'We will continue' with changes, Polish PM tells MEPs

In a European Parliament debate on Tuesday (January 19), Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo i rejected criticism of her government’s policies that had prompted an EU Commission inquiry last week.

“Poland is a democratic country,” Szydlo, of the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, told MEPs. She said she disagreed with the probe, but would cooperate with the EU Commission’s investigation into whether the government breached EU rules on media freedom and the rule of law.

“Poland does not deserve to be monitored. The rule of law, human rights are not being breached in Poland. The changes carried out by our government are in accordance with EU treaties,” she insisted.

The Polish government sent their responses to the EU’s executive’s questions on Tuesday.

EU Commission vice president in charge of rule of law affairs Frans Timmermans i promised an evidence-based dialogue, but said there was still a risk of a “systemic threat" to the rule of law.

Critical leftist and liberal MEPs claimed Szydlo’s government has put the public broadcaster under its direct control, ignored rulings of the constitutional court and curbed its power to place checks on the government.

Szydla emphasised how important Europe is for Poland, but also suggested that her country’s sovereignty on internal matters should be respected.

“We are part of the united Europe,” she said, adding: “We want to feel that Poland is a free and sovereign member state that can always count on the EU’s support, and that internal matters and its sovereignty are respected.”

“We have never wanted to dominate the tribunal. The dispute about the constitutional court is political, not legal. It is an internal matter and Poland should solve it on its own,” she said.

She argued that the previous government of the liberal-conservative Civic Platform (PO) had attempted to stack the constitutional court with its supporters before the October elections, knowing they had been going to lose, and her government was there to remedy the situation.

The European People's Party (EPP), a conservative parliamentary group of which PO is a member, issued mild criticism of the government's actions for undermining democratic principles. The EPP's group leader, Martin Weber, was not in the speaking role, so as to avoid stoking nationalist sentiment in Poland.

“It’s not a question of laws, but values. You can change the laws, but you cannot change the values,” the EPP's Esteban Gonzalez Pons i said.

The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, dominated by the UK Conservatives, stood by its Polish member, PiS.

Its MEPs accused the EU Commission and the EP of double standards, emphasising that when the previous Polish government bended the rules and appointed constitutional court judges there was no EU inquiry into those measures.

During the debate, which lasted over three hours, Szydlo defied calls to say if she was ready to amend laws if the Commission’s concerns, also probed by the legal advisory board of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, were validated.

"We will continue our programme, because that is what the electorate expects from us," she said.

In a feisty comment, she reminded MEPs that the EU had bigger challenges to face than internal issues in Poland. "I must say I do not see the need to devote so much time to Poland ... I think you have many important issues to address," Szydlo said.

Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders i, representing the Dutch presidency of the EU, reminded Szydlo that “EU membership not only entails benefits but responsibilities for common values, notably rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights.”

Koenders, also said that the Dutch presidency would hold a rule of law debate at the general affairs council in May.