European Parliament to discuss 'Poland resolution' on Wednesday
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
12.04.2016 09:02
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has prepared two draft motions on the Constitutional Crisis in Poland, which is set to be the focus of a debate slated for Wednesday.
The European Parliament. Photo: Flickr.com/European Parliament
According to information confirmed by the PAP Polish news agency and Politico, one draft was prepared by the two largest factions in the Parliament – the European People's Party (EPP) and the Socialists, and has received the backing of three smaller parties, the Liberals and Greens.
The resolution warns that Poland should end the current standstill over the Constitutional Tribunal in line with recommendations of the Venice Commission, the legal watchdog of the Council of Europe.
If Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party does not comply with the recommendations, the European Commission will be forced to move to the second stage of a so-called rule of law procedure, which “shall clarify whether there is a systemic threat to the democratic values and the rule of law in Poland”, Politico quoted the draft resolution as saying.
A second draft was prepared by MEPs of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR), which includes deputies from Poland’s Law and Justice party.
The Vice President of the European Commission recently urged Poland’s government to implement rulings by the country’s Constitutional Tribunal as a start to finding a way out of the political deadlock gripping the country.
The Constitutional Tribunal on 9 March rejected a series of controversial changes to the way it functions introduced by the PiS party. (rg)