The construction of the Polish barrier was the subject of a debate of the European Parliament on Thursday (May 5, 2022), during which MEPs – in addition to humanitarian matters – dealt with the impact of the fence on Ylva Johansson, EU commissioner for internal affairs, informed that in April the European Commission sent a letter to the Polish authorities asking about the assessment of the construction of the wall in the context of the “Natura 2000” protected area.
– Under EU law, you can protect both the environment and public safety. We can and must do both, but we also have to follow the procedures laid down by law, Johansson said. The environmental assessment should not be done during but before construction. As stressed by Johansson, public safety concerns may take precedence over environmental protection requirements, although the environmental directive requires the authorities to propose mitigation measures.
“The situation is dramatic”
Today’s debate has mapped the intra-Polish divisions as to the border with Belarus. – Will the construction of the wall be able to scare someone away from trying to cross the border? I dare to doubt. And on this border there are women and children who are also fleeing the war – said Elżbieta Łukacijewska (PO), speaking on behalf of the European People’s Party. Robert Biedroń (New Left) argued on behalf of the center-left that “no wall has stopped people from migrating”. – The situation is dramatic. We’ve talked about it before from the point of view of the unfortunates who die there in the woods. And today also from the point of view of nature protection, which is brutally destroyed – argued Róża Thun (Poland2050) on behalf of the “Renew Europe” club. Sylwia Spurek on behalf of the green factions, like Thun, criticized the European Commission for omissions. Joachim Brudziński (PiS), on the other hand, rejected the criticism of the wall as “infantilism” in the face of the hybrid migration war.
– Poland is on the front line against Belarus and Russia. We must have a great deal of appreciation for welcoming the approximately 3 million people who have fled Ukraine. Nevertheless, we must also uphold our values and defend human rights and the environment on the border with Belarus, said center-right Sean Kelly from Ireland. The center-left Swedish woman, Evin Incir, emphasized that “despite the support shown by the Polish authorities to Ukrainian refugees, they do not gain the right to discriminate against others” on the border with Belarus.
How to renew Frontex?
Last fall, Commissioner Johansson – to no avail – called on the Polish authorities to invite Frontex officers to cooperate on the border with Belarus. There was only a visit by Fabrice Leggeri, then head of Frontex, to the border in October 2021, after which it was casually reported that he was “impressed by the measures taken to secure the border.”
Johansson’s aim was to reduce violations of humanitarian rights, for example through the presence of independent Frontex officers in the zone closed to the media and NGOs. The problem is that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which is based in Warsaw, is being accused of tolerating illegal push-backs, which was one of the reasons for Leggeri’s resignation at the end of April. And this week, the European Parliament suspended discharge for the largest EU agency.
In their discharge resolution, MEPs stressed that they first want to read the full OLAF (EU NIK) report on the investigation into fraud and violations of migrants’ fundamental rights by Frontex. While the delay in approving the financial statements has no financial implications, it is a form of a political vote of no confidence that will give MEPs the opportunity to issue recommendations to Leggeri’s successor at the helm of Frontex.
A journalistic investigation by Lighthouse Reports activists and, inter alia, Spiegla found that Frontex may have been involved (at least by its failure to intervene in illegal activities) in the push-backs of several hundred migrants from March 2020 to September 2021 in Greek waters. Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee this week addressed problems in both Greece where “Frontex failed to assess its actions” despite official reports from the Council of Europe and the UN that the agency was operating in areas where there were “violations of fundamental rights” and also in Hungary. MEPs accused Frontex of delaying the suspension of operations in Hungary after the EU Court of Justice ruling in 2020 that Budapest was breaking EU law on the protection of asylum seekers.
The thorny “money for the rule of law”
The European Parliament, in its resolution on Poland and Hungary adopted on Thursday, which summarized the debate on the violations of the rule of law on May 3, expressed concern that the European Commission has not launched “money for the rule of law” proceedings against Poland, but only on Hungary. MEPs accused the Commission of having “too narrowly interpreted” EU rules aimed at protecting EU funds from fraud or mismanagement due to a lack of rule of law. The management of EU funds in Poland is assessed in Brussels as very correct, but the resolution points to the risk of “threatening the independence of the judiciary”.
In addition, MEPs called on the Commission not to approve the Polish and Hungarian KPO “until both countries fully comply with all the rule of law recommendations addressed to them and implement all judgments of the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights.” The European Parliament demands from the member states of the EU Council to proceed with Art. With regard to Poland and Hungary, they did not limit themselves to further discussions, but began to formulate specific remedial recommendations with precise deadlines for their implementation.
The resolution was adopted by a majority of 426 votes against 133 against. Among the 37 MEPs who abstained, there was the majority of the joint Polish delegation of the PO-PSL within the European People’s Party. This is a repeat of the vote of the March resolution of the European Parliament on “money for the rule of law”, when the PO-PSL delegation also decided to avoid the vote for fear of criticism for “taking funds from Poles”. On the other hand, Polish MEPs from center-left, green and “Renew Europe” clubs voted for today’s resolution, which was fought by PiS.
Source: Gazeta
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