On 6 August 2025, President Karol Nawrocki delivered his address in the Sejm. We published its full text here. Below, we present its translation into English.

The Republic of Poland is the common good of all its citizens, and the supreme power in the Republic is vested in the nation! Therefore, I welcome the Polish nation within the borders of the Republic and beyond. I would like to extend a warm welcome to the thousands, tens of thousands of citizens of the Polish state who have come to Warsaw today and whom I have passed by the Polish Sejm. I welcome all the millions of voters who elected their President of the Republic of Poland, who has taken his oath of office. I thank everyone for their votes and for their support. I would also like to thank those of you who did not vote for me but took part in this democratic act of voting on the occasion of 1 June, the celebration day of our democracy.

Honourable Mr President,

Honourable Former Presidents,

Honourable Mr Speaker of the Sejm,

Honourable Madam Speaker of the Senate,

Honourable Prime Minister,

Honourable Members of the National Assembly,

Your Excellencies,

Your Eminences,

Generals,

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The free choice of a free nation has brought me before you today. It has brought me before you despite the election propaganda, the lies, the political theatre and the contempt I have encountered on my way to the office of President of the Republic of Poland. I have forgiven and, as a Christian, with peace in my heart and from the bottom of my heart, I forgive all this contempt and what was happening during the elections. We, as a national community, have this great value of attachment to Christian values and identity. This should not change. And in Christian values, love and mercy towards other people are one of the central tenets.

But these elections and 1 June also sent a strong message from the sovereign to the entire political class, the message conveyed by the election of myself as President of the Republic of Poland. It is a message that we cannot continue to have Poland governed in this way and that Poland should not look like this today. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the voice of Polish women and men who want politicians to fulfil the promises they made during the election campaign. The 1 June is a clear signal that Poles want their election promises to be kept, that they want to elect their President in a spirit of freedom and that they will not succumb to political propaganda. I am saying this, Ladies and Gentlemen, only because on 1 June we all saw once again that the President of the Republic of Poland must be nothing more and nothing less than the voice of the citizens of the Republic – nothing else. As President of Poland, I will be the voice of the Polish people. This is my task.

I will not surprise you with my political programme for the next five years. Yes, Poles expect politicians to keep their promises. And I have set out my promises in „Plan 21”, a programme for Poland for the 21st century – a programme that received 10.5 million votes. Therefore, my speech today should come as no surprise to anyone, Ladies and Gentlemen. For I intend to be consistent and determined in implementing „Plan 21”.

And this plan clearly states that I am a strong advocate for and will support all initiatives, and that I will strive through my decisions to make the Polish state ambitious and a place of development, a place of great, groundbreaking projects, such as the Central Transportation Port CPK, Polish Roads and Polish Ports. The programme I will implement is a programme of sustainable development for the Polish state. Yes, we all come from Polish towns and villages. There is no Poland A and Poland B. And that will not change in the next five years.

„Plan 21” and my programme say „no” to illegal migration, „yes” to the Polish zloty, and „no” to the euro. As President of Poland, I will not allow the retirement age for women and men to be raised. I go on describing this to you, Ladies and Gentlemen, though I am aware that the election campaign gave you the opportunity to learn about Plan 21, so I will not list all 21 points. But I want to stress emphatically that I deeply believe my presidency will restore faith in the promises made. For five years, every hour, every day, every week, with every decision and every legislative initiative, I will fulfil my commitments to my voters and to those who took part in the elections.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I stand before you aware of the great task and enormous responsibility that lies ahead of me. But I stand here, in the Polish Sejm, also aware of the divisions in Polish political and societal life. I want to clearly declare that I will not make my decisions based on these divisions and political differences, but against their tide, always taking decisions that reflect the voice of the Polish people, not political or party emotions. These have not interested me for 42 years and will not interest me as President of Poland. In my decisions, I will be the voice of the nation, faithful to its programme. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, I guarantee to all of you.

I will therefore be the voice of those who want a sovereign Poland, a Poland that is in the European Union, but a Poland that is not the European Union, only Poland – and will remain Poland. Both in discussions with the Polish government, in my decisions and on the international stage, I will, of course, support relations within the European Union in a diplomatic manner, but I will never agree to the European Union taking away Poland’s competences, especially in matters that are not enshrined in European treaties, and these should not change. Yes, I will be the voice of citizens who want sovereignty.

