is meant by high quality and accessibility of um traineeships? These should be Highlighted in terms of hybrid and online traineeships. One should have clear provisions. Clarifying these matters and the adapting them to national circumstances. I would like to suggest that the Danish Presidency to encourage the incoming Danish Presidency to continue our efforts, its efforts. I think Roxanna wanted to take the floor again, if I'm not mistaken.”
  Youth employment & training
• “I wish to thank the Danish presidency for the ambitious works aimed at finishing the works on the package. We started by concentrating on increasing the competitiveness of the pharma industry, and of increasing the access to patients to all. Medicinal products, but I would like to point to three key aspects of the mandate that should be included in the ongoing negotiations during the trilogue. The first one is the that we need to actually address the 11 year protective period that is at the. At the moment, the maximum allowed period. We need to bear in mind that it's one of the longest protection periods in the world, and we have to think how it affects the financial capacity of our health system. The same goes for the efficiency and maintaining the modulated incentive scheme. The second aspect is expanding the exemption. The third mechanism of giving access to medicinal products. We have to maintain the mandate of council that needs to counteract the unequal access to medicinal products in the EU. Thank you.”
  Pharma IPRs
• “Thank you, Mr. Minister. Poland fully supports the draft directive and the direction of the discussion set by your presidency, as reflected in the notes you shared with us. Before I answer the questions, I would like to sincerely thank Commissioner Johansson for her determination in fighting these horrible crimes. The sad truth is that in our public debates, we still do not pay enough attention to children victims of sexual abuse. And you, Madam Commissioner, have been making for the whole mandate of the Commission a difference in that respect. Thank you. When it comes to the first question, Poland supports the introduction of uniform and sufficiently long limitation periods. They should allow the victims to reach maturity and awareness necessary to report crimes. We should do our best to eliminate the phenomenon of impunity for perpetrators. Of course, we are aware of the differences among the member States when it comes to the limitation period. We would be ready to work to find a consensus at the technical level in response to the second question. And in our view, materials depicting child sexual abuse generated by AI should be included into the draft directive and should be criminalised. In that respect, we agree with the considerations as spelled out in the note of the presidency. Thank you.”
• “23:22 – 16:25:13): Thank you, Nicodemos. First of all, I would like to say that I'm grateful to the presidency for your tremendous work on the AI omnibus. As you rightly said, Nicodemos, it was urgent. It was under pressure from many sides, and yet, you achieved the proposal which was discussed here at the council, then in the parliament, then during tough dialogues with the parliament and the commission. Thanks to your involvement and commitment, our companies now have a larger amount of time. When it comes to the larger digital omnibus, I would also like to thank the presidency for their commitment and work on the issue. I see that there is great potential, and I believe that the Digital Omnibus proposal is a great opportunity to really simplify our digital legal system. We need to discuss especially on cookies management, data protection, and AI development. That's why I'm really hopeful that within a couple of months from now, we'll be able to say together that we achieved the ambitious level that we've seen at the beginning of this proposal. Thank you very much.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you very much, chair. Ladies and gentlemen, I really would like to thank the Belgian presidency for placing such an importance on volunteering. Because quite [00:04:30] often, uh, we don't really talk enough about it. We don't value it enough. And I think that the objective when it comes to sports is to get as many people as possible involved. And when it comes to achieving that goal, volunteers play a specific role. No. Many of these volunteers [00:05:00] don't have specific skills. They don't undergo specific preparation, and it's important that they receive support in their activities. 30% of adults in Poland, for example, have some sort of experience when it comes to volunteering. And that number is actually increasing all the time. Many of these people have quite a high [00:05:30] level of education and training. And we are trying to further that even more. We are. Trying to prepare people to become volunteers, because becoming a volunteer is something that has to be learned. It requires training. We saw just what an important role volunteers [00:06:00] can play when it comes to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and all the help and support that was provided to Ukrainian refugees, for example, who were fleeing the country. Volunteers really were on the front lines involved in the actions to provide support. It just shows how important their skills and experience and what they do is for society as a whole. So thank you very much for raising this topic and allowing us the opportunity to have this discussion. We [00:06:30] have specific provisions in Poland to support volunteering. There are criteria in place in order to be able to avail of funding. And having volunteers on board is something that is a requirement. So that's something that we think is quite a positive move. I'm listening to everything that's being said here. I'm paying close attention. I think, you know, there's very valuable experience that's been gathered around the table, and we'd love to learn from those and hopefully implement them [00:07:00] ourselves as well. And I am really looking forward to the Cypriot proposal, and I'd like to react to that, because I think it would be excellent to have some kind of prize for volunteering in sports. I think this is an initiative that would certainly be a good one, and and I would definitely support that. Thank you.”
  EU volunteering programs
• “Maria. Commissioner. Colleagues, we'd like to thank the commission for presenting the report. Speaking on the first question, I'd like to point out that the Unfair Trading Practices Directive establishes a minimum list of disallowed unfair trading practices in the supply chain, supply chain for agricultural and food products, and minimum rules for the enforcement of these provisions. The challenge lies in the difficulty of interpreting and complying with the regulations. When the supplier and the buyer are established in different member states. In our view, the revision of the directive opens space for discussion on the harmonisation of the list of unfair practices without dividing them into black and grey practices. It also provides an opportunity to expand the list of unfair practices and to include new entities that have entered the market, such as retail alliances. We also want to raise the issue of private labels. As regards the second question, the legal framework on unfair trading practices play an important role. However, this is a complementary role, particularly when addressing situations where disproportionate risks or costs are passed on to farmers. The regulations ensure a minimum level of protection for the weaker party in the supply chain, without interfering with the market pricing mechanisms. They focus on the prohibition of the most harmful market practices, such as unilateral contract amendments, late payments, or passing on promotional promotional promotional costs rather than on administrative price fixing. And this is why the legal framework on unfair trading practices does not undermine the market nature of the Cap. However, it does not guarantee or protect the fair distribution and transfer of margins in the food supply chain. This needs to be addressed in the review of the directive. