The European Parliament tomorrow votes on a resolution accusing the Polish government of undermining “constitutional democracy”, calling for further action if they do not implement decisions from Poland’s highest court.
The resolution is the latest attack on Poland’s centre-right government for overhauling the Constitutional Tribunal — Poland’s highest court — at the end of last year with reforms which critics allege remove checks on government power.
The final text of the draft resolution criticising Poland was agreed on Monday by five of the European Parliament’s political groups —the European People’s Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left and the Greens/European Free Alliance.
The widespread support from centrist and left groups means the resolution will likely be adopted. A copy of the draft, seen by EUobserver, will state that the European Parliament “is seriously concerned that the effective paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland endangers democracy, human rights and the rule of law”.
Other parts of the text add: “Recent events in Poland, in particular the political and legal dispute concerning the composition of the Constitutional Tribunal and new rules on its functioning … have given rise to concerns regarding the ability of the Constitutional Court to uphold the constitution and guarantee the respect for the rule of law.”
The resolution will target both Poland’s Prime Minister, Beata Szydło, and President Andrzej Duda (pictured above when he nominated her as Prime Minister in November 2015) — both members of the the county’s conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) which in Europe forms part of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group — saying:
“The proceeding of the Polish government and the President of the Republic of Poland regarding the Constitutional Tribunal represents a risk for the constitutional democracy.”
The resolution will also refer approvingly to the European Commission’s new rule of law monitoring procedure which Breitbart London wrote about in January, calling on that body to issue a ‘Rule of Law Recommendation’ if Poland does not react in a way the MEPs deem acceptable.
Were that to happen then Poland’s sovereignty would be compromised by being told to change its laws subject to monitoring from the European Commission. This is despite the PiS government being the first party to govern the country without coalition partners since the end of communism, following a general election result in 2015 which offended the left/liberal establishment across the continent.
The ECR will present a counter-resolution declaring that Polish reform will “remain an internal matter for Polish” that “should be carried out by the relevant national authorities”, continuing:
“This issue can be addressed properly only if all participants of the Polish political scene act responsibly and reach a compromise.”
EUObserver reports that the ECR’s resolution stands no chance of being formally adopted by the European Parliament.
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