Poland: PiS government must urgently restore the rule of law - Hoofdinhoud

Commenting on the recent developments in Poland, ahead of the resolution that the European Parliament will vote tomorrow, the European liberals and democrats urge the Polish government to restore the rule of law and dialogue with opposition parties to end the constitutional crisis.

Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader and co-rapporteur of the resolution on the recent developments in Poland, said: “The PiS government is undermining the democratic institutions of Poland and systematically threating the rule of law. The ongoing constitutional crisis, the government’s control of the public media, and the politicization of the national administration are only contributing to isolating the country and damaging Polish citizens”. “Ms Szydlo and her government must urgently restore the rule of law. Only then can she engage in a constructive dialogue with the opposition to find a way out of the current constitutional crisis."

Sophie In’ t Veld, first vice-president of the ALDE group, said today in plenary: “We fully endorse the actions the European Commission has undertaken as regards the situation in Poland. Because what it is a stake is the core values of the EU: the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights". “Today’s debate in this plenary is not about Poland, but about the issues that put the EU values and principles at risk”. “The current situation in Poland shows the limits and weaknesses of the system that we have in place to protect fundamental rights and the rule of law in the EU. In this house we are working on an objective, evidence based and non-political mechanism to monitor Member States’ compliance with them”.

“It is very important that the EU creates a toolkit that will allow us to monitor, protect and uphold democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights”.