Rule of law under threat: Poland in the EU pillory
The EU Commission has activated the next stage in its constitutional proceedings against Poland. Warsaw is outraged. What next in the battle over the constitutional court? Bernd Riegert reports.
What we are now seeing is political foreplay, in an attempt to avoid more heavy-handed intervention by the EU Commission. By launching proceedings against Poland for violating the rule of law, the EU Commission is entering uncharted waters. For the first time ever, the Juncker-led Commission is making use of an instrument that it only acquired in March 2014, when it was supported by the European Parliament; the Council of Ministers, or representatives of the national governments, had reservations. The so-called rule of law mechanism is essentially just a formal, structured dialogue between the Commission and the "offender." The mechanism was introduced as a precursor to the actual sanctions procedure according to Article 7 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty. This "political atomic bomb," as it was described by the former EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, can ultimately lead to the revocation of voting rights for the accused country. The EU has never yet applied Article 7. It didn't dare do so in 2010 when the EU Commission demanded a revision of changes to the Hungarian constitution. What accusations has the EU Commission made against Poland? The vice-president of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, and his lawyers accuse the Polish government of "systematically endangering" the rule of law in Poland. They say that changes in the composition of Poland's constitutional court and the circumvention of its modus operandi restrict the independence of the judiciary in a manner that contravenes European principles of the rule of law. These basic principles are laid down in the Lisbon Treaty, to which of course Poland, as a member state, is of course also a signatory. The situation has been aggravated by the government's refusal to publish and recognize the court's judgments. How has the Polish government reacted? Poland's national-conservative prime minister Beata Szydlo has adopted a strident tone. She sees the EU Commission's actions as an attack on Polish sovereignty. She insists that, following a landslide victory last year, her party has the right to shape the Polish judiciary, media and politics in the manner that, in her opinion, is what the voters want. Timmermans' negotiations in person in Warsaw failed to bring about a rapprochement. Szydlo ranted in parliament that the EU Commission wanted to destroy the EU. "It's not Poland that has a problem with the Commission - the Commission has a problem with itself," she said. Is there an umpire? In principle, the Council of Europe's so-called Venice Commission in Strasbourg is a recognized referee on tricky constitutional questions. The Polish government expressly requested an opinion from this board of European and American constitutional law experts. In March, however, the decision of the Venice Commission went against Poland. Suddenly the government in Warsaw no longer felt bound to its commitment to recognize the judgment. The Council of Europe is an association of European states that primarily supervises the preservation of human rights. It is not a European Union institution. What's the procedure? After dialog was opened in January, the Polish government had four months in which to explain its actions. As the EU Commission has not so far detected any response to its concerns, it is now implementing the second stage of the mechanism by publishing a formal warning to Poland to return to constitutional principles. The Warsaw government now has just two weeks in which to respond to the warning. If it does not do so before the deadline, the EU Commission will submit a concrete recommendation as to the legal and political steps Poland must take in order to safeguard the rule of law, in particular the independence of the constitutional court and the freedom of the press. If Poland rejects these recommendations, there is the option of dropping the "atom bomb" and initiating proceedings according to Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty. Can the EU really punish Poland? The EU Commission has no way of imposing penalties on a member state. Only the EU Council can do that - the committee made up of representatives of the governments of all 28 member states. According to Article 7 of the EU Treaty, the Council can decide with a four-fifths majority that "the clear danger of a grave infringement" of common values exists in Poland. Poland would receive recommendations on how to remedy these deficiencies. If that doesn't work, the Council can establish that a "grave infringement" of common values has occurred. This must be decided unanimously; Poland would not be entitled to vote. However, it is highly unlikely that all of the remaining 27 member states - including Britain - really would show the Polish government up in this way. The Hungarian premier, Viktor Orban, has already declared his solidarity with Poland. As a final step, the Council can then impose penalties on Poland: it can either revoke its voting rights or cut financial resources. After all, Poland is the biggest beneficiary of the EU funding. Will it come to this? At the moment, it is very hard to imagine this scenario. Rather, the focus of the EU Commission in Brussels is to avoid sparking even more crises within the EU. On the other hand, the Commission must ensure that it retains its credibility as "custodian of the EU treaties." It's clear that the rule of law mechanism and the proceedings according to Article 7 will go on for many more months, if not years. Besides, the Polish government may look at the possibility of taking action of its own over individual steps and taking these to the European Court. So far the EU has always managed to avoid formal penalties in disputes like these. Orban, Hungary's nationalist premier, did at least partially relent after a noisy argument with the EU Commission in 2012. The ostracism of Austria in 2000, when the right-wing populist FPÖ joined the government, came to nothing. No sanctions were imposed on the neo-fascists in Italy's government under Silvio Berlusconi. The threshold for penalties is relatively high. "It was only when Viktor Orban started going on about reintroducing the death penalty that the red line came into view," says one EU diplomat. Had Orban succeeded in doing this, criminal proceedings according to Article 7 would have had to have been initiated.
