Poland in the hot seat
Abortion and euthanasia entered the row, with Poland pressing for a "Day for the Protection of Life," but some EU officials claimed the move was simple electioneering. Most apparent from this latest Poland-EU row, however, is the tangible political damage which comes from blunt politicking
Poland hit the international media headlines last month as the only EU country to object to a European Day against the Death Penalty. It shocked the other 26 member states during a meeting of Justice Ministers in Brussels on September 18 by saying that such a day was pointless as no EU member allows capital punishment. Regardless of the Polish protest, the motion creating a European Day against the Death Penalty was passed by the Council of Europe.
Polish officials argued that the abolition of the death penalty should be placed within the broader context of respect for human life, including the issues of abortion and euthanasia. They suggested celebrating a "right to life" day instead.
Despite Poland's reputation for rogue moves, its objection surprised and worried EU officials. To allay fears of a new regulatory roadblock, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs later officially stated that Poland had no intention of challenging EU regulations on capital punishment.
Voices of condemnation
Many EU officials and Western observers were unimpressed by Poland's arguments. A number of voices vehemently condemned the Polish authorities for ignoring European values and blocking development of the EU. Italian Justice Minister Clemente Mastella called the Polish veto an act of arrogance and an attempt by Lech Kaczyński's government to appeal to its Catholic electorate before the upcoming Polish elections. Exceptionally strong criticism came from MEP Martin Schulz, a member of Germany's Social Democratic Party and chairman of the Socialist Group, who claimed publicly that Poland should be isolated in the EU as it is led by people who openly support the death penalty.
"We were totally astonished," said Monica Frassoni, an MEP from the Italian Green Party, part of the European Greens-European Free Alliance. She rejected the arguments provided by the Polish authorities. "The [Kaczyński] twins do not oppose the death penalty, so their justification is merely an excuse," she said, adding that the issues of abortion or euthanasia are incomparable to the death penalty.
The importance
of symbols
The Day against the Death Penalty is purely symbolic, aimed at raising public awareness of the issue, and has no legal consequences. Every country that joins the EU must abolish the death penalty and to become a member of the Council of Europe, a country must sign a moratorium on the death penalty. Russia is the only exception to the latter, as the death penalty remains on its books, although it has not carried out an execution since 1996 and observes the moratorium in practice.
Symbolic though it may be, the European Day against the Death Penalty is of great significance for the EU, Frassoni stressed. "It is an important symbolic chapter in the work against the death penalty around the world," Indeed, the EU plans to put a motion against capital punishment forward at the United Nations as early as winter of this year. To this end, MEPs have called upon the Council of Europe to present a resolution on the moratorium to the 62nd United Nations General Assembly.
Clash of civilizations?
"This is much ado about nothing," said Konrad Szymański, a Polish MEP from Law and Justice and a member of the Union for Europe of the Nations. "We have the right to hold our own opinion and express our disapproval of ideas that do not appeal to us ... the European left cannot claim the right to tell others what to think," he added, stressing that Poland is not the only country in the EU that has had objections to various EU proposals.
"Only we have the courage to speak aloud what we think," he explained. In Szymański's view, Poland's objection will pay off in the long run, despite the recent row, because issues of life and death have been brought to the public's attention and the matter will be debated properly sooner or later. But such recognition is still a distant prospect. "Comparing abortion and death penalty is doomed to failure in EU debate," said Agnieszka Bieńczyk-Missala, a research fellow at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Andrzej Bobiński, a program coordinator from the Center for International Relations (CSM) agreed. He explained that Europe has already debated the death penalty and abortion issues, adding that attempts to compare euthanasia and abortion are barely understood by the majority of Western observers. Sergiusz Trzeciak, an expert on political communication and the president of the Sobieski Institute, explained that, unlike a large section of the Polish society, the West does not see the issue of abortion in the context of human rights. "In the wider public debate, abortion is not present," he said. In Poland this is definitely not the case. The death penalty and abortion are seen by a large part of the society as easily comparable. Moreover, Poles, just as other CEE societies, show higher support for capital punishment than those of "old" Europe - according to surveys by Gallup International and TNS OBOP, around 60 percent of those polled were in favor and 30 percent against.
"We are a distinct society, shaped by different factors with a different tradition of addressing the question of human rights," said Bobiński. Yet, the experts agreed, portraying Polish society as inherently conservative and backward in comparison with liberal Europe is too much of an intellectual simplification. It is also far-fetched to link Catholicism as a whole with support for the death penalty.
"Although the Catholic Church does not prohibit the death penalty in the most serious cases, its representatives, such as Pope John II appealed for its abolition ... besides, support for the death penalty among Catholics is waning," said Father Artur Stopka, the editor-in-chief of Poland's leading Catholic weekly, Gość Niedzielny (Sunday Guest). He added, however, that in the Church's view, it is illogical to condemn the death penalty while condoning euthanasia or abortion at the same time.
Who is to blame
Still, if Poland wants its message to be understood, its officials need to communicate by means other than just sheer obstinance. According to Bobiński, the opposition was a poor decision and, despite the official government refutation, it suggested that Poland would like to see a return of the death penalty.
"Many foreign ambassadors to Poland, with whom I talked, find the message that our government sent on the death penalty and abortion totally unclear," said Bobiński. This made the move counter-productive as it only emphasized the existing stereotypes of Poland, he concluded.
In the view of Bogusław Sonik, a Polish MEP from Civic Platform (PO) and the European People's Party, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should work harder to prevent such stereotypes from developing further. "Foreign policy is more than holding meetings and sending letters," he argued, adding that the government should concentrate on initiatives that show Poland's support for tolerance, freedom and respect for human rights - issues commonly present in the country's history.
Moreover, the "old" EU countries are more than welcome to take a step forward and show more understanding and tolerance for the distinct views held by the club's newest members, experts said. According to the Sobieski Institute's Trzeciak, EU discourse has been dominated by liberal and leftist discourse as well as tinged with political correctness. He added that despite claims that they keep out of moral issues, EU institutions often interject themselves into such matters.
The fallout
Poland's international image, already tarnished several times in recent months, has again been damaged. This, according to analysts, threatens the country's political and economic position as well as its clout on humanitarian issues.
"For Poland, which has been active in various international organizations and a supporter of human rights since 1989, this is a blow to its achievements," says PISM's Agnieszka Bieńczyk-Missala. Meanwhile, PiS's Szymański suggested that most of the hysteria was confined to the European Parliament, but other voices warned of Poland being isolated from the EU if the row continued.
"EU institutions will simply have no patience in dealing with Poland's objections and in such cases will search for legal possibilities to ignore its voice," said CSM's Andrzej Bobiński.
Such disputes between Poland and the rest of the EU are highly undesirable for all involved. Yet, no agreement within the EU will be possible without the mutual understanding and respect for cultural and social complexity among the 27 countries of this mammoth organization. And, in this case, some measure of over-reaction was visible from both Poland and its EU brethren.
CSM's Bobiński concluded, "The whole row was unrealistic and unnecessary."
