Poland’s deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański has said that European Union sanctions against his country are not on the table and assured Poles they have nothing to worry about.
Szymański’s comment followed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s visit to Budapest where his counterpart Viktor Orban declared Hungary would stand by Poland in its row with the European Commission.
As reported by Radio Poland, Orban on January 3 told Polish public broadcaster TVP that “Hungary stands behind Poland. The current [European Commission] procedure against Poland doesn’t have any real grounds and the procedure itself is not right”.
Szymański told Polish Radio that the Hungarian prime minister’s support for Poland “was entirely enough to end discussions about sanctions in Poland”.
Under European Union rules, all member states, including Hungary, would have to unanimously agree to impose sanctions against Poland.
According to the European Commission, legal changes to Poland’s justice system are a threat to the independence of the judiciary in Poland. But Poland’s governing Law and Justice (PiS) party has said sweeping changes are needed to reform an inefficient and sometimes corrupt judicial system tainted by the communist past, accusing judges of being an elite, self-serving clique often out of touch with the problems of ordinary citizens, reported Radio Poland.
