European Parliament demands triggering Article 7 against Poland

MEP voted to demand that EU member states punish Poland by triggering Article 7 of the EU treaty which would strip Warsaw of its voting rights in the European Parliament. While 438 lawmakers voted for and 152 against the motion, triggering Article 7 is highly unlikely as it requires unanimity, and Hungary already said that it won’t support any sanctions against Poland, as it faces similar criticism from Brussels. During the debate, Polish ruling Law and Justice (PiS) government was criticized for infringing on the rule of law and promoting intolerance. “At this preliminary stage of our assessment, the Commission already notes that certain issues in these draft laws could raise serious concerns,” European Commission Deputy President Frans Timmermans said, referring to the President Andrzej Duda proposals on the judiciary reform in Poland. Duda unexpectedly vetoed two of the government’s judicial reforms in July and presented his own version of these draft laws, which instead of giving the power to appoint judges by Justice Minister as PiS wanted, would give it to the Parliament, where the ruling party already has a comfortable majority. Timmermans urged Warsaw to align the drafts with EU standards on judicial independence. “We have now sent four letters to the Polish authorities to seek a meeting, but received no response,” Timmermans said. The Polish foreign ministry rejected the criticism from Timmermans and the European Parliament, accusing them of biased assessment and meddling in Warsaw’s own affairs. “There is nothing happening in Poland that would demand a debate by 700 members of the European Parliament,” Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said. MEPs also called on the government to condemn the “xenophobic and fascist march” organized by far-right groups which drew around 60,000 people in Warsaw on Saturday, where racist banners and chants were prominently displayed. While Duda and PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński condemned such actions, other cabinet members praised the march, adding that they did not see any racist banners.