Rule of Law in Poland: double standards and abuse?

  • 18:30 - 20:00
  • Tuesday 12 November 2024
  • Thon EU Hotel, Rue de la loi 75, 1040 Brussels

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The rule of law has become a central flashpoint between the European Commission and several member states – most notably Poland and Hungary. Prior to October 2023, both countries were subject to Article 7 procedures, for breaching EU values, and subjected to the withholding of billions of euros of EU funding for alleged rule of law violations. But it seems that such concerns can be quickly forgotten if the “right” parties come to power. 

Poland’s new government is emblematic in this regard. Even before Donald Tusk was sworn in, the Commission had released €5.1 billion in "pre-financing" from the recovery and resilience plan. Two months later, Ursula von der Leyen said: "We are impressed by your efforts and those of the Polish people to restore the rule of law as the backbone of your society." By May 2024 the Commission declared that it would end the Article 7 procedure against Poland. Even sympathisers were forced to concede that the rush of money bore little relation to the actual work of the Tusk government.

Since then, the Tusk government has become embroiled in its own “rule of law” scandals involving questions of abuses of power. In December 2023, the acting Minister of Culture and National Heritage fired the board Presidents of a host of Polish media companies. In April, the government went a step further: a public broadcaster was put into liquidation. According to one commentator, the government ‘can’t fire the management of Polish state radio and TV’ but it ‘can put the stations in receivership and the interim administration can [then] do as it pleases’. 

At the same time, the Tusk Government has extended its campaign into the judiciary. In December 2023, the government attempted to introduce a new ‘independence test’ for judges. This was swiftly followed by a Parliamentary resolution which declared null and void all resolutions of the Parliament from 2018-2022 regarding the election of members of the National Council of the Judiciary (which nominates judges). 

All in all, critics contend that the Tusk government is trying to push opposition out of public life. Two MPs from the Law and Justice party were jailed, only to be later pardoned by the Polish Law and Justice president Andrzej Duda. The home of the former justice minister has been raided and the president of the central bank was dragged before a special tribunal. 

Is the Tusk Government abusing power? Some argue that PiS used the same strategy extensively for eight years and is now simply upset to find itself on the receiving end. Are accusations of rule of law abuses being made by conservative politicians unable to come to terms with their electoral defeat or is there substance behind them? Why has the EU kept so quiet about what is going on in Poland and applauded the new government? 

Join MCC Brussels to debate the state of the rule of law in Poland, the EU’s silence on these issues and whether double standards and abuse are at play.

Speakers: 

  • Jerzy Kwaśniewski, President of the Board, Ordo Iuris (Poland)
  • Anna Bryłka MEP (PfE)
  • Tobiasz Bocheński MEP (ECR) 

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