Talks ongoing between Poland and EU, 'no ultimatum'

Polish media had widely reported that the European Commission was expected to issue an opinion on Monday critical of the state of democracy and the rule of law in Poland under the country’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government.

The commission, the executive body of the European Union, last week gave Poland what was seen as a Monday deadline to find a solution to an ongoing row and a deadlock over the country’s Constitutional Tribunal.

Talks ongoing

But on Monday afternoon European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said “constructive” discussions were ongoing in the hope of finding a way out of the stalemate.

Schinas denied that the European Commission had issued Poland an “ultimatum”.

Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, who flew to Brussels for a meeting with EU officials, indicated that there were no new Polish proposals for the European Commission in terms of resolving the dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal.

A critical opinion by the European Commission would be a further step in a long process that could lead to the EU imposing penalties on Warsaw, theoretically including the suspension of its voting rights in the EU Council.

In January, the European Commission said it was starting a "rule-of-law" probe into whether controversial laws pushed through by Law and Justice violate EU standards.

Earlier on Monday, Waszczykowski said: "We believe that this procedure launched by Mr (EU Commission Vice President Frans) Timmermans is a procedure outside of the [EU] treaty and Poland should not be subject to it. This procedure goes far beyond the European treaty.”

He added: “It’s not this kind of EU, not this kind of presence [in the bloc] that we agreed on with the EU.”

Political deadlock

Poland is locked in a political stalemate after the conservative Law and Justice party, which came to power in October, introduced sweeping reforms to the Constitutional Tribunal and other institutions. The moves have drawn criticism at home and abroad.

The tribunal has rejected PiS-backed changes to the way it functions. PiS, in turn, has refused to recognise that ruling by the tribunal, claiming it is invalid. (pk)

Source: PAP/IAR