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EU’s Timmermans ‘interested in escalating' spat with Poland, says official

PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki 18.06.2018 08:00
A senior aide to the Polish president has slammed European Union official Frans Timmermans for being "interested in escalating" a rule-of-law dispute between Brussels and Poland.
Photo: Activedia/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative CommonsPhoto: Activedia/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons

Andrzej Dera was speaking on the eve of Timmermans’ expected visit to Warsaw.

Timmermans, who is First Vice-President of the European Commission, is trying to use the EU executive's dispute with Poland “to build his position in Europe,” Dera said on Sunday, as quoted by public broadcaster Polish Radio.

Timmermans said on Twitter last week that he would visit Warsaw on Monday to discuss the rule of law in Poland with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz last week said his country would defend its right to reform its justice system amid a dispute with Brussels over a punitive procedure against Warsaw.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, in December took the unprecedented step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, stepping up pressure on Warsaw over controversial changes to the judicial system by the country’s ruling conservatives.

The move meant that the EU’s executive wanted the bloc’s member states to declare that the rule of law in Poland was under threat. That could potentially pave the way for sanctions being imposed on Poland.

The Polish government has since moved to modify the disputed legal changes.

According to a Polish MEP, top EU officials in Brussels are in a disagreement over the Article 7 procedure against Warsaw.

(gs/pk)

Source: Polish Radio

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