“There is no other country in the EU that, from the beginning of the Russian aggressive war, would show Ukraine more solidarity than Poland. And there is no second government in which, from the beginning of the Russian war, would be more violent against the fundamental institutions of the rule of law than the Polish government,” write MEPs of the German Green Terry Reintke and Daniel Freund in a guest commentary for the daily “Die Welt”.
They argue that in the first four weeks after February 24 alone, “more than 200 new government-loyal judges were appointed,” and that before that, several dozen judges had been transferred or fired for applying European law.
The authors also accuse the government in Warsaw of implementing an anti-democratic program by “systematically installing over the past six years a clever system that is diametrically opposed to the rule of law, one of the central basic principles of the European order of values.”
“There is no de facto independent judiciary in Poland. The task of the European Commission, which is the guardian of the EU treaties, is to use all means at its disposal to remove this situation, restore the rule of law and defend democracy in Poland. The responsibility for this now rests with the president. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission, and it has a powerful tool to defend European values: money, “write Reintke and Freund.
“The rule of law and money are one package. Billions are to flow, although Poland has not complied with the judgments of the CJEU”
They remind that the EC has so far withheld EUR 36 billion for Poland from the Reconstruction Fund, because the judiciary in Poland is not independent. “The signal for the government under the leadership was clear: Europe is both values and solidarity. Rule of law and. This is one package” – they write.
However – they regret – after a few months of the dispute “those who – as it can be assumed – want to get rid of the last, still independent judges, in the shadow of the war” won.
“Poland convinced the Commission to a rotten compromise that should never be: linking the payment of EU money with milestones that actually concern only a fraction of the problems, and which will probably be fulfilled primarily on paper” – they judge.
“And so billions are to flow, although Warsaw has not complied with the latest judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU. Moreover: the reform law, just signed by President Andrzej Duda, liquidates the Disciplinary Chamber for unpopular judges, but creates it again under a new name. This is not essential. a reform that guarantees the independence of the judiciary “, write Green MEPs. And they estimate that “the pressure on the Polish government to deviate from the autocratic course in the future has weakened to zero.”
“Ursula von der Leyen did not save the rule of law, but stamped the Polish dismantling of the judiciary with a European seal”
They accuse Ursula von der Leyen of “wrong reasoning” because “compromises do not work in matters of the rule of law”. “There are no half-independent courts, just as there are no half-fundamental rights or half-justice. Ursula von der Leyen, with her milestone compromise, did not save the rule of law, but gave the Polish dismantling of the judiciary a European seal,” stated Reintke and Freund.
In their opinion, when asked about the motives of the head of the European Commission, only wrong answers are given: “Russian war against Ukraine, Polish veto against the global minimum tax on companies, European unity”. “None of these things justify giving up the fundamental principles of European democracy and can never serve any government of an EU member state to justify the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law,” the authors add.
In their opinion, Ursula von der Leyen risks a lot by “entrusting her political fate to the Polish government.” As they write, if the government in Warsaw “still does not care about the independence of the judiciary, then a lot of European money will soon flow into the broken system – and will ensure the survival of the PiS government.” This will mean that Ursula von der Leyen has not fulfilled her central task of guarding the EU treaties, judge Reintke and Freund. And they add that the logical consequence would be the adoption by the EP of a vote of no confidence in the president of the European Commission.
Source: Gazeta
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