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Mr. Chairman, Dear Commissioner, Ministers, let [00:08:30] me first thank the presidency for including this item on the agenda, even though we propose it quite late. It's important to discuss this. And also let me use this opportunity to thank you for the informal council organized in Cordoba by the Spanish presidency. It was informal, but also very informative. Thank you very much. Well, thank you that we start working [00:09:00] on this nature restoration draft. But most of the work is happening in environmental fora without quite including the farmers point of view. People mainly look on the need to restore nature. But. There are ideas, for example, to restore ecosystems by, for example, [00:09:30] irrigate peatland. But all this will reduce agricultural production in Poland. This would mean that up to 700,000 hectares would be excluded. That's more than 4% of arable land. This would lead to big losses, 2.5 billion zlotys. This could make this would force about maybe even 60,000 [00:10:00] farms to close down. We cannot have this kind of aggressive legislation, especially as even now we have new conditionality in strategic plans. That means that 4% of arable land has to be excluded from production. So if we if we adopt this regulation and conditionality, up to 8% of Polish arable land will be excluded. [00:10:29] So [00:10:30] in Cap, we should focus on encouraging farmers to farm rationally and to provide food security in the EU and the world. The European Parliament sees that this is necessary, so we should support the Parliament's concerns and exclude that farming sector from this regulation. We should, as agri ministers, look first of all at [00:11:00] the farmers interests, especially as natural disasters are more and more frequent and as we have the situation around the war in Ukraine. Now our position on soil protection. First question, if we have a uniform system to evaluate the situation of the soil, that's an important initiative. Yes, but. This will create some challenges. [00:11:30] It's not clear how this will be linked to the future and current cap sustainable soil management practices. Will that be part of a voluntary instrument or will become an obligation now? It's conditionality in the first years. The system should be based on incentives, not only financial. [00:12:00] We should educate people, we should promote good practices not and we should not base base it on fines. The Commission's wants a certificate that will be optional for farmers, but it will be obligatory for member states. It's an interesting proposal, but it may not be effective. [00:12:22] So perhaps instead the member states should have the leeway to decide whether they implement the system [00:12:30] and they should first base it on what they need in the country. What will be important too will be how we arrange this schedule of implementation. The idea here is for the Member States to be obliged to evaluate the status of the soil. We may need flexibility about the deadlines for all milestones. [00:13:00] We think that we need a list of practices for sustainable management of soil. This should be first, though. Uh, preceded by an evaluation of the soil's status. So the other sequence that the Commission has proposed the opposite of it. Well, experts show that research does not prove a change [00:13:30] in major change in the status of soul. That would require a evaluation every five years, as the commission proposes. Poland has had many initiatives over the years to protect soil from degradation. We have a lot of attention to the improvement of soils of soil status, for instance, regarding organic elements in [00:14:00] the soil. About everything about nutrients and biodiversity of soil environment. All practices that protect soil. Include good farming practices. Included in the conditionality. Thank you.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “We agree with the need to strengthen innovation in the agricultural sector. However, we believe that these solutions must first and foremost respond to the real needs of farmers. The principles of better regulation are based on three pillars and evidence based EU policymaking, the simplification of EU rules and avoiding unnecessary burdens, and thirdly, involving citizens and stakeholders in the decision-making process. And these principles should be strictly respected. We are therefore in favour of simplifying these rules for farmers, and we are in favour of removing unnecessary burdens. We stress the importance of a proper impact assessment based on scientific evidence. The impact assessment should take into account the impact on the economic situation, the competitiveness of eo, agriculture, food security, and it should take into account the socioeconomic aspect of the proposed solutions. I would also like to stronger involvement of farmers in adopting new legal solutions. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, [00:36:00] I'd like to thank the Spanish presidency for putting this item on today's agenda. Regarding the actions that we're taking in Poland, we have prepared a draft law to improve the status of the artist, which responds to the requests that have been voiced by the cultural circles for years. Under the draft, there will be subsidies to social security contributions and [00:36:30] payment and pension contributions between 20 to 80%, and also rebates from contributions for jobs contracted by freelancers. And it allows for grants, scholarships and Aids. Also, we're envisaging the so-called professional artists Charter, which will allow for advantages, tax breaks and special offers targeted at artists. Such a solution might possibly be [00:37:00] considered also at the general EU level. We should also try and think how to best benefit from the lessons learned from today's debate, because many issues related to the professional status and the operation of artists may be within the remit of the Epsco Council. On the second question, we'd like to draw special attention for promotions in the EU for programmes related to artists, mobility and [00:37:30] culture practitioners such as I Portenos and the Culture Moves Europe programmes. They ensure financial support for artists and cultural practitioners who, together with other international partners, implement international mobility programmes and they support sustainable measures and they are conducive to social inclusion, especially for emerging artists and young professionals. [00:38:00] On top of that, given the experience of the ICC ID cards for students or the. Icomos I.D. card for practitioners in heritage protection and historical monuments preservation. We might consider launching a European ID card for artists and culture professionals. Such an ID card might undoubtedly have a positive [00:38:30] impact on the mobility of artists, which is promoted. Thank you very much for making it possible for me to speak in this very important topic. Thank you.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Latvia, for introducing this topic. In the discussion we supported because we fully agree with the need to simplify the new Cap framework and control framework. In our proposal, we see that they follow our suggestions that we reported to the Commission in 2025. We believe that it needs to be. The control framework should be changed in a way that would foster the achievement of objectives within the Cap framework. Currently, the European Commission audit bodies, uh, penalize individual weaknesses and they do not account for the actual level of risk. We need to make sure that we, instead of penalizing, we concentrate on remedies. We need to reframe the controls so that they are more effective and help us implement a new cap. We will support all the Member States and commission to that end. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Dear colleagues. In response to the first question, we believe that to boost, uh, the bioeconomy and the future cap should support financially farmers in agri environment. Uh, to increase production while preserving, uh resources. We should strengthen local supply chains. We should also diversify our sources of income in rural areas, and also by means of renewable energy. To minimize the impact on the environment, we should promote circular economy. By using new technologies. And training farmers. In replies to the second question, I'd like to point out a number of actions that would be important to improve competitiveness of bio based products in the global markets. And we believe we should harmonise standards of production as well as processing and labelling of bio based products in EU. We should also support research and innovation by financing, uh, innovative products and methods of production and by ensuring better cooperation through networks between businesses, research centres and public bodies. There is a need to increase organic farming, support for organic farming and sustainable farming practices, for the development of infrastructure necessary for the processing and distribution of bio based products. We should also promote the unique value of bio based products, including the organization of global campaigns to promote European bio based products.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “Thank you, chair. Please allow me also to briefly react on, military mobility. I will be speaking Polish. This is a very important initiative. Poland continues to support this initiative. Under our presidency, we also dealt with this topic. We talked to the parliament about it. On military mobility, we need to ensure that it's simplified as much as possible that we have as much synergy as possible with NATO and that we also support countries which bear the main burden of defense logistics. We must ensure adequate funding for military mobility as part of the new MFF. And in particular, we should guarantee funds for the development of transport and fuel infrastructure. Thank you.”
