Brussels goes to sanctions with Warsaw. “The College of Commissioners has decided to launch an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice” to the Polish authorities, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said Thursday, June 7 during a press briefing. This infringement procedure could lead to the referral to European justice, concerning the establishment of a controversial commission of inquiry into a supposed “Russian influence” on political figures, suspected of targeting the Polish opposition and while the Polish power is becoming more and more authoritarian.
This body is accused of targeting in particular the leader of the main opposition formation, Civic Platform (PO, center), Donald Tusk, former Polish Prime Minister and former President of the European Council, pet peeve of the populist nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) in power.
The European Commission and the United States had expressed their “concern” last week about the creation of this body, the State Department believing that it “could be misused to interfere with free and fair elections Poland”. The European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders had sent a letter to the Polish government to express his concerns about seeing an “administrative body capable of preventing individuals from accessing official functions”.
In Poland, this commission has been described as “unconstitutional” and “Stalinist” by the opposition and many jurists. Recently, an amendment made by President Duda partially modifying the law establishing this special commission, in the run-up to the legislative elections in the fall, was greeted with reserve and sarcasm.
Poland “attacked” by the EU
The Polish authorities should, according to a Commission spokeswoman, receive the letter of formal notice on Thursday. In a tweet posted after the announcement, Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said that after reviewing the European Commission’s concerns, “we will calmly convey the legal and factual arguments in this case.” “Our goal is clear: to examine and limit Russian influences in Poland and Europe. We are convinced that this should unite all democratic states and institutions,” he added.
The future of the commission on “Russian influence” is uncertain. The parliamentary majority welcomed the presidential amendment with reservations without declaring whether the lower house was going to consider it quickly, or rather whether it was going to choose the members of the commission, in accordance with the original text still in force.
Deputy Justice Minister Sebastain Kaleta, meanwhile, said in a tweet that the European Commission was “again attacking Poland without legal grounds”. According to him, the conflict around this affair is an internal question in Poland “and should remain so”. Warsaw is regularly in open conflict with the EU over issues relating to respect for the rule of law.
The European Commission has already launched several infringement procedures against Poland over reforms to the judicial system accused of undermining the independence of judges, which have earned Warsaw condemnations by European justice, the last dating from Monday. The Polish authorities were sentenced to some 556 million euros in penalties for failing to comply with a CJEU ruling on this matter.