Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest the government's actions after former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and former Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik, both members of the now opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, were arrested at the Polish presidential palace on Tuesday evening. The arrested politicians had been sentenced to jail but received presidential pardons.
However, not only lawmakers fell victim to the politically-motivated purge: Tusk and his circles unlawfully replaced the heads of Poland's public television, radio and state news agency, as well as threatened to remove judges.
Poles have what the Soros-allied Tusk government wants
Describing the events unfolding over the recent weeks, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party said on Saturday that
In Poland, "no law is applicable anymore. The law is what Tusk wants. It is impossible to live in such a country. This is not a democratic state. The constitution is practically no longer in force."
V4NA addressed a written inquiry to the European Commission to find out what steps they are planning to take to protect the rule of law in Poland. The news agency also asked the body to comment on the arrest of MPs, however, the Commission declined the request, saying it is an "individual case" within the competence of national authorities, and adding that
they don't comment on individual cases.
The news agency raises the question as to what the Commission considers an "individual case". There have been numerous instances when the previous right-wing Polish and current Hungarian governments have been the subject of their criticisms – potentially leading to serious legal repercussions – on issues that are within the national competence of the member states. In other words, the European Commission has intervened in the internal affairs of countries on several occasions.
Brussels had regularly lambasted the PiS government for its justice system reforms, despite the functioning and structure of a country's judiciary being an area of jurisdiction for member states, and not the competence of the European Commission.
The Commission has also made statements concerning internal affairs in the case of Hungary. After the adoption of Hungary's child protection law, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the legislation "shameful" and vowed that the Commission would use all its powers to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community in Hungary.
In the case of Hungary, even more glaringly, the European Commission commented on "individual cases" quite similar to the Polish one. In connection with an opposition demonstration that turned violent last April
European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova met with several participants of the protest to assure them of the Commission's support and that the events of the preceding weeks would be investigated in detail.
„Recent years have made clear that Brussels’s application of double standards against politicians and member states on purely political grounds is a common phenomenon,” Zoltan Lomnici Jr said in response to an inquiry from Magyar Nemzet. The constitutional lawyer highlighted:
Countries led by conservative governments that oppose the globalist will in order to defend national interests are exposed to constant vexing and discrimination, even though equality and non-discrimination are enshrined as fundamental principles in the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Brussels is therefore willing to contradict its own founding treaties when it comes to achieving its political goals.
„Political persecution, political prisoners, disregard for the presidential pardon enshrined in the constitution – these are all events that should not take place in a 21st-century European democracy. They do not meet the requirements of freedom, democracy or the rule of law laid down in Article 2 of the TEU.”
Yet Brussels washes its hands and responds by saying that it is an individual, national matter, falling within the competence of national authorities,
Zoltan Lomniczi Jr emphasized.
The expert pointed out that Project Europe 2021, a survey by the Szazadveg Foundation, which polled 30 thousand people in 30 countries, found that 56 to 27 percent of the respondents (a ratio of more than 2:1) believe that double standards are applied in the EU.
The constant use of double standards and Brussels’s „extralegal” status will lead to uncertainty and skepticism about the EU, as people see that they cannot trust institutions in Brussels, that they cannot turn to the EU if they are wronged – unless the wrongdoing is committed by a government with right-wing/conservative views.
Cover photo: Poles protest measures taken by the Tusk government (Photo: Balazs Ladoczki)