  Relations with NATO
• “27:39 – 16:30:31): Ladies and gentlemen achieving a competitive position by the eu on the global market in terms of creating and using ai technologies should be one of the key priorities of European policy. The development of new technologies and innovations on the labor market has a great potential to improve the quality of life to strengthen the economic standing of the member states and to increase social welfare. The ai can change the way we work by offering new opportunities in terms of greater flexibility efficiency and collaboration in particular ai based technologies can increase industrial capacity improve the efficiency and quality of services provided support decision making processes and improve resource management. These technologies also affect the organization of work change the required skill sets and can affect recruitment processes or salary decisions. In this context the European semester should continue to support reforms aimed at developing digital skills and other technological competencies of eu citizens in particular those active on the labor market upskilling especially in the digital skills is today one of the most important factors. However the technological and transformation also present significant change challenges digital tools can foster a culture of continuous accessibility where workers feel the pressure of being constantly online. We cannot rule out the situation whereby algorithms will duplicate or amplify existing biases resulting from input datasets or system design errors therefore the deployment of ai in the workplace must fully respect workers' rights privacy and dignity. It is crucial to ensure adequate human control over ai based systems and to take into account new psychological risks in occupational health and safety assessments. Responsible use of ai also requires a high level of core skills that allow employees to critically assess the information generated by digital digital systems and cooperate effectively with the used technology. Poland is also open to cooperation within the framework of the initiative on workers' rights in the context of the application of artificial intelligence and algorithms in the workplace announced by the European commission. Social dialogue should play an important role in managing the technological transition employees should be protected here and the social dialogue should be of key importance. We should involve social partners and works in the process of introducing new technologies we should grant them access to information on the functioning of algorithms used in the work environment it is going to be the key element in identifying potential risks and ensuring a more balanced distribution over the benefits stemming from the digital transformation”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Brother Christoph, thank you very much. Colleagues, we'll open the floor for debate. I'd like to hear from you. I'd like you to respond to the two questions to the extent that you think is necessary. I'm not going to read, but the first question is whether you agree that we really need to improve the mechanism. And if yes, how do we go about doing it? I'd like to hear your suggestions on how to increase the effectiveness of implementation at EU level. Second thing is, we'd like you to share ideas on how to more effectively address rural development and other strategies and policies and EU funds other than the Common Agricultural Policy. Then the second question, we also want to hear from you on good practices from local, regional and national level. So the first to take the floor Sweden. Daniel. The floor is yours. Followed by Finland.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Thank you very much. Romania. And on your first question, We agree that the revision of the directive is necessary, inter alia, to to address new environmental threats that we that we face. We see, however, that the ambition of the some of the proposed measures will need to be adapted to reflect the current level of implementation of the directive and make sure that the new requirements are both realistic and achievable from that perspective. A key question to answer will be um, um, providing adequate funding to implement the required um objectives. Um, another element necessary will be the clarification and possibly modification of some of the definitions proposed, in particular when these definitions already exist under the current framework or in other directives, and differ from those used in other directives. Um, we also see the need to discuss further the change of the threshold for agglomeration of 1000 to 2000. Um, and we also see the need for further discussion, uh, regarding the usage of individual systems in justified cases and the type of these systems. Um, the, the proposals also regarding, uh, nitrogen and phosphorus will be, uh, will have to be analyzed in the context of existing obligations, in other directives to make sure that the requirements in these are not mutually exclusive, as was underlined by by many. We think that some of the deadlines for implementation are quite ambitious and will also need to be revised. Um, on your, uh, second question, we see the need to introduce an effective EPR mechanism in this in this matter. Um, but from that perspective, and in order for that mechanism to be, uh, really effective, it will have to be adapted to the political principle. This means that we will have to include the actual participation of all the entities responsible for the presence of micropollutants in wastewater and revise in this regard, the proposed, uh, scope. Um, we would like also to underline that we will need further discussion on energy neutrality, in particular with regard to the need to carry out risk assessments and energy audits for wastewater treatment plants in relation to the proposed, uh, deadline. And, um, and finally, as I said, some of these deadlines will need to be adjusted to reflect the actual implementation and be realistic. Thank you.”
  Water pollution
• “Thank you very much. Madam [00:07:30] chair, madam Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, ministers, we are facing a new era. We are all aware of this digital transformation brought with it unprecedented possibilities, innovation and connectivity. But it also poses challenges. And we have to face them carefully and with long term view. Education has a key role in making sure that our citizens will have the necessary [00:08:00] skill and knowledge needed in digital economies. Investing in educational programs, focusing on digital skills. We can provide for people the possibility to reap the benefits of digital revolution without, uh, leaving behind, uh, those who are more exposed to risks. We have to define anew the basic confidence as key competences and cross-cutting competences, [00:08:30] which will respond to the needs of this generation and their challenges. [00:08:36] In curricula, we have to include AI, its risks and challenges. It is necessary for citizens who are aware of what these technologies means. We should, as early as possible, prepare students to be able to safely use the technologies. It is also necessary to introduce ethics and developing competence and social [00:09:00] competencies, uh, so that they can develop in an integral way. Teachers should be necessarily supported in lifelong learning related to AI. Ai could also be used by teachers as uh, support when hybrid teaching and flexible teaching, by personalizing teaching, adapting it to needs and preferences of of students. It could also be a mechanism helping [00:09:30] to prevent discrimination or exclusion. Let's not forget about the possibilities of that AI's give us, for example, interactive environment for learning for students, but also mechanisms that help to analyze the educational systems. The key challenge for the EU now is to create innovative methods of teaching when and using uh technology. [00:10:00] For this, in order to achieve this, this is necessary for Europe to be to remain competitive. We could also cooperate in conducting international research. And uh, there therefore, we could base our policies on facts. Our measures related to AI, um, could be, for example, coming up with a joint framework and joint ethical norms. Thank you. Merci [00:10:30] beaucoup.”
  Focus of EU policy on education (shaping workers vs citizens)
• “Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chair. Poland would like to thank for placing a policy debate on the need to provide more flexibility to Member States on the on the proposed regulation of title two of the of the proposal for a directive on the harmonisation [00:48:30] of certain aspects of insolvency law. And we are of the opinion that Member States should be given more freedom to choose the sanction to be applied to legal acts of the debtor, to the detriment of the general body of creditors before the opening of insolvency proceedings. As it stands, the rules proposed by the Commission do not reflect the stated approach of minimum harmonisation of insolvency law in this area, [00:49:00] and it should be noted that article five allows Member States to retain their existing rules on the avoidance, violability and unenforceability of legal actions of the debtor, made to the detriment of the creditors as a whole. So if the national rules provide for a higher protection of creditors than that provided for it in title two of the draft, while the other provisions of this title only use the [00:49:30] concept of availability of such actions, so they do not appear to be any objective considerations in favour of harmonising sanctions in respect of a debtor or legal actions carried out to the detriment of creditors. So the rules in place so far in the Member States adequately fulfilled their role, including in those Member States whose rules only provide for a sanctions of [00:50:00] unenforceability. So imposing on the Member States the need to apply sanctions of liability for a debt or legal transactions carried out to the detriment of creditors is, in Poland's view, not only unnecessary for the achievement of the objective declared by the Commission, but also renders the declared minimum harmonisation meaningless. Thank you very much. [00:50:30]”
  Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• “Thank you very much. I would like to thank you for your experience. This experience makes it clear that culture is not only about heritage. This is a real foundation of social resilience. Therefore, on behalf of Poland, I would like to say something about our leading priorities that should be guiding our debates at the council. First and foremost, security and preparedness in the context of war, social tensions, and climate crisis. Culture is becoming a strategic resource. That is why we must strengthen resilience of cultural institutions. We must develop the modern systems of the protection of our heritage and better coordinate our actions and the crisis. It is also important to build social peace. Second of all, culture is a means in developing social cohesion. Well functioning cultural institutions have a real impact on everyday life of citizens. They build the feeling of community. At the same time, investment in culture may reinforce in the regional development of subsequent regions. That is why we need to invest further in infrastructure, culture education, as well as in modern mechanisms of funding for culture. Last but not least, conditions of work of artists and cultural staff. More and more creators function under economic uncertainty. They lack social security in Poland. We have prepared a draft law as a protection for people performing these missions. In Europe, we must have a greater protection of artists as well as qualifications recognition. It is also substantial to discuss how AI impacts cultural sectors. The development of AI changes the situation of copyright landscape. That is why we need a European debate on transparency, in this respect about liability and new mechanisms for creators remuneration. We must also reinforce competitiveness of European or the visual sector. We must uphold European cinemas, European productions, and greater visibility of European productions on digital platforms. And finally, environmental issues, we mustn't neglect them either. Sustainable development must be embedded in country policies and in the overall functioning of the country sector in the entire EU. All these areas come as responses to the current challenges, and they are well enshrined in our talk about the future of Europe, European cohesion, and social resilience. Thank you.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “We have already received these proposals and they do not provide substantial changes, as they will not remove the significant barriers that were broadly discussed, and their implementation will still lead to fragmentation and additional administrative burdens for financial institutions and supervisory authorities. In our opinion, we should all reflect on the future of this proposal and have an honest discussion during the upcoming council working party whether we should continue working on this file. Similarly, on the open finance file, so-called Fida file, we held the first trilogue on 1st of April, similar as for retail investment strategy file. Both the presidency and the Parliament have requested the Commission to prepare a non-paper focusing on simplification and burden reduction. We are still waiting for the Commission's concrete proposals. Our teams continue to work on the payment service package, with the objective of reaching a council mandate as quickly as possible. As we are quite close to reaching a mandate, I would like to call on delegations to show flexibility so that we can agree on a council mandate before our term ends. Since my latest update in February, the Commission has made a proposal for targeted amendment of the Capital Requirements Regulation.”
