Věra Jourová of the EU Values Commission Kurofuki A special kind of Polish cream fudge was served by Poland’s new Minister of European Affairs, Secretarz Stan, at the first meeting in Luxembourg earlier this week.
But it will take more than a box of fudge to rebuild Warsaw-Brussels relations, which have become increasingly bitter over Poland’s adherence to European democratic and rule of law standards. wax.
A potential new front in the years-long battle between law and justice-driven governments and the European Commission has just opened.
cause? According to the European Commission, Poland has admitted itself to non-compliance with her EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
result? The European Commission has suggested that Poland is still unable to turn over the money it owes from her EU’s so-called ‘cohesion’ fund to offset economic imbalances across the continent.
Officials stressed that no decision was imminent. The refund of the spent Cohesion Fund could be at least a year away and Poland has yet to request a refund. But the prospect of the European Commission withholding a portion of her €75 billion from the EU budget has caused an uproar in Warsaw.
Clashes could reach a climax this week when Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki arrives in Brussels for the EU summit.
More broadly, the debate also gets to the heart of what EU membership means. Many, mostly western, EU member states have called for the European Commission to be tougher on Poland, while other member states, including Hungary and the newer members of Central and Eastern Europe, are voicing the EU’s We are wary of going too far and the European Commission interfering in our internal affairs.
strife rages on
Like many countries that joined the European Union as new members in 2004, Poland has benefited greatly from the Cohesion Fund. This money, which is often used to build schools, hospitals and other development projects, is one of the most tangible benefits of EU membership.
Warsaw initially tried to downplay the threat to cohesion. But soon it quickly veered into a familiar stance: the blame game. In the crosshairs are Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the former Polish Prime Minister and President of the European Council, who is seen as one of the Law and Justice Party’s greatest political threats. This is Donald Tusk.
” [opposition] The Civic Platform and Donald Tusk, as well as German politicians led by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, are responsible for blocking European money for Poland,” Justice Minister Zbigniew Sioblo said in a news release. meeting on Monday.
Poland is already embroiled in a heated dispute with the European Commission over access to another tranche of EU funding, the EU’s Pandemic Recovery Fund.
To receive these funds, a series of conditions stipulated by the EU must be met, but so far Poland has failed to meet EU standards for the rule of law, judicial independence and democratic norms.
As a potential breakthrough, the European Commission approved in June a plan to make about €36 billion in grants and loans from the EU’s recovery fund, which hits certain milestones. only if you do.
Since then, no money has actually been sent to Warsaw as it has not met the EU target.
Still, von der Leyen’s decision to greenlight the fund, even in principle, provoked serious opposition from at least five members who argued that the chairman of the commission was too lenient with Warsaw. .
But EU member states later agreed with von der Leyen’s approach at a meeting of finance ministers in July, reflecting goodwill to Poland as a leader in both arming Ukraine and hosting refugees from the war. The Netherlands was the only country to abstain.
“In the end, given Poland’s stance on the war in Ukraine, there was a sense that no one wanted to confront Poland,” he said, traditionally concerned about Poland’s violation of EU values and norms. said an EU diplomat from a country that has been
However, there are very different views within the European Parliament, which have led the way in urging the Commission to take a tougher line in Warsaw.
Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a Spanish parliamentarian who chairs the commission overseeing civil liberties and justice, told POLITICO that although he applauds Poland’s attitude towards Ukrainian refugees, it is separate from the rule of law. said it was a problem.
“We continue to have serious concerns about the situation in Poland, including the dismantling of the disciplinary chamber and the need to implement the judgment of the Court of Justice.”
“We do not agree with the European Commission’s decision this summer and urge strong monitoring of the fulfillment of the requirements,” he added.
Unintended consequences?
Whatever the moral basis for the EU’s decision to withhold funds from Poland — be it with pandemic funds or with bond money — the idea that the EU would block funding to the wrong member may help fan the flames of populism in the fifth most populous country in the world. The Law and Justice Party uses their conflict with the Commission to demonize Brussels.
Hungary’s Viktor Orban has already seized a threat to Poland’s Cohesion Fund, accusing Brussels of “blackmailing” its member states.
“While the European economy is on the brink of #recession, the @EU_Commission is busy blackmailing member states. Shame. Go Poland! Go @MorawieckiM!” he said. twittertags the Prime Minister of Poland.
As Poland prepares for next year’s elections and rumors circulate about a possible political resurgence in Tusk, Poland’s increasingly difficult relationship with Brussels has become one of the dominant themes across the country. likely to be one.
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