EU Commissioner concerned about rule of law was engulfed in corruption scandals

The European Commission's concerns about the rule of law situation in Poland and Hungary have no credibility, V4NA quotes Poland's ruling party as saying.

Brüsszel, 2023. július 5. Didier Reynders, az Európai Bizottságnak (EB) az igazságügyért felelõs tagja mutatja az uniós testületnek az idén a negyedik alkalommal kiadott jogállamisági jelentését a bizottság heti ülését követõ sajtóértekezleten Brüsszelben 2023. július 5-én. MTI/EPA/Olivier Matthys Fotó: Olivier Matthys

Polish MEPs must always protest loudly against the cynicism and audacity of EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, who at times unjustly besieges Poland and leaves no stones unturned in his fight against laws that serve the interests of Polish citizens, the V4NA international news agency  wrote.  In recent weeks, Poland has once again found itself in the European Commission's crosshairs, with Didier Reynders attacking the Polish government over its already much-debated concerns regarding the rule of law, the news agency added.

They are unlawfully interfering in every act of judicial reform, in every move of the government, including purely economic initiatives, giving themselves the right to regulate and even repeal them in the name of an abstract and non-existent EU code on the rule of law,

Jerzy Jachowicz, former politician and prominent publicist, recently wrote in an  opinion piece. He added that the EU Commissioners are interfering in the democratic processes set in motion by the Polish government to strengthen the country's economic power, increase its energy security and ensure the security of the daily economic life of its citizens.

EU Commissioner Didier Reynders says he is very concerned about the rule of law in Poland, "but the spectacle he is putting on is starting to resemble a showcase trial," MEP Beata Szydlo of Poland's ruling party wrote on social media. She noted that

Mr Reynders and the other members of the European Commission regularly pillory Poland. Mr Reynders does not even hide the fact that Poles cannot pass laws without the approval and supervision of the European Commission

the Polish lawmaker  wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, in a debate unfolding in the European Parliament during another verbal attack against Poland, MEP Beata Szydlo said that her Law and Justice (PiS) party would never allow Brussels to terrorise Poles.

Didier Reynders is making trumped-up accusations against the Polish – and often Hungarian – governments, when in fact it is he himself who is mired in dirty deals and scandals, V4NA wrote. The former Belgian foreign minister was exposed for corruption when Commission President Ursula von der Leyen nominated him as a fellow EU Commissioner. Former secret agent Nicolas Ullens, based on reports from 18 intelligence services between 2009 and 2015, alleged that Mr Reynders had benefited financially from an arms deal with Kazakhstan and that he stored €2 billion in Libya, frozen, during the presidency of Muammar Gaddafi, overthrown in 2011.

Unsurprisingly, by that time Mr Ullens' earlier report had already been dismissed by the prosecutor general's office in Brussels. The former secret agent had alleged that Mr Reynders had accepted substantial bribes in connection with the refurbishment of the Belgian embassy in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

My grandfather was involved in the Belgian resistance against Nazi Germany, that's my main motivation. But there is much more than that,

Nicholas Ullens de Schooten told V4NA at the time. Mr Ullens said that during his years in the Belgian secret service, Reynders' name came up every two years in connection with a corruption case. The first time was in 2009, when Belgian police moved to a new headquarters in Brussels.

This move cost Belgian taxpayers €40 million. A similarly suspicious case was the building of the Russian embassy in Brussels in 2006, designed by Jean-Pierre Reynders, brother of Didier Reynders. It is an anomaly that the finance minister's brother should be entrusted with the interior design of such an important institution for internal security in Brussels, at the heart of NATO and the European Parliament,

the former secret agent said as reported by V4NA. When he was assigned to the so-called "Kazakhgate" unit, Ullens was severely threatened by the head of the Belgian secret service police

He called me in twice for interviews and on the third occasion, he mortally threatened me. He said that if I signed the report, I would endanger my own life, my wife's life and the lives of my four children. I am convinced that Mr Reynders was behind this, too,

the former secret agent said at the time, according to V4NA. He went on to note that "if Didier Reynders were elected European Commissioner for Justice, it would be like Al Capone running the Chicago police. This man has done terrible things for years and now he wants to be elected guardian of European law and order. For me, this is unthinkable and unacceptable."

The EU Commissioner eventually got away with the charges and was given the post of EU Justice Commissioner in Brussels without any opposition. Mr Reynders may also be linked to George Soros, as in 2014 he appeared at a conference in Brussels organised by the German multinational mass media company Bertelsmann, where Soros gave a presentation on the future of Europe.

Cover photo: Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders presents the fourth rule of law report this year  at a press conference following the European Commission's weekly meeting in Brussels on 5 July 2023. (Photo:  MTI/EPA/Olivier Matthys)