In an interview for a German radio station, Katarina Barley, former Minister of Justice in the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and currently Vice President of the European Parliament, said that Hungary and Poland need to be “starved” to force the two countries to follow the rule of law. Later, the editorial office of the radio station explained itself saying that it may have exaggerated Barley’s words, however the scandal was no longer avoidable. For many, the contempt and disdain demonstrated by the German politician brought back gloomy memories of the attitude of the Third Reich’s activists.
On the air of the DeutschlandFunk radio station, the vice president of the European Parliament Katarina Barley appealed for the financial “starvation” of Poland and Hungary to protect the rule of law and democracy. According to the German politician the situation in both member states is allegedly very serious. She warned that their EU funding might be blocked.
“Her statements are an obvious violation of the rule of law, the rules of the EU. It is illegal, and the arrogance of Ms Barley makes us Poles reminisce about the recent, tragic events in contemporary history.” said columnist Marek Król.
Yesterday evening the German editorial office corrected the information on Barley’s words, suggesting that they were exaggerated and that the statement itself concerned only Hungary, not Poland.
“In the first version, we exaggerated and wrongly presented the statement of Katarina Barley. We corrected this mistake and ask for forgiveness.” read the correction posted by the radio station.
The head of the prime minister’s chancellery, Michał Dworczyk, in an interview for a morning show of the First Programme of the Polish Radio said that the German radio’s explanation is absurd.
“It was a shameful statement which should have never been said out loud. When it comes to German politicians, they should especially watch what they say, because of the historical context and associations we have here in Poland. Secondly, this explanation is in my opinion only condemning the author. What does it mean, that Hungary can be starved and Poland can’t?” stated Dworczyk.
It is not the first time that Poland is threatened with serious financial consequences due to the alleged breaking of the rule of law in the country. Several days ago, the US ambassador to Poland warned about the unfavourable military and financial decisions for Poland due to its resistance against the LGBT ideology.