Europees Parlement blij met uitspraak Pools hof over mandaat EP-er Geremek (en)

The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, has welcomed the declaration, reported in the media, of the President of the Polish Constitutional Court, Mr Jerzy Stepien, whereby Bronislaw Geremek should not lose his mandate as a member of the European Parliament on the grounds that he has not provided the so-called lustration declaration on the question of collaboration with former communist secret services.

"I welcome what is apparently the result of the deliberations of the Polish Constitutional Court. The court has taken a wise decision by making clear that a directly elected member cannot be deprived of his mandate for not providing such a declaration. The Polish Constitutional Court has thus itself produced the solution to the question of Bronislaw Geremek's mandate," he said.

The President of the European Parliament had already made a declaration at the moment when a possible withdrawal of Mr Geremek's mandate became public. He reassured Mr Geremek of his sympathy and solidarity and said that all legal possibilities should be examined so that Mr Geremek could continue his work. The European Parliament endorsed this statement on 26 April.