Is the truce over? Poland is taking action against Brussels again because it did not receive the billions of euros from the recovery plan that was agreed upon in the summer.
Relations between Poland and the European Union have heated up again. The European Commission did not recognize Poland's judicial reform, which was a condition for the payment of billions of euros from the recovery plan. Polish politicians now say they will veto European initiatives, sue the Commission and aim for the resignation of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Russian aggression in Ukraine also affected relations within the Union. Last year, the European Commission took action against the Hungary-Poland tandem in several conflicts, but in the meantime, the relationship between the allies deteriorated due to their different approach to the aggressor. At the same time, Poland found common ground with Brussels in helping refugees and accepting sanctions against Russia.
For a while, it seemed that the improvement in relations would also resolve the long-standing blockade of the Polish economic recovery plan, in which Poland is asking for a total of 35 billion euros.
The Commission refused to approve it for many months, because it did not see sufficient guarantees in the plan for the reform of the Polish justice system, which, according to them, does not comply with the principles of the rule of law, but the Commission still approved the Polish plan in June, reports the euractiv.sk portal.
However, this did not automatically lead to the payment of the money. The European Commission now claims that the Polish reform did not meet the requirements of the approved plan.
We have no choice but to pull out all the weapons we have in our arsenal and start firing.”
- responded Krzysztof Sobolewski, secretary general of the ruling Law and Justice party, who says that this could mean more frequent use of the veto, the creation of a coalition aimed at expressing no confidence in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, or even a lawsuit.
The approval of the Polish economic recovery plan is criticized by three European commissioners, including the European Commission's justice commissioner, Didier Reynders. According to him, the Polish judicial reform is just a cosmetic patch. The first sums of money will only be received by the Poles if the country fulfills all requirements.
However, the situation changed during the summer, when the Commission announced that it had agreed with Poland on an amended version of the plan, which it finally approved.
However, experts dealing with the rule of law have pointed out that the reform is only cosmetic.
Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling party, says Poland has done everything it can and the EU has violated the agreement. +It's time to learn from this," he said.
Already in May, Poland used its veto to block the agreement on the global minimum tax, putting pressure on the Commission. The party now says it will use this tool until the Commission allows it. Additional tools from the arsenal, such as the effort to express no confidence in Ursula von der Leyen or the initiation of lawsuits at the EU Court, also contribute to this.
2022Plus: "Polish, Węgier, dwa bratanki, i do szabli, i do szklanki." i.e. two good friends, Polish and Hungarian, fight and drink wine together, goes the old common saying. However, it seems that our friends were a little dizzy from the mirage of promises from Brussels and were willing to make concessions even in such frantic matters as the sanctions policy or criticism of Hungary for not giving in. Look, now they are disappointed. They got scammed!
The two good friends have not faced each other since historical times. It seems that our country is waiting for the end of our friends' mistakes, we can already see the end of the tunnel.
Source and full article: ma7.sk
Featured image: GettyImages