I will be the voice of those who want a safe Poland. And Poland’s security begins with every soldier – with their equipment, their awareness, their fortitude and their heart. I will be the voice of Polish soldiers and Polish officers. I will support, Mr Prime Minister, Mr Minister, all efforts to modernise the Polish army, and I will strive to make the Polish army the largest NATO force in the European Union.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I will also naturally support Poland’s most important alliances, including the bilateral alliance with the United States, and I am addressing our partners from the United States here. But I will also take care of Poland’s position in the North Atlantic Alliance. Already as President–elect, I sought to establish relations with the Secretary General of NATO. But I also realise, Ladies and Gentlemen, that Poland should be a leader in building the immune system of NATO’s eastern flank. And I dream that in the long term, the Bucharest Nine will become the Bucharest Eleven, together with the Scandinavian countries. Yes, we, as Poles, in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, are responsible for building the strength of NATO’s eastern flank. And this should also be the international, geopolitical direction of my presidency.

Dear Members of the National Assembly!

I will also be the voice of those Poles who want a normal Poland – a Poland committed to its values, a Poland with good Polish schools, Polish literature and Polish obligatory reading material in Polish schools. As a man who has been involved in education and national memory for over a dozen years, I will do everything in my power to ensure that good Polish schools educate future generations of Poles and that Polish students leaving school truly feel proud to be Polish.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

This is a good moment to invite you all to the next edition of National Reading. This initiative was launched by President Bronisław Komorowski and has been continued and developed with great success and energy by President Andrzej Duda. National Reading will, of course, also take place in the Presidential Palace. Yes, if Polish literature is to be read, then the President of Poland and invited guests will also take part.

This is an excellent moment, Ladies and Gentlemen, to thank President Andrzej Duda for his 10 years of successful service as President of Poland. I would also like to thank the President for helping the incumbent take office in such a democratic, civilised, smooth and fitting manner. We could all learn from the President about the culture surrounding the most important office in the Polish state. Thank you very much for that, Mr President.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I will also be the voice of those Poles who want prosperity for Poland. Over the past 35 years, as a national community, we have achieved great economic success. Let me be clear: this often happened against the will of politicians, sometimes with the help of politicians, but always thanks to wonderful Polish entrepreneurs and very hard–working Polish people who have worked hard for 35 years for the economic success of the Polish state, often paying a very high price for it – the price of emigration, the price of working beyond measure. But in the course of those 35 years, Poland achieved economic success and prosperity. Unfortunately, during those 35 years, specific social groups and specific regions of Poland were left out from this success for many years. This is something that we must remedy.

But, Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to emphasise clearly that, after 35 years, something has changed in geopolitics and the global economy, as you, the members of this house, and economists know very well. Today, we need large–scale plans, big investments, we need to awaken the aspirations of the Polish nation, because we can no longer be a subsidiary economy of our western neighbours or of the entire European Union. Ladies and Gentlemen, we must chart a new economic course that bolsters our competitiveness, including in relation to Western Europe.

Yes, we need large and groundbreaking investment projects. I have already mentioned this, but I will mention the CPK regularly, and tomorrow I will submit a bill to return to the traditional shape of the Central Transportation Port and find our economic driving force for the coming decades, which will allow us to further develop.

That is why, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am saddened by what is happening today around those grand trailblazing groundbreaking investment projects in Poland. We could divide them into those that are completely blocked, those that have been scaled back, and those that are, at best, delayed. This is a very worrying scenario, and when we look at the rapidly growing national debt and the undeniable demographic problem in our Homeland, as well as the housing problem, it is clear that, unfortunately, Poland is currently on a very unpromising path to development, and we must be aware of this. Something has to change.

Therefore, Mr. Prime Minister, Ministers, I would like to cordially invite you to a Cabinet Council meeting to be held later in August. I would like to talk to the representatives of the Polish government about development investments, the most important investments that lie ahead, and the state of public finances. As President of Poland, I feel obliged to have full information about the condition of the Polish state.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I deeply believe – and I am looking at the left side of the Polish parliament here – I deeply believe that on issues of housing, development investments, and Polish public finances, we are able to reach an agreement transcending political differences. Since this is not about political emotions. This is about availability of housing for people who need it, including council housing. This is about the future of our children and future generations of Poles. I sincerely hope for cooperation between all political circles on these issues, which should not be subject to political manoeuvring. I will also devote special attention to these issues in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I also hope that we will be able to reach agreement on issues concerning social groups that require care from the Polish state the most. I am thinking here of senior citizens, I am thinking of young people, who carry the keys to our common future. Special Presidential Councils will be dedicated to these groups at the Presidential Palace, which will seek solutions to the problems of the elderly people and young people. The strength and potential of a country is measured by how it responds to the needs of those most in need. That is why I also believe in a cross–party agreement on persons with disabilities and the laws that are being prepared having them in mind.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Poland must return to the path of the rule of law. Today, Poland has deviated from it. It is difficult to attach the name of a law governed country to one where the legally elected National Prosecutor does not work and function, and where Article 7 of the Constitution, which proclaims that state authorities must act on the basis of and within the limits of the law, is, unfortunately, regularly violated.

