EU opens case against Poland over rule of law

“Internal politics of Poland do not concern me, I don’t know about it and I don’t want to know about it, I am simply looking at the measures taken and how they relate to the rule of law in Poland”, he said.

On Wednesday, the European commission will raise the pressure on Warsaw by debating how to respond to controversial new laws that have given the Polish government more control over the media, purged public broadcasting staff, and packed the supreme court with loyalists.

It would require a qualified majority of European Union countries to agree.

“In the future, please have more restraint in instructing and reprimanding the parliament and the government of a sovereign, democratic country”, Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote to Timmermans, a socialist. “I’m the grandson of a Polish officer who during the Second World War fought in the underground Home Army (AK) against” German occupation, Ziobro said in his letter.

Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (sixth from left) speaks during a meeting with parties representatives at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland.

In late December and early January, Poland adopted new laws, including a judicial reform and a legislation giving the government power to appoint the heads of public TV and radio, as well as civil service directors.

Since its election in October, the government has ignored existing rules to pack the constitutional court with its appointees and changed the court’s voting system to curb its ability to censure legislation.

The European Commission has announced it is investigating whether new Polish laws break EU democracy rules. European Union sources said some commissioners had favoured holding off on the launch of the process for now. The EU will review Poland’s answers by March.

“Let’s not overdramatise. It’s an important issue but we have to have friendly and good relations with Poland”, he said. “Our approach is very constructive – we are not bashing Poland”.

Jarosław Kaczyński (centre) is the de facto leader of the Law and Justice party.

“I have the impression that the Commission risks taking a role as a side in a political dispute inside Poland”, Szymanski told reporters in the European Parliament.

It showed several European officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Oettinger, wearing Nazi-like uniforms and leaning over a map.

The EU has long struggled to deal with lapses in democratic standards and the rule of law among its members. “We need to strike an intelligent balance”.