Today in Brussels, during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (LIBE), an exchange of views took place with Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy. PiS MEP Maciej Wąsik spoke during the discussion.
Maciej Wąsik praised the statement that “issues of the rule of law are a priority for Commissioner Virkkunen.” “I would therefore like to ask whether you are aware of the state of the rule of law in Poland, where Donald Tusk’s government has been in power for a year and a half—a government that, in my view, is violating the foundations of the rule of law,” said the MEP. Wąsik noted that although political parties in Poland are funded from the state budget, the government refuses to fund the main political party, despite a ruling by the Supreme Court and a decision by the National Electoral Commission. He also said that journalists from conservative television stations are not allowed to attend government press conferences and are denied the right to ask questions. “Do you know that there were political prisoners in Poland? Are you aware that the Polish government is undermining the status of three thousand judges in the common courts? Are you aware that the independence of the Prosecutor’s Office has been violated by unlawfully dismissing the National Prosecutor and improperly appointing a new one?” Maciej Wąsik listed.
The PiS MEP also asked whether the Finnish commissioner would be willing to visit Poland and speak not only with government representatives but also with the Polish opposition, “so that she can see for herself what these issues are really like.”
Maciej Wąsik also raised the issue of migration, asking how Henna Virkkunen assesses the Polish government’s implementation of the migration pact, what stage it is at, and what potential problems she foresees in the future.