  EU regulation on financial data access
• “Delegates were asked to reflect on how Cbam and ETS can better align with the industry needs, and what additional measures are needed in the Chemical Industry Action Plan. There is a common understanding that the industry needs immediate and tangible relief. There is also a common understanding that the carbon cost must be brought down. As regards the direction of the changes to ETS, different views were expressed. We heard a clear call for suspension of the ETS system, as well as statements underlining the importance of the system as such. We observe broad support for pragmatic adjustments to ETS. Free allowances phase out when it comes to cbam sectors. Free allowances should be frozen at least until the effectiveness of cbam is confirmed beyond doubt. A number of member states also highlighted the issue of ETS allowances, price stability and the predictability of the system. A number of member states also highlighted the issue of ambitious cbam revision that will prevent circumvention, as well as downstream and export related carbon leakage. Some member states have called for an extension of the scope of Cbam to some downstream products. Member states attach high importance to the establishment of the Critical Chemical Alliance as its role in identifying key chemical molecules and production sites. The platform is therefore essential to the development of EU's largest support and safeguard measures. We've heard a clear call for maintaining simplification, spirit and self-restraint when it comes to the new legislation. Legislative addressing industrial competitiveness. Thank you very much for your attention.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “The reason behind these conclusions is to raise awareness about the serious challenges that young artists have to face at the beginning of their careers, and particularly to gain access to the labour market and to obtain a stable revenues. The conclusions were discussed by professionals from the countries. We spoke about several aspects connected with the health, including the mental health and the possibilities to support young artists. The conclusions Collusions invite the member States and the commissions to tackle those challenges. We speak of promoting a social dialogue as a means of improving the working conditions. To take in to consideration the data and the public statistics regarding the data regarding those artists, or creating European programmes for them. Thanks to the openness and engagement of all the members of the committee, we managed to come up with a compromise version of the document. I would like to thank everybody for their valuable contribution. I would also like to thank the Commission for excellent cooperation and constructive approach while discussing the document. I'm happy that all the Member States can support the conclusions. And before we approve the conclusion selected, give the floor to the commission, please.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “Extension of ESMA supervisory powers should preserve an appropriate role for national competent authorities, ensure effective information sharing and respect for the principle of subsidiarity. Extending direct supervision to entities of mainly domestic relevance is not justified. We also support governance reforms aimed at improving efficiency effectiveness, including the establishment of the Executive Board regarding funding. We support the proposed 5050 model for financing Esma's new responsibilities. Provided that overall framework remains transparent and proportionate. Effective supervision should avoid duplication of supervisory activities and avoid unnecessary costs, as it was mentioned many times today. For Poland, capital market development remains a strategic priority. In particular, we focus on transparency, liquidity, fragmentation, and price formation, and I would like to emphasise that we see merit in strengthening transparent trading venues, improving the level playing field between exchanges and systemic internalizers, enhancing post-trade transparency and preserving the informational role of the consolidated tape. And we see these elements as essential for building efficient and competitive European capital markets. Thank you very much.”
  Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID)
• “Thank you. Chair. I wanted to say that we fully agree with the need to protect the production capacity in Europe and to strengthen the integrity of the European chemical industry. And again, I wanted to refer to the Antwerp Declaration made by the industry. This declaration was also signed by organisations from Poland and they have called for a focus on competitiveness. So today chemicals are present in about 95% Percent of manufactured goods, and they are a backbone of many European value. Chains. Nonetheless, it is the chemical industry and energy intensive industry that is one of the largest. Largest emitters of CO2 in the EU. Therefore, the Non-paper rightly emphasizes the need to effectively use the sustainable energy sources in the chemical industry, and Polish companies have really been making great efforts to do this. However, again, we must find effective solutions to prevent the chemical industry from moving outside of the EU. We would like to see an EU law that creates incentives for companies to invest in clean technologies. But we would not like to see an overly restrictive and detailed implementation implementing regulations. We also hope that the review of chemical regulations, including Reach, will bring a positive change in this regard. In general, we feel that chemical regulations should promote and support sustainable industrial transformation. Therefore, it is essential that they do not prevent EU companies from investing in the development of innovative products. Thank you.”
  Chemicals regulation
• “Thank you, Madam President, first of all, for putting this digital aspect of the [00:15:00] European Semester on our agenda. Constantly accelerating digital and technological progress despite the definitively positive impact on the quality of work, socio economic development and access to high quality public services may over time lead to digital segmentation of the labour market. It will therefore become necessary to plan diversified measures responding to the needs of specific groups in the labour market in [00:15:30] order to create effective solutions. A reliable social dialogue is necessary. In my country, social partners input is provided by the participation at the Labour Market Council, where new labour market instruments are being discussed. We believe that in this transition it is key to develop new workforce competence and skills. To that effect, initiatives promoting and supporting, upgrading and reskilling [00:16:00] are needed. We are an active participant in EU activities in this area, including as part of the current European Year of Skills. We promote the idea of lifelong learning. We support employees training with funding from the National Training Fund, where digital skills are one of the priorities. We welcome recommendation providing for the assessment of the competence of young people under the Youth Guarantee. [00:16:30] We [00:16:30] have also developed a system for assessing digital competence and recommendations for labour authorities to supplement this competence of young people in order to strengthen the digital competence and skills, we should consider two sets of actions. Firstly, setting up European traineeships programmes focused on digital competence, organised in cooperation with technological technology leaders. Targeting groups at risk of digital exclusion [00:17:00] such as older workers, low skilled workers, young people from the Neet group and persons with disabilities. And secondly, creation of systems for monitoring and demand and supply of digital skills in societies. For example, our ministry has developed a project under ESF Plus which forecasts the demand for digital and green skills in the framework of the European Semester. Efforts to ensure an equitable digital transformation should focus [00:17:30] on the one hand, on the promotion of new EU wide solutions such as the mentioned earlier, traineeship programmes or individual training activities, and on the other hand, on the allocation of adequate financial resources for those activities, primarily in the framework of the cohesion policy, but also by integrating into other EU instruments, actions and financial resources for the development of digital competence. Thank you for your attention.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Thank you very much for giving me the floor. Poland, supports the aim of the regulation, which is strengthening the protection of children's rights in cross border situations, including the right to identity, nondiscrimination, and private and family life. For Poland, the most important thing is for the provisions of the regulation to be constructed in such a way that they will, implement the overriding rights of the child while leaving the courts a certain flexibility in the application of these provisions, allowing them to take into account the specific constitutional orders of individual partners individual member states. On the 1st question, Poland notes that at the current state of negotiation, a lot of fundamental issues are still open, and we don't have a stabilized overall text which could be a point of reference for assessing whether it could be acceptable or not. So because of that, it's not easy, to indicate what the 2 concrete most important elements are, which from the Polish perspective would make it possible for us to support a compromised text. But certainly, 1 of the questions Poland attach es a lot of importance to is that we should, take as a principle the invariability of the applicable law to a child throughout the child's life. That is important certainty, and to, avoid the, people changing the applicable law for other motives. It's also important that we should recognize court rulings on the origin of a child, and they should we should continue to respect every successive ruling should respect the earlier rulings of the applicable law. To answer the 2nd question, taking into account how far we've got in the negotiations and the lack of unanimity, we're still we're still got a long way to go. There are a lot of issues still to be discussed. It's impossible to say whether the instrument will be acceptable to all participants in the negotiations or not. We must remember that it's a sensitive issue because it touches on family law. So it's quite natural that the negotiation process is gonna be difficult, and it's gonna take a long time. 1 way of speeding things up might be intensifying work at expert level. And to conclude, just a general, comment, the ex the work at expert level can't be allowed to go on forever either because otherwise, we'll end up with a paradox, which in Poland, we say, well, I'm not going to go into the water till I've learned to swim. And usually, you solve that paradox by closing your eyes and jumping in at the deep end. And even if you slight feel you're drowning, you can always reach out for a a life belt in the form of enhanced cooperation.”
  Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• “Mr. president, thank you very much for also giving us the opportunity to both address the point and the AOB. Let me make make it clear that our discussion is taking place against the backdrop of continuous deterioration, deterioration of EU's industrial competitiveness that, uh, you've mentioned. Um, we are seeing accelerating de-industrialisation and we are, in fact, in a second debate where we have no time left. The action plans, uh, constitute an important step in the right direction. We do need to focus on industrial competitiveness, and we need more flexible approach to decarbonisation pathways. As um commissioner mentioned, economy is a language of power right now, um, in order to move forward on these plans, we need, uh, accelerate and provide immediate and tangible relief to our industry. Again, we do not have time left. The key challenges remain unchanged. High energy prices. High costs of sustainability regulations, including especially carbon costs. External pressures of unfair and distortive competition. The assessment. This assessment is also reflected in the Antwerp Call and the leaders debate during the last leaders retreat. We need flexible and pragmatic approach. This should entail, first of all, a revision of benchmarks and targets under the European Green Deal, informed by commercial accessibility and availability of solutions. Secondly, the consistent application of the principle of technological neutrality in EU laws and policies, and thirdly, the implementation based on incentives rather than obligations. The action plans should, uh, should act in synergy with Industrial Accelerator Act. The opportunities in this European preference lie in a whole of Europe approach. We talked about it a little bit at the first session that supports convergence.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Now, chairman. Commissioner. Ladies, ladies and gentlemen, we would expect that the legislative proposals from the European Commission on Animal Welfare are precise and workable by our farmers, without any doubt. They need to make sure that they are clear on implementing acts in order to avoid possible burden in the future. Those proposals need to be based on a very clear impact assessment, but also this would need to take into account the conditions of breeding of animals, but also possible consequences for the consumers and entities on the market. Now, any changes in terms of animal welfare need to be gradual and reasonable, and our priority would be a very long transition period, which would allow to adjust the animal production in the member states to the new requirements. Thank you very much.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “Thank you, sir. And Commissioner, let me wish the presidency all possible luck. We do support a review of EU legislation on animal welfare. We think that any changes should not focus on bans or restrictions of some types of transport. There should be more facilitation of intra-EU trade and exports. While keeping animal welfare at high levels. Also, when we propose any new legislation, we should consider the diversity of our geographical conditions and our systems. And we have to think about how to keep our farmers competitive compared to third countries.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “Thank you very much. I would like to thank the Spanish presidency for the work they've done on this draft. This proposal will have a financial, economic and political repercussions, so we shouldn't rush things. We have [00:33:00] to take into account the principles of better regulation and the recent initiatives such as the SME support package. So we have to be, uh, careful about imposing additional, uh, work burden on businesses. We support the idea of having the commission as a sole executor, uh, to ensure [00:33:30] that the principles of the regulation are being enforced, it will ensure that we have a consistent implementation, uh, throughout the whole process, investigation, decision making process, which will, uh, lead to withdrawal from the union market of any products produced using forced labor. And will contribute towards getting rid of forced [00:34:00] labour. Now, there was a similar proposal in the regulation on foreign subsidies which could distort the internal market. And. We the. Commission's resources and measures could have a positive impact on, uh, checks carried out in the context of the foreign subsidies. I would just like to [00:34:30] focus on products which could have an impact on human health, such as medicines or medical devices. Withdrawal without finding an appropriate substitute could have a negative impact on human health and life. It should be possible to suspend withdrawal measures and apply other measures, such as special checks on [00:35:00] working conditions for a specific period of time. Thank you.”
  EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains
• “Thank you very much. And thanks for the for the proposals from the Commission. Poland welcomes the efforts to support the European automotive factor in in this ongoing transition in a very challenging and difficult time globally. Um, at the same time, um, Poland thinks that the proposal should further strengthen technological neutrality and also that, that, uh, of course, uh, recognizing the role of a transition technologies, um, we support, uh, lowering 20, 35 targets from 100% to, to 90% for, for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Uh, having said that, we think it's, it's only the first pragmatic step to, to better design, uh, and to better align climate ambition with market realities, but also with, with the industry situation and, uh, consumer wishes, um, for light commercial vehicles, Poland supports revising 2030 trajectory, but we also believe that the target should be lowered from 50% to 30% on flexibilities. We we think that additional flexibility mechanisms are necessary. Longer compliance period. We would go for five year averaging instead of three. Um, and we think appropriate incentives for zero emission vehicles made in EU are necessary. Uh, the green steel, uh, maybe should be, uh, should be, um, extended to, to other materials.”
  2035 ICE phase-out: strict zero-emission target vs. flexibility for carmakers · Road transport environmental policy
• “(11:01:47 – 11:02:09): in in Poland, we say, well, I'm not going to go into the water till I've learned to swim. And usually, you solve that paradox by closing your eyes and jumping in at the deep end. And even if you slight feel you're drowning, you can always reach out for a a life belt in the form of enhanced cooperation.”
  EU political integration
• “And we need to adhere to a level playing field. Let me make it a little bit more clear. Um, we need to make it very clear that member states that start from a different energy transition. Uh, places don't get punished and don't get disincentives. Um, in this in this plans, our companies need to benefit regardless of the initial energy mix. We have other, other tools to deal with carbon transition rather than EAA. Switching a little bit. Global unfair competition and trade distortions are caused by design over capacity. With regard to the steel sector. Metal scrap should be considered a crucial resource and therefore EU need to prevent scrap leakage. Building on the commitment to the competitiveness of traditionally strong industries today, Poland has hosted the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Alliance for Energy Intensive Industries. Now I would like to briefly present its results. The alliance aims to to provide relevant insights aiding the work of the Commission and the Council. Today's meeting was dedicated to the competitiveness of European chemical industry. That, Commissioner pointed out, is suffering over um over the past years. The strong turnout demonstrates the continued relevance of the platform. The process of de-industrialisation in the European chemical sector and the industry as an industry of industries is accelerating at an alarming pace. We have heard about the fact that 9% of the production has shut down since 2022, and we lost in Europe 100,000 jobs following the Antwerp call, which points to a high energy and carbon costs as one of the priorities for action. And in the run up to the Cbam and ETS revisions, there is an urgent need to send a crystal clear message to encourage bold action.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “And we need to adhere to a level playing field. Let me make it a little bit more clear. Um, we need to make it very clear that member states that start from a different energy transition. Uh, places don't get punished and don't get disincentives. Um, in this in this plans, our companies need to benefit regardless of the initial energy mix. We have other, other tools to deal with carbon transition rather than EAA. Switching a little bit. Global unfair competition and trade distortions are caused by design over capacity. With regard to the steel sector. Metal scrap should be considered a crucial resource and therefore EU need to prevent scrap leakage. Building on the commitment to the competitiveness of traditionally strong industries today, Poland has hosted the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Alliance for Energy Intensive Industries. Now I would like to briefly present its results. The alliance aims to to provide relevant insights aiding the work of the Commission and the Council. Today's meeting was dedicated to the competitiveness of European chemical industry. That, Commissioner pointed out, is suffering over um over the past years. The strong turnout demonstrates the continued relevance of the platform. The process of de-industrialisation in the European chemical sector and the industry as an industry of industries is accelerating at an alarming pace. We have heard about the fact that 9% of the production has shut down since 2022, and we lost in Europe 100,000 jobs following the Antwerp call, which points to a high energy and carbon costs as one of the priorities for action. And in the run up to the Cbam and ETS revisions, there is an urgent need to send a crystal clear message to encourage bold action.”
