The Patriots of Europe Achieved the Creation of an Investigation Commission! 0 6

“There is good news as well!” says Member of the European Parliament Vilis Kristopans, announcing two important votes at a recent European Parliament session in Strasbourg.

– Firstly, 85 members of our political group “Patriots of Europe” secured the necessary majority in the vote to postpone the implementation of the regulation allegedly related to forest protection for another year. The delay in the regulation's implementation will also protect the interests of Latvian farmers, representatives of the forestry industry, and the entire economy of Latvia. The so-called “green course,” proclaimed by leftist politicians at one time, is detrimental to the economy and to EU countries as a whole! We, the “Patriots of Europe,” see our task as opposing this harmful “green course” and trying by all means to minimize its consequences. As I have already mentioned to the readers of your publication, there is an ongoing struggle of values in the EU, and the outcome of this struggle depends on a lot! Only the success of right-wing, conservative forces can save Europe from destruction, and this is by no means an exaggeration!

The second piece of good news from Strasbourg is that, thanks to the persistence of the “Patriots of Europe,” a commission has been established to investigate the provision of EU budget funds by the European Commission and their use to support various non-governmental organizations. The commission will operate for 6 months.

I remind your readers that the “Patriots of Europe” demanded a thorough investigation into the use of EU funds by the European Commission under the leadership of von der Leyen shortly after our political group was formed. During the previous term of the European Parliament – that is, from 2019 to 2023 – the European Commission spent 17 billion euros to support various non-governmental organizations in EU countries! This funding process was very opaque! What were the criteria for providing financial support? What were the results of these grants?

Among those who received this money, you will not find supporters of the right, conservatives. There are no grant recipients who advocate for traditional families, two genders, and against the influx of migrants.

Hundreds of millions of euros went to support the same harmful “green course” for EU countries, the promotion of various dubious ideas and initiatives, and misleading agreements with South American countries, etc. I hope the commission will prove that the funds were not used in the interests of EU residents, but to mislead them.

- Mr. Kristopans, in recent weeks, there has been a lively discussion in Latvia regarding the fixed idea... to dismantle the railway in the eastern direction. What is your attitude towards such an initiative?

• Of course, I am closely following this discussion. Those who come up with such proposals apparently do not understand at all that this is not just a Latvian section of railway towards a neighboring country, but part of the transit route of the European Union! If the initiators and those who support this understand everything but are still ready to take such a step, then, excuse me, this is already sabotage!

And what if tomorrow, thanks to Trump’s efforts, a peace treaty is concluded, the war stops, and life begins to return to normal, but our unfortunate politicians have already dismantled the rails? Then we will know whom to hold accountable for the destruction of the Latvian national economy!

- Another fresh piece of news: a political scandal occurred in Latvia after tariffs were introduced for the use of roads by commercial vehicles weighing 3 tons... The President ultimately returned the law to Parliament for revision.

• My position and the position of our party: cancel these road tariffs, as they do not fulfill either a fiscal function (the collections are minimal) or, even more so, a function of limiting CO2 emissions. Only short-sighted people think that this way climate neutrality can be achieved. I will give just one illustrative example. Germany is equal in area to 5 territories of Latvia. In the area of Germany, equal to the size of Latvia, there are 17 million people, while we have only 1.8 million in the same area. At the same time, in the area of Germany equal to Latvia, where, as I said, 17 million people live, there are 20 million registered cars! In Latvia, there are about 1 million cars. So nothing terrible, catastrophic has happened to Germany's climate, and even more so, nothing terrible will happen to Latvia's climate.

The tariffs themselves are very unfair: some travel 5,000 kilometers a year, others 50,000, yet everyone pays the same. We need to restore the Road Fund and introduce a logical principle, as in many countries: those who put more fuel in the tank pay more into the Road Fund. This is fair, logical, and without unnecessary bureaucracy!

Publication funded by the political group of the European Parliament Patriots for Europe.

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