Politics rarely brutally intrudes on our daily lives as it has in recent months. Politics is not an abstraction. Politics is not some contrived public debate. Politics has become the space where the fate of every family, every person, is decided. This is certainly true in Ukraine, where there is war, but it's happening virtually everywhere in the world, because fuel prices affect everyone without exception, every family—not just in Poland, all over the world, and not just those who drive cars. For example, food prices in the store also depend on the cost of fuel to transport that food. I'm stating the obvious, but sometimes we tend to judge certain phenomena entirely separately. There's the Russian-Ukrainian war, but we rarely realize the fundamental impact Russia's aggression against Ukraine has on fuel prices. There's the war in the Middle East, especially the latest act of the constant turmoil in this region of the world, the American-Iranian conflict. Sometimes we're bored with news and information from this part of the world, yet it's also where our daily fate, namely fuel prices, is played out. There's less fuel, or rather, we process less of it globally. Many Russian refineries were destroyed during the war. While we haven't been buying oil from Russia for a long time, there are large markets that were heavily dependent on Russian oil supplies. India, China, and other Asian countries have to buy oil from somewhere, especially oil processed into diesel fuel and gasoline. If they don't have these supplies from Russia, they buy from other markets. And this is the direct reason why fuel prices so desperately needed to rise. The situation following the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict has had an even greater impact on fuel prices. Perhaps not everyone remembers that the Gulf states, and this entire region, account for a third of the world's oil production. Before this heated conflict, it was 30 million barrels per day. And now, as a result of this war—and these are September figures—only 12 million barrels are exported from this region daily. You can see the extent of the collapse. This demonstrates the scale of the devastation brought by the war, both in this region and the Russian-Ukrainian war, on the global market for oil and petroleum products. This, of course, has a direct impact on prices, which, as Poland, we have no influence over. We don't produce oil, and besides, virtually every place in the world depends, when it comes to crude oil and petroleum products, on the global price. That's why fuel prices at gas stations, both in Europe and the United States, are currently reaching record levels. Our dreams of peace, both in Ukraine and the Middle East, won't be enough to end these conflicts. We must assume that we will continue to witness and, in some sense, be victims of these conflicts for many, many months to come. The conflict in the Middle East has been going on for decades, and there's no indication that a lasting peace will be achieved there. It's also undeniable that the decisions and actions of President Trump's administration don't provide a clear picture of the immediate future regarding this war. This means we can expect these record prices on global markets to continue for some time. Anyone who fills up with diesel at a gas station looks at these prices and sees it. The average price in Poland today is 8.99 per liter of diesel. Gasoline is a bit cheaper, and that's a hell of a price, we all realize that. It's no great consolation for us that we have one of the lowest prices, average prices, in Europe. But it's also worth remembering, because it will highlight the entire geopolitical context. I have no doubt that in every European country, all governments are trying to find some method, some way to lower prices. In Lithuania, and I'm talking about diesel fuel, the price in Lithuania is PLN 9.44 per liter, converted to Polish zloty. In Latvia, it's PLN 9.37, in Germany, PLN 10.56, in Austria, PLN 9.72, and in Greece, PLN 9.54. There's a small group of countries where prices are similar to those in Poland or slightly lower. This is the case in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia. I mention this because finding ways to alleviate the burden on drivers in Poland and other countries is crucial. No, as I said, we won't influence the course of the war, either in the East or in the Middle East, but we've already successfully sought ways to lower fuel prices here in Poland, specifically, without exposing Poland, drivers, or gas station shortages. We experienced this a few years ago, when they tried to implement some rather irresponsible ideas, and fuel prices skyrocketed. And then, remember, there were those pumps with "outage" signs at stations across Poland because they simply ran out of fuel. Unwise, ill-considered ideas can lead to the price remaining de facto high, but on top of that, there won't be any fuel. I'm saying this because I want everyone to understand, and of course, I'm also addressing these words to those who have something to do, like the president. What's the point of this idea of taxes on oil companies' windfall profits? We're all asking in Poland today, waiting with such suspense, whether the president will sign or not sign the bill that will allow for the imposition of such a special tax. Firstly, the paradox is that during such a crisis, when global prices are very, very high, those who sell the product, like Orlen and other fuel companies in Poland, have the same percentage, and the higher the price, the higher the profits. I mentioned Orlen's record profits, but this applies to all fuel companies operating in the Polish market. And since these extraordinary profits aren't caused by any brilliant actions by these companies, but by the crisis for which we are all paying, it seems logical to impose a special tax on these extraordinary profits to finance the operation of lowering fuel prices at gas stations. This idea won't interfere, it won't devastate the operational strategies of Orlen or other fuel companies, because the state won't interfere directly with these companies' actions—what they should buy, how much they should buy, how much they should sell. We'll only take what's clearly surplus. Therefore, these companies will be able to continue operating normally; they won't be exposed to a situation that would, well, have dramatic consequences for all of us. If we follow the path the president's people are following, forcing Orlen, for example, to lower its margins, then Orlen will have to buy at a higher price than it sells in Poland, and, moreover, we won't be able to force other operators in this market to lower prices at gas stations. In short, we're looking for a way to avoid ruining fuel companies, including Orlen, and avoiding extraordinary losses. Instead, we're looking for a way to get a slice of these extraordinary profits and allocate this money directly to lower VAT and excise tax. This legislation is necessary for this. And then we'll be able to reintroduce regulated prices, just like a few months ago. So the state, not the gas station, will decide whether prices are lower based on how much we contribute from these extraordinary profits. I know it sounds a bit complicated, but we've thought it through, mapped it out, and it's clear that this is the safest and truly effective way to lower prices at gas stations. We don't want to take it from the state budget, because we'd have to take it from someone else, either the military or healthcare. As you know, the budget is tight, so we're looking for money where it's not the fault of the people or thanks to some super-incredible corporate activity. There's more money available precisely because of this crisis. You know, there's only one thing missing here: the president's signature, and I have no doubts about that anymore. Okay, you can agree that he has different views, I have different views, there are some disputes about various things, but the situation here is clear. The president or his people decided that the worse things get in Poland, the worse off Poles are, the harder it will be for the government. So they decided to act in such a way, if we consider, for example, the issue of fuel prices, to block any possibility of lowering fuel prices, because that would harm the government. That price is too high. I understand this willingness to confront. Of course, politics is also a constant confrontation between political opponents, but society can't pay for it, nor can the Polish family pay for it. It's pointless. There are enough areas of disagreement and confrontation between President Nawrcki and his team and the government and the parliamentary majority. It's worth removing from this field of conflict those places where the fate of the Polish family is at stake every day. But gas station prices are a daily part of every Polish family's life. That's why I hope it couldn't be made any clearer. Prices are high worldwide because of two wars. Oil companies are making money off of this. In Poland, too, they're making much more money than before. Let's take a hefty chunk of this pile of money and finance lower prices. Plain and simple, not for everyone, as I see it. So I appeal once again, President, sign this. There's a chance we'll have at least slightly cheaper fuel at our stations again before Christmas. Yeah.