  Carbon leakage support
• “The efficiency of cohesion policy is largely based on involving the regions. They know local specificity, specificity, and they can plan measures. So it's important to keep their strong position in how we programme and manage and implement this policy. Thank you.”
  Cohesion and rural funding
• “Um, in the labor market, this is addressing root causes of poverty. And this helps us to remove barriers that, uh, um, make it impossible to actually join the labor market. We want to, uh, address and propose schemes that will offer pensions and benefits. We want to address problems that the seniors and people with disabilities are faced with. Uh, for example, we have a scheme for, um, widows and widowers, um, providing special benefits for them. We have been also introducing regulatory and digitalization activities in Poland to improve access to social services and reduce administrative red tape barriers, which make it impossible to be used by everybody. In the context of addressing poverty, we have to introduce an EU wide strategies that will bear in mind specificities of individual countries. We believe that access to funds should be easier. We should exchange good practices and not base our activities only on the number of indicators of financial conditionality. We need to build our policies on trust, simplicity and cooperation through strengthening real potential of people, always having in mind the need to improve competitiveness and equality which is currently affected by high energy prices in Europe. Thank you.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Um, in the labor market, this is addressing root causes of poverty. And this helps us to remove barriers that, uh, um, make it impossible to actually join the labor market. We want to, uh, address and propose schemes that will offer pensions and benefits. We want to address problems that the seniors and people with disabilities are faced with. Uh, for example, we have a scheme for, um, widows and widowers, um, providing special benefits for them. We have been also introducing regulatory and digitalization activities in Poland to improve access to social services and reduce administrative red tape barriers, which make it impossible to be used by everybody. In the context of addressing poverty, we have to introduce an EU wide strategies that will bear in mind specificities of individual countries. We believe that access to funds should be easier. We should exchange good practices and not base our activities only on the number of indicators of financial conditionality. We need to build our policies on trust, simplicity and cooperation through strengthening real potential of people, always having in mind the need to improve competitiveness and equality which is currently affected by high energy prices in Europe. Thank you.”
  EU policy on aging workforce and pensions
• “Dear colleagues, uh, this dialogue on the future of agriculture, on the situation in agriculture has been started by our farmers during their protests. Uh, they. [00:19:00] Talk about these challenges and what are their demands. So they want the revision of the cap. They say that they have too much costs to incur. There is also uncontrolled flow of goods. There is no profitability. Uh, farms go bankrupt. And the commissioner talked about the decreasing [00:19:30] number of farms. And in this chain between farm and fork, where the weakest link, we have no say when it comes to the prices of food, the machines. We do not have anything to say when it comes to the selling prices. And I think that this dialogue is very important. It is necessary. We as ministers, we go to such meetings, we discuss things, and I would like [00:20:00] to encourage the commission, maybe not only the Commissioner for Cekovsky, but also other commissioners, to go out there and listen to the farmers. Maybe their perception would be different and the decision taking process would look differently. And finally, we have to know that farmers are become very radical, and this is something that must be taken into account. We must consider this because the situation is very volatile. Uh, and uh, [00:20:30] the second issue, the war in Ukraine, uh, this war has made us look differently at food security, because when it comes to globalization, it is not that we can buy and sell anything we want. We can buy a lot of, uh, goods, but they will never arrive. They will never be delivered. So I think that, uh, we need [00:21:00] a different perception. There is a new a new perception when it comes to security. And there is also the issue of opening markets. If we open new markets, we liberalize trade with regions, with countries. We have the experience that, uh, when we were giving negative evaluations, they were always rejected by the trade committee in EPP, agriculture also always lost, uh, when it was [00:21:30] compared with trade to, with businesses. So please listen to me right now. And agriculture has always been on the losing side. Everything was at the expense of agriculture. So let's take a look at the reality, for example, the budget. Let's take a look at the budget. The budget in agriculture, for example, when it comes to permanent prices, the budget is on the decrease when it comes to different agricultural [00:22:00] areas. So how to finance, where to get the funds from? If we take into account if we consider fixed pricing. And this is these are the answers to your questions when it comes to the situation in agriculture, because this sector is quite specific, very dependent on climate, on weather, on external factors. And we have to take all this into account. This is very sensitive sector. [00:22:30] And in the future policy we should go more into financial instruments. We should consider these financial instruments that will provide security to our farmers. But we cannot have a situation whereby farmers are, uh, led to bankruptcy. And this is something that is happening. The situation is very serious. And to finish, I would like to say that we need an in-depth analysis [00:23:00] of the past and the presence of the present of the Common Agricultural Policy. This is about the challenges, challenges of the times that are ahead of us. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “Thank you chair. And thank you, Commissioner, for your announcement of the so-called omnibus on food and feed safety. This will be very important to us. Facilitating the rules for registering plant protection products, including biological active substances, is greatly needed. Simplifying administrative procedures should contribute to faster access to more effective solutions. This is particularly relevant for biological plant protection products adapted to local conditions. At the same time, high safety standards should be maintained. We hope that the changes proposed by the Commission will enable the use of new technologies and innovations in plant protection, among others. Like my colleague said, including drones, which fits the concept of precision agriculture. Thank you.”
  Digital and precision farming
• “Thank you, Mr. President. I think, and this is the most important message, that the agreement today is achievable. Uh, if we and the Parliament will show the willingness to find a compromise. Uh, it's also because we consider the first draft compromise presented by the commission is a good starting point for these negotiations. Uh, we would like to provide you a few hints where the compromise could be struck. Uh, and the first such point is that the European Parliament's demands regarding certain programmes such as Erasmus+, military mobility, asylum and migration fund, border management and humanitarian aid, as well as Frontex, uh, these, uh, These programs, uh, look, uh, well, very valuable in our in our eyes. And the, uh, the compromise might be struck, uh, here. Uh, second, the payment level proposed by the commission is, uh, actually perhaps overly conservative, particularly given the reductions outlined in the amending letter. Uh, we consider that there will not be sufficient to cover all shared management needs, especially those related to cohesion. Then insufficient funds at the current stage, when implementation in cohesion is significantly accelerating, where later in the process now, it may result in the need to increase payments during the year for another year in a row. And I would like to draw your attention that in 2025, the payments had to be increased during the year by over €6 billion, and we expect that the common statement on payments will be a part of the final compromise with Parliament. And this statement will allow us to act immediately when needed during the next year. Then, regarding the European Union recovery instruments, as mentioned several times liquidity costs. In principle, we maintain our support for the council position. But depending on the negotiations and in your hands, Mr. President, we do not rule out any option. So we are open here. Finally, we maintain our opinion that each change in the amount of commitments must be reflected in appropriate changes in payments. And I would like to reiterate that you are ready to work with the presidency and the Member States and Parliament to find acceptable compromise. Thank you very much.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you very much. Given that during the Polish presidency, we worked, uh, on both this. And I would like to share the concerns of, uh, Roland and Jeanette, uh, on both, um, the state of current drafting of these. In our eyes, it appears to deviate from the political agreement. Uh, and we, in our view, the current text may create obligations that could lead to disproportionate burdens and legal uncertainty. And on. On Friday, we have. We also like to echo the comments and doubts. Poland always supported creation of a framework for safe financial data sharing, with clear benefits for consumers and financial institutions that preserves the EU competitiveness. And in our view, the proposal actually is not likely to achieve that. Thank you very much.”
