Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, right, and EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, left, shake hands and smile before holding crucial talks on ways of ending Poland’s political conflict that has strained ties with Brussels, at Szydlo’s office in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, 24 May 2016. “I fully agree with the Polish prime minister when she says this is only a Polish problem and that we can only find a Polish solution”, Reuters quoted Timmermans as saying. Szydlo said a compromise was in sight, but gave no details.
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The European Commissioner who said no European Union (EU) country could escape having “diversity” imposed on them has flown to Poland in the wake of a leaked document claiming the country “does not adhere to democratic standards”. Failing to do so would result in the EC issuing a critical opinion, which would launch the second stage of the rule of law procedure on Poland.
Poland’s conservative government, in power since November and making sweeping changes to the state and social life, has taken steps to curb the Constitutional Tribunal, a top court that can act as a check on government’s actions. An EU official said on Tuesday that Timmermans was there to conduct further negotiations rather than simply to deliver a communication which could lead to sanctions against Poland.
Polish assets have underperformed regional peers since last October’s election, with the extra yield investors demand to own 10-year government bonds over similar German debt near a two-year high. It has threatened sanctions, for example Poland being stripped of its European Union voting rights. He refused to comment on how close the two sides were to an agreement, saying it wasn’t appropriate to “frontload an opinion while you’re engaging in a process of constructive dialogue and you aim to find a solution”.
The Venice Commission, an European Union body, has recommended that the solution should be negotiated among parties, in Poland’s parliament.
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But on Monday, a commission spokesman referred to an “ongoing and constructive discussions with the Polish authorities” and said it was not sure that the report would be adopted. President Andrzej Duda, a former Law & Justice member, hasn’t sworn in three justices picked by the previous parliament, opting instead to name judges selected by his party colleagues to the tribunal. In January, the European Commission opened an inquiry into the changes, and regularly assessed progress in its dialogue with Poland on the issue.
