Polish minister for European Union affairs, Adam Szłapka, was taken to task in the European Parliament for his antics during the plenary on March 12.
As the session took place on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, Szłapka was seen laughing and giggling.
This prompted Belgian left-wing MEP Marc Botenga to take to the stage and give Szłapka a heartfelt dressing-down.
“The first thing I want to ask is to stop laughing. You laugh when we talk about the death, I don’t even know how many, of Palestinians,” he told Szłapka.
“People who are hungry and you laugh, you tell jokes. It’s not funny! Palestinians are people. You should be ashamed! This is what the European Union looks like today!” Botenga said.
He continued, saying there was “a contempt for the lives of the Palestinians” and complicity and a lack of respect from the EU.
Botenga said the bloc recognised the situation in Gaza was getting worse but refused to acknowledge why.
According to the MEP, that was “because Israel is blocking all humanitarian aid, food supplies, and even blocking electricity. And without electricity, it is impossible to desalinate water”.
“There is no drinking water for people, families, children and you are laughing! How is this possible, minister?”
Botenga warned that Europe would someday “pay a price” for its behaviour.
During the debate on the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the European Parliament, Minister @adamSzlapka, representing the Council of the ??, joked and laughed. Several times. What contempt for Palestinian lives. A clear illustration of European complicity in Israeli crimes. pic.twitter.com/crMkixCrYR
— Marc Botenga MEP (@BotengaM) March 13, 2025
On March 14, the incident went viral online and many videos of the scolding were shared on social media
As European affairs minister, Szłapka, a member of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition party, represented Poland as part of the Council of the EU running from January 1 toJune 30, 2025.
Earlier, Szłapka had addressed the situation in the Gaza Strip, saying: “For now, the ceasefire is holding, but it remains highly fragile. We must move forward with negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire and an agreement on the release of hostages.
“We believe the Palestinian Authority is best suited to govern the Gaza Strip. It should be strengthened and financially supported. There is no place for Hamas in Gaza,” he added.
He also emphasised that the humanitarian situation in the region was worsening.
He has remained silent about the incident with Botenga. Brussels Signal reached out to spokespeople for the Polish Government but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
An untold number of Palestinians, including many women and children, have died since Israel started a retaliatory war following the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks of 2023.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In January, the Polish Government adopted a resolution ensuring “free and safe participation” for Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, at the Auschwitz memorial events.
Netanyahu opted not to attend.
“You are a criminal! You should be in The Hague. Free Palestine!”
A protester tells European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen she is under “citizen’s arrest” as she is heckled during a speech in Brussels.#Gaza #Israel #EU pic.twitter.com/8oeE8FoYUZ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 18, 2024