That is why I stand before you today to appeal to the entire political class, but also to convey to Polish judges and the Minister of Justice that judges are there to pass judgments on behalf of the Republic of Poland, and that the judiciary is one of the three branches of power in the Polish democratic system. Polish legislation – if I am not mistaken – is created in this House, in the Polish Sejm, by the will of the elected representatives of the people, and in the Polish Senate, and must be approved by the President of Poland, elected by direct universal suffrage. And judges, Ladies and Gentlemen, we must all realize this, are not some divine figures, but are there to serve the Republic of Poland and Polish citizens.

I am saying this only to declare clearly, unequivocally and unambiguously, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Minister of Justice, that I will not promote, nor will I appoint judges who undermine the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Poland. I will stand behind, promote, and appoint those judges who respect the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Poland in accordance with the Constitution and the laws adopted by the Polish Parliament and signed by the President – this is how I imagine the legal order of the Polish state. And the legal security for Polish citizens who are waiting for fair judgments and the constitutional and legal order of the Polish state is, I want to stress that point, much more important to me than the self–satisfaction of one social class in Poland.

In order to resolve the problem of the political system of the state, I will establish a Council for the Reform of the System of the State at the Presidential Palace. That is right, Ladies and Gentlemen, things cannot continue on the way they are, the Polish people want the state system to be restored. I will, of course, invite representatives of all political circles to this Council, I will invite academics, I will invite those who care deeply about the Polish state and our legal system. And I believe that the Presidential Palace will become a place of dialogue, a place for discussion on the systematic reform of the system of the Republic of Poland.

We also have a task for the future ahead of us, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, dear Members of the National Assembly. It is one that requires the immediate action of the President of the Republic and all political parties. I look with admiration at the authors of the 1997 Constitution, of which I am and will remain a guardian, of the Constitution that is currently in force.

However, today, Ladies and Gentlemen, with the lapse of almost nearly 30 years, we find ourselves in a completely new social and geopolitical situation. Over the past nearly 30 years, there have been so many disputes over competences, and recently the Polish constitution has been violated so regularly that we, as the political class, must begin working on a new basic law that will be ready for adoption, I hope and believe, in 2030.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Presidential Palace will not only become the seat of the Constitutional Council, but also a place where we will open – it is my earnest hope – a nation–wide honest discussion on what the constitution of 2030 should look like. For the contemporary citizens need clear rules for cooperation between politicians, they need safeguards for the sovereignty and security of the Polish state. And we must do this now, starting in 2025, so that we are ready by 2030 at the latest. I am firmly convinced that this is what the sovereign also demands of us today: to take another look at the Basic Law, which will soon celebrate its thirtieth anniversary.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

As you know, I have served the Polish state for many years in various institutions, yet I have only been on the political scene for a very short time. In fact, I have been in politics for less time than most of you. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to conclude – perhaps with political naivety – by saying that I believe we will be able to reach agreement on issues that are essential for Poland and exclude them from the domain of the political dispute. Issues of development, housing, and Polish security are ones around which I believe we can build a cross–party consensus transcending political boundaries.

As a national community, we have that wonderful experience of having worked on a particular project, one which used to be called Independence, which was approached from different angles and with political emotions that were no less burning than those experienced today. This is a lesson from the Fathers of Polish Independence in 1918, about whom we know, from our contemporary reading, how deeply they differed. Despite that, they can be seen as the ones attached to the shared idea of Poland’s independence and freedom.

The late President Lech Kaczyński once said that it is worth being a Pole. We must once again prove to all of Poland and the whole world that being a Pole is really worthwhile, as the Fathers of our Independence teach us. Because it is so difficult to disagree with Roman Dmowski, who said that we are Poles, and we have Polish duties. I do not think anyone in this House has any doubts as to us being Poles and having Polish duties. Józef Piłsudski said that independence is not given to us once and for all – today we are aware of this more than ever, because there is a war going on beyond our eastern border, and Poland must last forever, as Wincenty Witos said. They speak from different perspectives, but with one voice, Ladies and Gentlemen.

We can learn social sensitivity from Wojciech Korfanty, who reminded us – reminded us indeed! – that the main function of the state is to serve. We are here to serve Polish citizens and to serve the people. And I, as President, am here for no other purpose than to serve. Ignacy Daszyński added, Ladies and Gentlemen, that this is why we must serve the society, work hard, and listen to the society. Indeed, we must listen to society. The most illustrious virtuoso of all the Fathers of Independence – a wonderful Father of our Independence – Ignacy Paderewski added with his typical good grace that we must fight those who push the nation towards collapse and degradation.

God bless Poland! Long live Poland!

Thank you.

Source: www.president.pl

Photo: Mikołaj Bujak KPRP