Polish government strongly criticizes EP resolution on rule of law
22:09
“The rule of law in Poland is constantly deteriorating,” said the European Parliament in a resolution adopted last week and called on the EU institutions to take specific measures against member states that violate the rule of law.
The Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller assured that the document had no legal significance and that, according to the Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, it was ‘an attempt to question the essence of democracy’ and ‘a blackmail that cannot be accepted’.
As many as 513 MEPs, including PO and Left MEPs, voted for the extremely critical report on the state of the rule of law in Poland prepared by the Spanish MEP, head of the European Parliament's Civil Freedom, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Juan López Aguilar. The 148 MEPs, including MEPs from PiS, were against it, while another 33 stopped from the vote (including MEPs of the PSL).
In a resolution adopted on September 17, 2020, the EP expressed concerns about the legislative and electoral system, the independence of the judiciary and fundamental rights in Poland. It also called on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to take concrete action against Member States that do not respect the rule of law, including taking away their EU funds. The document includes references, inter alia, to LGBT-free zones and calls on for not allocating money from the common budget to the countries where such discrimination occurs.
There was also an appeal to the Polish government to respect all provisions relating to the rule of law and fundamental rights enshrined in the treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as to engage in direct dialogue with the Commission and to implement the judgments of the Court of Justice of European Union as soon as possible, and to respect the primacy of Community law.