  EU regulation on financial data access
• “07:27 – 12:08:33): Thank you very much. We support the Czech initiative, and we want to invite the commission to pay more attention to how this develops via the 10 t network. We want to invest in more multimodal terminals in the next MFF and to have additional support for the new CEF 3 programs. And we also want to add that developing the railway network further will enhance military mobility as well. The EU Ukraine treaty for the moment is implying, obligations for freight transport. And therefore, we would want freight transport to be dealt with more specifically. That's very important part of this policy and will help us to ensure a better EU level freight transport. Thank you.”
  EU support of rail transport
• “First of all, I'd like to congratulate Stephanie and Danish Presidency and wish you all the best and successes during the next six months. Also would like to. Thanks to all of you for good words about Polish presidency. Work on uh, on this file. And in principle, Poland supports the proposed way forward and the direction of work in regards to this legislative package. Generally, we also agree with the identified list of main outstanding issues. Of course, due to the fact that Poland does not belong to the eurozone. The issue of introducing a digital euro does not concern Poland to the same, to the same extent as member states, where the euro is the national currency as a non-euro area member state in general. We welcome the direction of work in regard to the treatment of Non-euro area Member States, and especially that the distribution of digital euro for the citizens in the member states outside the euro area will be subject to the agreement between ECB and the National Central bank of the member State concerned. It is crucial from the financial stability and monetary sovereignty perspective. We would like to underline that for us there is only the crucial issue left is concerning the treatment of Non-euro area credit institutions, which we hope will be resolved under the Danish presidency. In our view, the Non-euro area credit institutions should not be subject to any of the obligations that are disproportionate and generate high costs for these entities. Thank you.”
  Digital euro
• “Thank you very much, Marquis. And thanks a lot for the presidency for the work on this file, including the work of attachés in the Council working party. We support the efforts to strengthen the integration, efficiency and resilience of the European capital markets, ensuring that supervisory arrangements remain proportionate and closely linked to actual market relevance. In general, we support the proposed solutions on the scope for direct supervision by ESMA. In our view, direct supervision should focus on entities that genuinely. Of generally cross border and systemic importance. And in finance, we are getting more and more for cross border activities in financial markets. The technology changes. And, well, what Kyriakos has mentioned about our predecessors, actually, they operated in different technological circumstances. Now the case is even stronger. Uh, we also support a stronger role for ESMA in crypto assets and supervising crypto asset service providers, given their inherently cross-border nature. Uh, but at the same time, you are a bit skeptical on transferring the to ESMA supervisory responsibilities stemming from other sectoral legislations or non-financial legislation for financial entities falling within the scope of MCA. The definition of significant should be based on clear, objective and proportionate criteria, reflecting actual market impact rather than formal characteristics such as ownership or group structure, as Johanna mentioned in her intervention as well.”
  Financial regulation
• “Europe must lead in using AI to push the boundaries of discovery. But we must do it in a way that is responsible, inclusive, and grounded in our values. These conclusions mark our collective ambition to try to make the EU the frontrunner in applying AI for science, and to support our researchers with the tools, data and the infrastructure they need. Our message today is clear. Europe needs a dedicated and coordinated strategy for AI and science. No more fragmentation, but focused, scalable actions that connect existing initiatives and fill in the grid the critical gaps in the conclusions. We support the Commission's upcoming strategy and call for it to enable interdisciplinary research ecosystems, enhance coordinated policy developments across the EU and national levels, provide upskilling pathways and fair access to AI tools. Promote responsible and ethical AI that aligns with scientific integrity and European values. We also emphasize the meaning of inclusiveness. Europe's AI and science agenda must support underrepresented groups, strengthen research in all regions and prevent a digital divide across the European research area. The conclusions welcome the discussion on a European AI Research Council. If structured well, it could become a magnet for AI excellence and innovation. We must also ensure regular monitoring of AI's scientific impact with safeguards to mitigate bias, automation errors and ethical risks. Together, we are setting the direction for how Europe will integrate AI into its scientific mission. This is not just about catching up, it's about leading responsibly with excellence, values and coordination. Before opening the floor to the delegations, I'd like to ask the Commissioner to express her opinion. The floor is yours, Minister.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Delegates were asked to reflect on how Cbam and ETS can better align with the industry needs, and what additional measures are needed in the Chemical Industry Action Plan. There is a common understanding that the industry needs immediate and tangible relief. There is also a common understanding that the carbon cost must be brought down. As regards the direction of the changes to ETS, different views were expressed. We heard a clear call for suspension of the ETS system, as well as statements underlining the importance of the system as such. We observe broad support for pragmatic adjustments to ETS. Free allowances phase out when it comes to cbam sectors. Free allowances should be frozen at least until the effectiveness of cbam is confirmed beyond doubt. A number of member states also highlighted the issue of ETS allowances, price stability and the predictability of the system. A number of member states also highlighted the issue of ambitious cbam revision that will prevent circumvention, as well as downstream and export related carbon leakage. Some member states have called for an extension of the scope of Cbam to some downstream products. Member states attach high importance to the establishment of the Critical Chemical Alliance as its role in identifying key chemical molecules and production sites. The platform is therefore essential to the development of EU's largest support and safeguard measures. We've heard a clear call for maintaining simplification, spirit and self-restraint when it comes to the new legislation. Legislative addressing industrial competitiveness. Thank you very much for your attention.”
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I am happy that my first meeting with me, with you and the first council I participate in, is [00:26:30] about such an important directive. Because this draft directive is very important and needed. Poland has a positive position, and we do support adopting this directive as soon as possible. And I would like to encourage all of you to support this project. Platform work has been ubiquitous and it can be a positive phenomenon. But for this to happen, we must not only pay attention to automated systems and applications, we must see the people [00:27:00] above all and their work and make sure they are properly protected. New technologies should be seen as as an opportunity and not a threat for both the economy and workers. A couple of months ago, when I took up my office, I pledged to do my best to make sure that work in Poland is valued and safe. I'm talking about all kinds of work. I'm sure as Labour ministers we have all similar commitments. The solutions in [00:27:30] this draft directive are in my, according to my belief, do respond to these challenges and we are appreciative of the Belgian presidencies and previous presidencies efforts as well as Parliament to adopt this directive. Thank you. Once again. I would like to encourage all of you to support this project.”
  Platform workers
• “Thank you. The electric vehicle market is developing more slowly than expected, and innovation in Europe is also not growing at the anticipated pace. In addition, supply chain policy remains fragmented. Decarbonisation in the automotive automotive sector should be based on the technological neutrality principle. We should support all technologies that contribute to emission reduction and can lead us to achieving zero emission at the same time. It's extremely important to re-examine the ban on registering newly produced internal combustion vehicles in the EU from 2035. The complete phase out of combustion and hybrid vehicles within such a short time frame would have serious negative consequences. It includes the closures of a significant number of European factories, as well as strengthening the position of Asian electric vehicle producers. And that's not what we want. We also need a holistic approach to the development of electric vehicles covering supply chains, infrastructure and carbon neutral fuels. Lastly, we further underline the importance of an adequate trade policy that ensures a level playing field in the automotive market. Thank you.”
