Bartłomiej SIENKIEWICZ

Policy topics Bartłomiej SIENKIEWICZ is active on

What Bartłomiej SIENKIEWICZ has said (7)

• 2025-11-13 “E-004541/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen on behalf of the European Commission Telegram has reported that it remains below 45 million average monthly active recipients (AMARs) in the EU, the threshold set out in Article 33(1) of the Digital Services Act (DSA) 1 for designation of services as very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs). The Commission monitors the figures published by providers of those services, sends requests for information, and, where the aforementioned threshold is reached, designates them as VLOPs and VLOSEs in accordance with Article 33(4) DSA 2 . The Commission is monitoring the evolution of Telegram’s AMARs in the EU. Telegram has not been designated as a VLOP, but it must already comply, for the features of the service falling within the scope of the DSA, with the applicable obligations under the DSA to ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment. Since the provider of Telegram has appointed its legal representative in Belgium, the Belgian Digital Services Coordinator (DSC) 3 , i.e. the ‘Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications’, is competent for supervising Telegram’s compliance with the DSA 4 . DSCs can, in respect of providers of intermediary services falling within their competence, where all other powers to bring cessation of an infringement causing serious harm have been exhausted without that infringement having been remedied, and where the management body of the provider has not adopted the necessary measures to terminate the infringement, request that the competent judicial authority of its Member State order the temporary restriction of access of recipients to the service or, where that is not technically feasible, to the online interface of the provider of intermediary services on which an infringement takes place. 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, p. 1-102. 2 Pursuant to Article 33(4) DSA, the Commission may designate a service, on the basis of self-reported data or information requested pursuant to Article 24(3) DSA or any other information available to the Commission. 3 More information on the role of Digital Services Coordinators can be found on: https://digitalstrategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/dsa-dscs. 4 Pursuant to Article 3(n) DSA, the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment encompasses the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State where the legal representative of the provider of an intermediary service is established.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms · Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• 2025-09-15 “E-003548/2025 Answer given by Mr Brunner on behalf of the European Commission The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) is a decentralised EU agency with its own Financial Regulation adopted by the Agency’s Management Board 1 . Frontex Financial Regulation stipulates that, as far as procurement is concerned, Title VII and Annex I of the EU Financial Regulation 2 are applicable. Procurement decisions are taken by Frontex under its applicable rules. The Commission does not directly award or manage the Agency’s contracts. The Agency’s Management Board exercises oversight of Frontex’s procurement plans, ensuring that procured equipment meets the relevant technical specifications and EU standards that guarantee the safety of the Agency’s standing corps officers. However, the Management Board does not directly award or manage the Agency’s procurement contracts. Under the current EU Financial Regulation, Frontex (as other EU Agencies and bodies) must respect equal treatment and non-discrimination. Accordingly, contracting authorities cannot require a specific place of production or the EU origin of supplies unless this is duly justified on grounds such as the protection of security and public order, and set out transparently in the procurement documents. 1 Management Board Decision 19/2019 of 23 July 2019 adopting the Frontex Financial Regulation. 2 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast).”
  Asylum & border control
• “I will be speaking. So first of all, I would like to thank Mr. Talbot for his work on this document. Indeed, it's very comprehensive and very detailed in the in the solutions that it provides. Something I'm happy with is that you include the issue of telegram, the platform. You know it very well because you you've received you've seen that the report I think it's of absolute importance. And I think if we decide to build certain resilience of EU states, we have to think about telegram. And I'm glad to read in Mr. Toby's text that a DSA is too slow, and actually it's not. Uh, unfortunately, uh, the only the silver bullet that we might expect to heal. Situation that we are in. So. The act itself was created as a comprehensive text, but we should think about additional tools for the EU to be able to react swiftly if need be, as Mr. Toby says. So maybe we should include a call to the European Commission to create a new mechanism that will allow the member States to react swiftly in situations of critical importance to our safety and security. So let's let's look for something that will allow us to act much more quickly than the DSA that we have in place, which is important, obviously, and forms a certain basis for actions. And just one one more thing. To react to the speaker from ESPN. I believe that democracy has been managing quite well to fight hate speech, for instance, etc.. So, um, you said that democracy can actually deal with it on its own, but I would not agree. Unfortunately, the algorithms of huge platforms support hate speech, multiply hate speech. The algorithms have not been created just by themselves. They've been they've been produced by certain companies. They monetize hatred. They destroy our societies. It's a huge problem. And one of our experts this morning mentioned that. And I think that we should definitely listen to the experts if we want to find the right solution. Thank you.”
  Digital platforms liability for harmful and illegal content
• “Commissioner, thank you very much for your strategy, for your presentation. It's a very comprehensive strategy but it must meet one basic condition: it must bring about a real dissuasive effect. It must lead to curbing of abuse in the asylum system. Therefore, we need an effective system for returning of people who have received a valid decision. Otherwise, we will cease to be credible. Our system will no longer be credible and this will be a factor of attracting new illegal migrants to Europe. But we cannot expect third countries which will build return centers. We cannot expect them to meet our standards for human rights protection etcetera. This is unrealistic because we would expect other countries to become like us, to be the EU. Such expectations, such requirements often paralyze our trade negotiations. But that's not your problem commissioner obviously. So commissioner, two questions from me. Taking into account this idea of return centers in third countries, what specific mechanisms do you want to introduce in order to motivate third countries to cooperate with us? My other question is somewhat related to the first one: how would you assess the risk that this mechanism of return centers in third countries will be challenged in the European Human Rights Court which formally could paralyze the whole process and a basic element of this system would be destroyed? Do you have an idea how to oppose such a scenario? I think this is one of the key instruments, key elements of this whole process. Thank you.”
  Asylum & border control
• “Thank you chair. I will speak Polish. Colleague Vince. I'd like to support what Mr. Vince said. I was listening to his arguments. As well as those who supported his view. Because. This. Is not under the remit of the Libby Committee, which deals with fundamental rights. We're seeing that the different political groups. Are trying to move this outside of the competence of the Afco Committee. This is not a position I would support. I think we need to live up to the statutory mandate of our committee. This is where we can have the greatest impact. If we fail to respect this mandate. We will be heading absolutely nowhere. This is the basis of parliamentary work in this House.”
  Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• “I will speak in Polish. Thank you very much. Mr. coordinator. If I understand correctly your mandate today we're talking about terrorist organizations. On social networks and artificial intelligence. You didn't speak about the threat represented by Russia as a terrorist state, which, using telegram, is doing exactly what you described in relation to Islamic terrorism. These are terrorist operations that are being organized in Poland and other member states. And then you also have things going on off of social networks, airports shut down, uh, hacking attacks on businesses and on the military sector. And all this is done using telegram. And that's outside the scope of DSA because they have less than 45 million users. That's at least what they say. Even though we all know that this claim is false. So you left out this question, and I note that you have evaded this issue, which Islamic terrorism is something we know very well and we have had some success in combating it. But there's also this other war that you admitted to mention in your intervention.”
  Privacy & law enforcement
• “President, I would like to thank the Commission for solidarity with Poland and for what the Commission has said today. This is an important time. It's the first time that a member state of NATO has been attacked on its own, in its own airspace by Russia. Poles will not be scared. We are united now. We've heard about conflicts within Poland. But let me reassure everyone here that the president and the Prime Minister are working together in the face of this crisis. They're coordinating their activities and we cannot be cowered by Russia. We can't be divided either. We, of course, expect support and comprehension. Pressure on Russia is the only way to stop its aggression. Thank you.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)