The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning Poland and Hungary for being in breach of the rule of law. The resolution states that the situation in both countries has worsened after the procedure of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union was implemented.
The European Parliament turned to the European Commission as well as the European Council to use any available tools to eliminate the risk of infringing upon the values of the European Union. A heated debate preceded the resolution in the parliament.
”It was Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydło who ordered not to publish the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal. This was the beginning of the process which led to breaking the Polish constitution and the rule of law. She is also not impartial on this matter, since she currently has a case pending against her”- says Radosław Sikorski, member of the European Parliament, European Coalition.
”Mr Sikorski has just lied, I should actually sue him, since there are no cases against me, for one thing. Mr Sikorski, please read with comprehension, you are a liar, you are not worthy of the mandate you were given by the voters”- says Beata Szydło, member of the European Parliament, Law and Justice.
Robert Biedroń from the Left shouted from the stand that free courts in Poland have not died just yet.
”I have some bad news for the Law and Justice party. Free courts are not yet lost, so long as we live. No matter how loud you scream, and how many muzzles you put on us, whatever leashes you try to hold the Polish society on – the Polish society will keep going out into the streets to defend the constitution, the rule of law, as well as constitutional order”- says Robert Biedroń, member of the European Parliament, The Left.
Law and Justice MEPs argued that the European Parliament is misinformed by the Polish opposition in terms of the situation in Poland. Meanwhile, changes in Polish judiciary are awaited by the society, since they had not occurred after the fall of communism.
”This is very characteristic of you, speaking in very broad terms, claiming the rule of law is being broken in Poland. Not one of you explained why the choice of judges is politicised in Poland, and you know why? That’s because if you did that, it would raise questions”- says Patryk Jaki, member of the European Parliament, Law and Justice.
The resolution was backed by 446 European Parliament deputies. 178 were against it, while 41 abstained from voting. The resolution is not binding, it is merely an indication for the European Commission, Council, and the member states of the European Union.