So now Poland is getting money from the EU after all – for the care of the almost three million refugees in the country. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced this week in the picture complained that the EU had “not paid a cent so far to Poland” have.
As EU Commissioner Nicolas Schmit said in Brussels on Thursday, the Commission has so far provided 3.5 billion euros to various member states to take in refugees from Ukraine. The money is intended as an advance so that countries can offer things like food, shelter, health care and education to those in need. With a good 560 million euros, Poland received the most money.
What Poland is still not receiving is the money from the EU’s Corona reconstruction aid. First, the country should change its judicial system in such a way that the independence of the judges is guaranteed again. But that failed again this week. The right-wing populist government coalition fought so hard for this that some media wanted to foresee a break. However, not for the first time.
Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz doesn’t believe in the end of the government. She is a member of the opposition Civic Platform PO; This liberal-conservative party is chaired by former EU Council President Donald Tusk. At the end of this week’s session in Warsaw, the lawyer seems very disillusioned. With its actions, the government is blocking the payment of many millions of euros from the Corona aid fund. The situation is deadlocked. “This government doesn’t appreciate the value of EU membership at all.”
Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro’s party even wants to lead Poland out of the EU. The government, she believes, will continue to argue. But it probably won’t break. According to schedule, the next parliamentary elections would take place in autumn 2023.
Representatives of Polish non-governmental organizations recently addressed the European Parliament and in an open letter to the EU, asking the Commission to pay urgently needed money for the care of the refugees directly to the organizations. The bill for a new, better justice system was also largely drafted by civil rights activists and associations of independent lawyers. It was a proposal that “meets all the demands of the EU Commission,” as Gasiuk-Pihowicz says.
Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz from the Civic Platform PO says Poland’s government does not appreciate the value of EU membership.
(Photo: Attila Husejnow/Imago/Zuma Wire)
The majority of the opposition parties supported the draft – but it could not win any votes in the government. Now the MPs are trying to negotiate at least the most important parts of it into President Andrzej Duda’s draft law. But after the crash in the government, things have come to a standstill. At least when it comes to legal reform.
“The disciplinary chamber for judges is working,” says Gasiuk-Pihowicz. It is precisely this that, from the EU’s point of view, should never have been set up. President Duda appointed more judges on Tuesday – who are not independent from the EU’s point of view. And instead of approaching the EU, Justice Minister Ziobro requested a suspension of Poland’s payments to the EU – as compensation for the costs incurred in caring for the Ukrainian refugees.
“If we fight for the rights of Poles, then we also fight for Europe”
In mid-February, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg rejected a lawsuit brought by Hungary and Poland, thereby declaring that the rule of law mechanism is valid and can be applied – in Hungary’s case this happened for the first time this week.
Payments from the EU budget are thus conditional on the judiciary working independently, so that misappropriation of funds or corruption can be prevented. However, judges in Poland face fines if they apply EU law. After the Constitutional Court in Poland also ruled that Polish law takes precedence over EU law, Poland was sentenced to pay a daily fine of one million euros. So far, Poland has not paid the money.
The dismissal of the lawsuit by the ECJ is a “game changer,” says political scientist Jacek Kucharczyk. Previous procedures have remained toothless, he hopes that the rule of law mechanism will also be applied in Poland, because it grabs the government where it hurts. “They need the money to bribe their voters.” Even the most loyal PiS supporters would eventually get angry, says Kucharczyk, when their wallets are empty.
Gasiuk-Pihowicz hopes for the EU. Europe cannot afford for a country of 38 million people to become an unreliable, unstable state. Especially not in times of war. “If we fight for the rights of Poles, then we also fight for Europe.” The politician believes that the majority of Poles are on her side – according to polls, 80 percent of Poles are in favor of EU membership. But the path taken by the current government, especially Ziobros, would sooner or later lead to an exit from the EU, political scientist Kucharczyk agrees. “A positive development can no longer be expected from this government,” he says.