  2035 ICE phase-out: strict zero-emission target vs. flexibility for carmakers
• “Thank you, Magnus, and thanks for a very good movie. You have a career ahead of you after the presidency. Um. Poland welcomes the Ocean Pact. Um. There is no doubt that ensuring good environmental status of ocean is one of the greatest challenges of our century. And and there's still a lot to do. So this initiative is, is is very good. Um, we recognize a number of challenges still ahead of us. Um, and the main one is the complexity of pollution sources. Particularly those originating from from land, such as chemical pollution, plastics, microplastics, and nutrient runoff from from agriculture. It is therefore important to to limit these inflows and to strengthen the the source to sea approach through better integration of inland and marine water protection efforts. Um, the effectiveness of the European Ocean Pact depends on its coherence with the with other EU uh policies and international efforts, including those related to water, agriculture, environment and climate. And in this context, I would like to point out that, uh, um, we welcome the Commission's declaration to revise the Maritime Strategy Framework Directive. Um, the revision, in our opinion, should focus on simplifying implementation better, addressing land based pressures and strengthening the synergies between the strategy and the Water Framework Directive, particularly regarding environmental objectives and the harmonisation of reporting timelines. And in terms of international aspect, um, the lack of the the Global Plastics Treaty is an issue and we should do whatever it takes to, to to push ahead on this. And there's it's good that there's a separate point on this. Um. Uh, it's also worth emphasizing that any changes to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive should avoid introducing new regulatory burdens. And this is an overall objective of ours to to limit overregulation. And it also applies here. Um, and last but not least, an important step in reaching objectives of the Ocean Pact would be to establish ambitious and effectively enforced marine protected areas which are currently lacking, and to promote integrated coastal zone management, considering local ecological and economic needs. Thank you.”
  Water pollution
• “Thank you. Chair. Polish textile sector observes similar risks rising competitive pressure from non-EU producers and a threat to jobs and the EU industrial base. Ultra fast fashion driven largely by imports from third countries and extremely low prices. This undermines the level playing field and weakens circular business models in textiles in Poland, a particularly serious challenge is the growing volume of textile waste combined with not yet fully sufficient sorting, reuse and recycling capacity to ensure regulatory effectiveness. The urgent clarification of the concept of ultra fast fashion is very much needed. The current approach, focused mainly on closing loopholes, should evolve towards deterrence and robust enforcement. That is why we fully support France's efforts and calls for coordinated EU level response. Thank you.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “Thank you. Thomas. I wish to congratulate the Danish presidency on the compromise that you managed to achieve. We all know it was a very difficult task. Poland supports the general approach in its current wording, mainly because it protects properly our road infrastructure. I wish to note, however, that in our green agenda, we believe that this is one of a very few EU projects that instead of penalizing operators and introducing sanctions. Promotes emissions through positive incentives such as extra loading capacity. Increased efficiency, which in turn means lower decreased operational costs. We need more positive changes in transportation in the EU based on real benefits. We don't need changes that we implement simply because we are afraid to be penalized. The greening policy cannot be introduced to the detriment of economy and people, and cannot be introduced against the reason. I wish to thank the Danish presidency for including, in the draft the Polish suggestion on. Keeping longer heavy duty vehicles in intermodal shuttles. Intermodal transportation. This will increase operational efficiency in shuttle transportation modes. We welcome also the solutions that give operators greater access to data and information and solutions that facilitate nonnormative transportation, including bulk transport, bulk load transportation. We keep our fingers crossed for our Cypriot colleagues in the negotiations with the Parliament. You can count on the Polish support. Thank you.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• “Thank you. Chair Poland supports the adoption by the council. Uh, general approach to the draft regulation. [00:32:00] Poland appreciates the efforts of the Spanish presidency in working on particular solutions of the draft regulation, which, uh, enabled elaboration of the text of the Council general approach. Uh, Poland positively considers the objectives of the proposed regulation, which is to streamline criminal proceedings with a cross-border element and approves the proposed compromise solutions, especially with regard to [00:32:30] procedural guarantees for the parties and the criteria and consequences of the transfer. Transfer of proceedings. In summary, it should be pointed out that Poland supports the adoption of general approach by the Council of the of the regulation on the Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters, and looks forward to further constructive work in Trilogues. Thank you very much.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• “Uh, thank you Minister. Thank you Commissioner. We're happy to support the commission's proposal and think it's especially important for the SMEs and micro and entrepreneurial entrepreneurs. Uh, on the first question, we feel that the choice of a legal instrument is a proper one. [00:22:00] Uh, we feel that the regulation will protect entrepreneurs against the negative effects of delays in payments and commercial transactions. Um, so a regulation will ensure fair conditions and commercial transactions. Moreover, identical and consistent minimum rules introduced in all member states will contribute to increased trust between EU contractors and create clarity [00:22:30] that businesses need. On the second question, I feel we've been talking about support for SMEs a lot and we feel that the 30 day payment, um, is referred in. The regulation is especially important for the SMEs. So we are happy to support the 30 day payment terms as well. Um, currently we do not find any areas in which an exemption would be justified. In particular, exclusion [00:23:00] of certain types of enterprises like SMEs would be very problematic. However, hearing the discussion as well, we see some room for debate on exceptional derogations for certain sectors. Then on the third question, we feel that the regulation should not cover the powers of enforcement authorities. We feel that a broad definition of the tasks of enforcement authorities may lead to their overload and efficiency, [00:23:30] and may also be costly to Member states. So we would like the regulation to refer to national legal systems. Moreover, we do not support the creation of a dispute resolution system that is parallel to court to court proceedings in the Polish legal systems, courts decide on the obligation to pay interest and compensation. The costs of civil proceedings, duplication of civil and administrative proceedings could be problematic. Thank you. [00:24:00]”
  EU rules on late commercial payments
• “Thank you very much, Chair. Dear Commissioner, we do recognize the need to protect pollinators. However, the initiative is not realistic. The initiative fails to recognize that there are contradictions between [00:05:30] the protection of pollinators and priority needs related to agriculture, food security, power generation and production and the measures that that are linked in with the risk of bringing down the agricultural production should be preceded by a thorough analysis. We may try to restrict the use of peas, but it's not always possible because they are not always non-chemical [00:06:00] alternatives. We need to fight pests and invasive alien species. We need to review this initiative critically and we need to look into the specificities and possibilities of individual member states. Mapping the whole country and identifying species typical of given habitats is extremely difficult. The same applies to producing the network of ecological corridors. The deadlines [00:06:30] are too short. First, we need legislative changes such as adding the species to the Habitats Directive and adjustment of the monitoring indicators. Another issue is lack of money and administrative capacities and a shortage of experts. These strategic plan is not enough to comply with all the ambitious objectives. Thank you.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “Thank you very much. Chair. Dear colleagues. Poland takes a negative view of the European Commission's proposal. We appreciate the presidency's efforts to find a compromise proposal. However, the proposed amendments give rise to many concerns. We do not see any justification for creating a special regulation for two plants, which are, in effect, GMO products. With regard to provisions on one, we are open to further work to clarify the remaining doubts. We have the present. There are also contentious issues on a ban on in duty on the impact on organic farming. This is very important, but there are other contentious issues that are not mentioned in the present presidency's [00:41:00] presentation. It is on the patenting of energy plans, labelling of duty and the Commission's power to issue delegated acts. These are key issues for further work. We do not question the need to modernize agriculture. However, we have doubts whether it will be a route to innovation or creating monopolies. Very intensive pace of our work does not help us to analyse this project in depth.”
  New Genomic Techniques