Leftist members of the European Parliament took turns bashing Poland (again) during a plenary debate about the country’s rule of law situation in Strasbourg on Wednesday, June 14th. The spotlight was on the new Polish law meant to curb Russian influence in the country but which may inadvertently lead to triggering another round of sanctions for violating democratic values, the European Commission warned.
“The Commission decided to, at the end of June, open an infringement procedure against Poland,” Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said in his opening speech, arguing that the new law violates the EU’s democratic principles.
The controversial bill was adopted by the Polish parliament on May 26th and signed into law by President Duda three days later. Among other goals, it seeks the establishment of a special commission to investigate and sanction politicians and public servants suspected to be in the pockets of Moscow. Those found guilty could be banned from public office for up to 10 years.
Even though Brussels is almost ready with its own ‘foreign agents law’ to counter Russian (and Chinese) influence, it took the critics’ side in the Polish case, saying that the government could easily abuse the law to get rid of unwanted opposition members ahead of the general election later this year.
As Commissioner Reynders explained, Poland has been given 21 calendar days to reply to the letter of formal notice. He added that now there is a series of amendments tabled by the Polish parliament and Warsaw decided not to set up the anti-interference commission until they pass. This is a welcome development, the commissioner said, but Brussels is still waiting for a formal reply before deciding on the next steps.
Another problem Reynders brought up in relation to the upcoming Polish election was the change in the electoral law which provides free public transport to people in need on election day. The Commission believes the instrument will also be abused to inflate the support of the ruling Law and Justice (Pis) party.
Furthermore, there’s no end in sight for Poland’s previously established infringement procedure, triggered by concerns for judicial independence, among various other issues. Poland not only failed to apply the required judicial reforms, Reynders pointed out, but also refused to pay the €500 thousand per day penalty the European Court of Justice imposed on it in April, accruing until full compliance with its ruling is established.
A ‘Stalinist’ Poland and other oxymorons
As soon as Reynders finished, leftist MEPs were quick to take the podium to lash out against the Polish government’s alleged autocratic tendencies, some with the same vitriol North Korea might inspire.
“This reminds us of Stalinism,” the Polish social democrat MEP, Marek Belka said, suggesting that under the new law, “those who are accused don’t have the right to defend themselves, while the system guarantees impunity to those who are governing.”
The center-right EPP’s Jeroen Lenaers was of the same opinion, that the anti-Russian influence law is designed to remove the opposition from the playing field. “We see a regime in Poland that is so afraid of the opposition, so afraid of the elections, so afraid of checks and balances that they need to resort to more and more extreme measures in an attempt to cling on to power at all costs,” he said, adding that “these are classic autocratic tactics.”
The German Greens MEP Terry Reintke wasn’t intending to be ironic when he said that everything the PiS does can be described as “intimidation”—first the women and minorities, now the ‘democratic’ opposition—all while calling for the EU to intimidate Poland into submission through sanctions and penalties.
The liberal Renew party’s Róża Thun und Hohenstein had more specific requests, calling for an EU election monitoring mission, while the far-left’s Konstantinos Arvanitis, after complaining that PiS is “silencing all competing opinions,” promptly called for the EU to do the same with Poland, anxious that its insubordination might spread to other countries.
A European context
Understandably, the conservative MEPs also had their own opinions on the matter, starting with the accused: PiS’ Beata Szydło from the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) group. As she explained, the new laws do not violate any rule of law principles, and the attacks are based on the mere assumption that the government will abuse the law.
“The problem is not the [Polish government], the problem is that the opposition will not accept the results of the elections,” she told her roomful of leftist colleagues, adding that “the Poles have placed their trust in PiS … yet the opposition continues to attack us and is now trying to bring aboard the European institutions.”
But the whole thing can be turned around, Szydło went on, suggesting to examine the question “in a European context.”
According to her, it is Brussels who is violating the treaties by various means, such as the ongoing attempt to strip countries of their veto rights in foreign policy decisions. “We can’t have double standards. The European Commission is talking about violation of the treaties in Poland … whereas the institutions are doing it themselves,” she said, adding that “the Poles will not allow themselves to be terrorized by the European Union.”
The Identity and Democracy (ID) group has also taken Poland’s side in the debate. The French MEP Jean-Paul Garraud was especially outraged by the EU attack on the electoral law, which—by providing public transport to the elderly and disabled—is only facilitating the right to vote, a fundamental democratic principle. “The EU is not a super-state to be able to dictate to its substates,” Garroud said. “You need to respect the people of Poland.”
“The Poles are a proud, self-confident, and successful nation, which is able to follow its path without constant lessons from the West,” Balázs Hidvéghi, a Hungarian MEP said, beginning his speech in Polish and echoing Garroud’s demand for more respect from the EU.
Hidvéghi then turned to the members of the Polish opposition. “You are mistaken to think that if you fail to win an election at home, then the thing to do is to come here to Strasbourg or Brussels, get together with all kinds of radical left-wingers, and attack your own country and countrymen,” the MEP said. “It’s not going to produce a majority for you because the Polish people don’t like this attitude. … You should win elections based on your own merit, [and] stop attacking your country in the European Parliament.”
At the end of the debate, Commissioner Reynders returned to the podium only to disregard everything the conservative MEPs said and to reassure the leftists that the Commission is prepared to take any steps necessary to get Poland to comply with the EU’s requirements.
