Protect supporters of the Rule of Law in Poland

Protect supporters of the Rule of Law in Poland

We stand in solidarity with Andrzej Rzeplinski, President of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, who in an interview for Le Monde of 26 October 2016 voiced its deep concern about the attack on the rule of law on the part of the Government led by the majority party in Parliament, Law and Justice (PiS), headed by Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Judge Rzeplinski, whose term will expire next 19 December 2016, fears that after his departure “no one knows what will happen.”

To complicate even more the situation, a statement of 27 October 2016 of the Polish Ministry for Foreign affairs rejected the recommendations presented on 27 July 2016 by the European Commission in order to resolve the constitutional crisis in the country. Ultra-conservative Prime Minister Beata Szydlo responded that these recommendations are incompatible with the interests of the Polish state. In a press conference the same have been stamped by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs as “groundless”.

In addition, on 25 October 2016 the European Parliament plenary session voted and adopted a resolution tabled by Dutch MEP Sophie in’t Veld to put in place a mechanism to report annually on the state of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the European Union. The text was approved with 405 votes in favor, 171 against and 39 abstentions. It is striking and discouraging to note the abstention of some liberal MEPs, in particular that of Johannes C. Van Baalen, President ALDE Party: it is another negative indicator of the hardships that the European Union is going through.

Matteo Angioli

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