Poland and Hungary to create institute for assessing rule of law in EU countries

Poland and Hungary will jointly create an institute to assess the rule of law in EU member states. Both countries have themselves been regularly found by European institutions to have violated the rule of law.

The plan was announced today following a meeting in Budapest of the Polish and Hungarian foreign ministers, Peter Szijjarto and Zbigniew Rau.

Its aim will be to stop the EU applying “double standards towards Hungary and Poland”, said Szijjarto, quoted by Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. “Some politicians from western Europe have used us as a punching bag for long enough.”

The new body will promote “debate and transparency”, added Rau. It will seek to stop what should be a “legal” issue from being turned into a “political” one.

His Hungarian counterpart also emphasised that “Poland is our closest ally in Europe”, and that the two are “brothers in arms” when it comes to “pursuing interests in foreign policy”.

Under their current populist governments, both Hungary and Poland have repeatedly faced censure from international institutions over violations of the rule of law.

During PiS’s first four years in office, Poland recorded the biggest decline of any country in the World Justice Project’s Rule-of-Law Index and dropped six places in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index (where it is now classified as a “flawed democracy”).

Freedom House also no longer classifies Poland as a full democracy, pointing to the government’s “systematic, targeted, and aggressive attacks on judicial independence” as it seeks to “convert [courts] into a pliant political tool”

Earlier this year, the European Commission began its latest round of infringement proceedings against Poland, accusing its government of seeking to exert “political control” over judges.

Two weeks ago, a large majority of members of the European Parliament voted to adopt a report strongly criticising Poland over the rule of law, including for discrimination against LGBT people. It called for the commission to take tougher action, including restricting EU funds.

Discussions remain ongoing over the EU’s budget for the 2021-2027. One of the sticking points is a proposal by some member states to include a mechanism for limiting funds to countries that violate the rule of law.

Poland and Hungary are strongly opposed to any such system, arguing that it would be “arbitrary” and used for “political” purposes. After the latest round of budget negotiations concluded in July, there remained ambiguity over whether such an instrument would be created.

The Polish Press Agency (PAP) has reported that the latest proposal presented by Germany, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, to other member states includes a mechanism for suspending funds over the rule of law.

In response, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, reiterated today that “there is no Polish consent” for any such idea, which would be “applied in a completely arbitrary way” and used to “threaten us just because someone dislikes our government”.

Last week, Germany’s Europe minister, Michael Roth, also pledged that ongoing EU rule-of-law proceedings against Poland and Hungary would continue, as neither country had made sufficient improvements.

The so-called Article 7 process was launched against Poland in 2017, but has since stalled and can ultimately be vetoed by any other member state.

During his remarks today, Morawiecki accused the EU of attempting “political blackmail” against Poland through the “amorphous and endless Article 7 procedure”, reports Polskie Radio.

Main image credit: KPRM (under public domain)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.