Given the lack of will of the Polish government to put an end to the paralysis it has imposed on its own Constitutional Court, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament urges the Commission to move from dialogue to action and trigger article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union.
Given the lack of will of the Polish government to put an end to the paralysis it has imposed on its own Constitutional Court, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament urges the Commission to move from dialogue to action and trigger article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union.
ALDE Group leader Guy Verhofstadt said: “ The European Commission´s inability to take the necessary measures is leaving Polish citizens alone in their fight for democracy and rule of law. If the Commission continues to look away, the Parliament will have to take its responsibility under Art. 7 of the Treaty.”
“The PiS government has deliberately decided to ignore the recommendations of the European Commission, of the Venice Commission and of this parliament. Dialogue must come to an end now. It is time for action”.
“This crisis has only got worse over the last months. Now, the Constitutional Court is under the political control of the ruling party, constitutionality of laws cannot be checked and ensured any more. The European Commission, as guardian of the treaties, has the duty to act”
“Thousands of Polish citizens have been marching for months now. They wave the flag of the European Union and call desperately for help. We must not let them down”.
ALDE Group first vice-president Sophie in ´t Veld added: “The Polish government has gone too far. The European Commission has the obligation to trigger article 7.1 of the treaty”
“Both Member States and the Commission are turning a blind eye to a terrible undemocratic setback which has completely demolished checks and balances in the Polish system”.
„This is not a party polítical conflict but a new crisis that shows the weaknesses of our system to prevent these abuses from happening“.
“That’s why the Commission must also listen to this parliament, who has been calling for a broader, objective and evidence based mechanism to protect democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights for months now”
„The Commission must put forward a proposal for such a mechanism, which would be applied in an equal, non-political way to all member states”.
“Only a European Pact for Democracy, the Rule of law and fundamental rights will ensure that democratic principles are upheld any time”.
