The European Commission is set to end its so-called Article 7 procedure against Poland for alleged ‘rule-of-law’ violations. Launched during the time of the previous conservative Polish government, the measures have angered the conservative cabinet of Hungary, which also has an Article 7 procedure looming over it. Hungary believes the move by Brussels to be a politically biased one which has nothing to do with the law, but is based on the Eurocrats’ ideological preferences.
“There are conditions for us to say that the clear breach of the rule of law is no longer the case in Poland,” European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday, May 21st, during a visit by Polish officials. The Commission’s intentions were first announced two weeks ago. “Poland has launched a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to address the concerns on independence of the justice system, it has recognised the primacy of EU law” and is committed to implementing all rule-of-law-related judgments by the European courts, they said.
According to the European Union Treaty’s Article 7, a member state’s rights, including voting rights, can be suspended if it is established that it is persistently breaching the EU’s ‘values,’ such as respect for freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights. An Article 7 procedure was launched against Poland in 2017 by the Commission, and against Hungary in 2018 by the European Parliament. Both countries at the time were under the rule of conservative governments (Hungary still is). They angered the Brussels political elite with their sovereigntist, anti-federalist stance and their conservative policies in areas such as migration, abortion, and gender ideology. Brussels has punished both governments by freezing billions of euros of EU funds.
However, the EU has made a drastic U-turn with Poland since the arrival of the new liberal-leftist government, led by Donald Tusk, who formed a working coalition after the parliamentary elections last October. The Commission has slowly started unblocking frozen funds to Warsaw, with the new cabinet promising to implement laws that reverse judicial reforms of the previous, conservative cabinet—deemed undemocratic by Brussels. The Commission commended the new government for promoting “judicial independence” as well as putting the country’s legal system under greater EU oversight, and adopting a more liberal stance on LGBT issues—a sign that the releasing of EU funds was more of a political decision than one based on the ‘rule of law.’
“We hear that suddenly the rule of law in Poland is in order, even though in our time [in office] the legal state was exactly the same. Suddenly it turns out that magically things are different,” noted former conservative Prime Minister Beata Szydło ironically.
The fact that the mere promise by the Tusk cabinet to reverse the judicial reforms was enough for the EU to approve a €137 billion financial package for the country, has been heavily criticised by Hungary. In a letter written to Věra Jourová, and made public by Hungary’s EU Affairs Minister János Bóka, the minister queries why “political promises” are enough to close the Article 7 procedure, regardless of whether they are implemented in the future. Bóka goes on to note that while only one piece of legislation was adopted—the other political commitments have not yet been implemented—yet the Commission has already positively assessed all those steps.
János Bóka called this the “second election gift” for Donald Tusk, right before the European elections on June 9th, after the decision to unfreeze EU funds came just before local Polish elections in April. The Commission’s assessment “reinforces the view that Article 7 is nothing but a tool for political blackmailing,” he added, calling the decision “blatant double standards.” Bóka said he didn’t receive a satisfactory explanation to his letter at the EU ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, when the European Commission presented its position on the issue. (The decision still needs the validation of member states before Article 7 can be formally withdrawn.)
Brussels, not surprisingly, has been unfazed by the new Polish liberal government’s own rule-of-law violations since it took office—dismissing the top executives of the public service broadcaster, jailing two MPs from the Law and Justice party, raiding the home of the former justice minister, replacing the country’s prosecutors, and dragging the president of the central bank before a special tribunal.
“When somebody who is [the Commission’s] friend, like Donald Tusk, is breaking every possible rule and law, but it’s somebody that they like, then it’s okay, no questions raised,” Hungarian MEP Balázs Hidvéghi previously told The European Conservative. “If a conservative government does something completely legally—according to law and the constitution—they’re attacked, nevertheless. It’s a completely discredited discourse here in Brussels about the rule of law.”
Indeed, the Commission recently called for the Article 7 procedure against Hungary to be maintained “for as long as the issues that triggered it are not solved.” European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said that while Brussels had decided to unblock some of the EU funds for Hungary due to a new law strengthening judicial independence, the rest remains frozen because of concerns relating to issues such as corruption, academic freedom, and LGBT rights.
The misuse of rule-of-law procedures as political tools will be discussed at a conference, titled “Rule of Law as Lawfare” on May 27th and 28th in Budapest, jointly organised by The European Conservative, the Danube Institute, and the Centre for Fundamental Rights.