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Bernd Riegert
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Beata Szydlo
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European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Poland
Poland Poland_national_football_team Second_Polish_Republic Polish_People's_Republic ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Poland Polish_Football_Association Poland_national_speedway_team Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland Kingdom_of_Poland_(1025–1385) Poland_women's_national_football_team Congress_Poland Poland_national_under-21_football_team Poland_men's_national_volleyball_team Poland_national_handball_team
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Commission
Commissioned_officer Commission_(remuneration) Officer_(armed_forces) European_Commission Ship_commissioning Letters_patent Commission_(document) The_Commission_(mafia) Government_agency Commission_(art) City_commission_government U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission Committee County_commission Contract Sicilian_Mafia_Commission
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Council
Council_of_the_European_Union Council City_council European_Council Council,_Idaho County_council United_Nations_Security_Council Council,_Alaska Council_of_the_District_of_Columbia University_council Town_council Synod Committee Local_government Queensland_Legislative_Council Council_house
Article 7
Article_7_of_the_Treaty_on_European_Union Article_7_of_the_European_Convention_on_Human_Rights
EU Treaty
Treaties_of_the_European_Union Treaty_establishing_a_Constitution_for_Europe Maastricht_Treaty Treaty_of_Rome
Council
Council_of_the_European_Union Council City_council European_Council Council,_Idaho County_council United_Nations_Security_Council Council,_Alaska Council_of_the_District_of_Columbia University_council Town_council Synod Committee Local_government Queensland_Legislative_Council Council_house
Poland
Poland Poland_national_football_team Second_Polish_Republic Polish_People's_Republic ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Poland Polish_Football_Association Poland_national_speedway_team Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland Kingdom_of_Poland_(1025–1385) Poland_women's_national_football_team Congress_Poland Poland_national_under-21_football_team Poland_men's_national_volleyball_team Poland_national_handball_team
Poland
Poland Poland_national_football_team Second_Polish_Republic Polish_People's_Republic ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Poland Polish_Football_Association Poland_national_speedway_team Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland Kingdom_of_Poland_(1025–1385) Poland_women's_national_football_team Congress_Poland Poland_national_under-21_football_team Poland_men's_national_volleyball_team Poland_national_handball_team
Council
Council_of_the_European_Union Council City_council European_Council Council,_Idaho County_council United_Nations_Security_Council Council,_Alaska Council_of_the_District_of_Columbia University_council Town_council Synod Committee Local_government Queensland_Legislative_Council Council_house
Poland
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Britain
United_Kingdom Great_Britain United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland Roman_Britain Kingdom_of_Great_Britain British_Empire Sub-Roman_Britain Prehistoric_Britain British_GAA Britain_in_the_Middle_Ages British_Iron_Age List_of_British_films_of_1959 Early_modern_Britain List_of_British_films_of_1958 Britain_(place_name) England
Polish
Hungarian
premier
Viktor Orban
Viktor_Orbán
Poland
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Council
Council_of_the_European_Union Council City_council European_Council Council,_Idaho County_council United_Nations_Security_Council Council,_Alaska Council_of_the_District_of_Columbia University_council Town_council Synod Committee Local_government Queensland_Legislative_Council Council_house
Poland
Poland Poland_national_football_team Second_Polish_Republic Polish_People's_Republic ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Poland Polish_Football_Association Poland_national_speedway_team Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland Kingdom_of_Poland_(1025–1385) Poland_women's_national_football_team Congress_Poland Poland_national_under-21_football_team Poland_men's_national_volleyball_team Poland_national_handball_team
Poland
Poland Poland_national_football_team Second_Polish_Republic Polish_People's_Republic ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Poland Polish_Football_Association Poland_national_speedway_team Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Poland Recognition_of_same-sex_unions_in_Poland Kingdom_of_Poland_(1025–1385) Poland_women's_national_football_team Congress_Poland Poland_national_under-21_football_team Poland_men's_national_volleyball_team Poland_national_handball_team
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Commission
Commissioned_officer Commission_(remuneration) Officer_(armed_forces) European_Commission Ship_commissioning Letters_patent Commission_(document) The_Commission_(mafia) Government_agency Commission_(art) City_commission_government U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission Committee County_commission Contract Sicilian_Mafia_Commission
Brussels
Brussels City_of_Brussels R.W.D.M._Brussels_F.C. King_Baudouin_Stadium Brussels_Airport Memorial_Van_Damme Brussels-South_railway_station Donnay_Indoor_Championships Arrondissement_of_Brussels Brussels,_Ontario Belgian_Open_Championships Free_University_of_Brussels Brussels,_Illinois Brussels,_Wisconsin Trams_in_Brussels Brussels_and_the_European_Union
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Commission
Commissioned_officer Commission_(remuneration) Officer_(armed_forces) European_Commission Ship_commissioning Letters_patent Commission_(document) The_Commission_(mafia) Government_agency Commission_(art) City_commission_government U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission Committee County_commission Contract Sicilian_Mafia_Commission
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Article 7
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Polish
European Court
European_Court_of_Justice European_Court_of_Human_Rights
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Orban
Orban Viktor_Orbán Orban,_Tarn Willi_Orban Orban_(audio_processing) Árpád_Orbán Adrienn_Orbán Ludovic_Orban György_Orbán Orban_(name)
Hungary
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EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Commission
Commissioned_officer Commission_(remuneration) Officer_(armed_forces) European_Commission Ship_commissioning Letters_patent Commission_(document) The_Commission_(mafia) Government_agency Commission_(art) City_commission_government U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission Committee County_commission Contract Sicilian_Mafia_Commission
2012
Austria
Austria Austria_national_football_team Austrian_Empire ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_Austria Habsburg_Monarchy Same-sex_marriage_in_Austria Archduchy_of_Austria Austrian_Football_Association First_Austrian_Republic Ö3_Austria_Top_40 Austria-Hungary Austria_women's_national_football_team Austria_national_under-21_football_team Duchy_of_Austria List_of_non-marine_molluscs_of_Austria Federal_State_of_Austria
2000
right-wing populist
FPÖ
Freedom_Party_of_Austria Military_mail
Italy
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Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio_Berlusconi
Viktor Orban
Viktor_Orbán
EU
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Orban
Orban Viktor_Orbán Orban,_Tarn Willi_Orban Orban_(audio_processing) Árpád_Orbán Adrienn_Orbán Ludovic_Orban György_Orbán Orban_(name)
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European Union
European_Union
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Viktor_Orbán
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France