Page 37 - bne magazine February 2024_20240206

bne February 2024 Central Europe I 37
Bodnar argues that the nomination of Jacek Bilewicz was an important step in rolling back PiS-made changes in the national prosecutor’s office that – he said, backed by several analyses from Poland’s constitutional law heavyweights – were carried out illegally.
But Duda and the PiS camp – which also includes many prosecutors nominated by PiS, often in a legally controversial manner – say the exact opposite: that
it is Bodnar who is acting illegally and whose actions will have long-lasting repercussions, including undermining any judiciary decisions that Bodnar’s nominee will have played a role in.
That, in turn, is what the Tusk government has long accused PiS of: that any illegal changes to the country’s judiciary will eventually result in court cases collapsing and judgments being reviewed.
Tusk said earlier this month that what his government is undertaking in terms of restoring the rule of law “will not be pretty”. He referred to PiS’ digging in their heels to resist changes.
“Politics cannot be about finding a compromise between lies and truth,
lawlessness and law. There’s no room for negotiations here – we cannot adhere to law only a bit or to the constitution only a bit,” Tusk told a press conference.
In his statement, broadcast before Tusk’s, Duda described Bondar’s decision as legally void and “pathetic”.
The president added that he “appealed to the prime minister to restore the situation in accordance with the law. Not only with the law but also with the constitution.”
Tusk warned the president that opposing changes risks the creation of a dual legal system in Poland. “There is no way that it can happen,” Tusk said.
Duda can veto many government decisions, because the incoming coalition does not have the 60% majority to overturn the presidential veto.
Duda can also refer many cases to Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal –
a formally independent body, which PiS engineered to become the party’s political tool. If he wished, Duda could obstruct every step of the new government until he steps down after the next presidential election in summer 2025.
Tusk and Duda are also deeply at odds over the fate of two former PiS MPs, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik, who were arrested earlier in January following their December conviction for abuse of power while leading the CBA, Poland’s anti-corruption force. The two have been in prison for nearly a week now.
Duda once again demanded Kaminski and Wasik be released for the duration of a pardon procedure he had asked Bodnar to initiate in what the government says was a political stunt to blame it for keeping the ex-MPs behind bars.
President opted for a longer procedure while he could have simply issued a direct pardon, the government says.
Duda and the PiS camp also say that the pair are still incumbent MPs because their conviction was illegal in the light of Duda’s act of pardoning them back in 2015.
PiS has rallied around the imprisoned MPs. The PiS caucus obstructed the beginning of a parliamentary sitting on January 16 by chanting "Free MPs!" for several minutes, as the wives of the jailed lawmakers looked on from the gallery.
European Parliament approves resolution attacking release of EU funds to Hungary
Tamas Csonka in Budapest
The European Parliament approved a joint resolution on January
18 with a wide majority to investigate the European Commission's decision in December to release €10.2bn of EU funds to Hungary, and to urge the European Council to examine whether Hungary has committed serious and persistent breaches of EU values, which could in theory lead to the suspension of its voting rights.
The resolution passed with 345–104 votes, with no abstentions, MEPs
condemned the "deliberate, continuous and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government to undermine the founding values of the EU".
EU lawmakers instructed the parliament's legal service and Legal Affairs Committee to review the Commission's decision, and if violations of EU law occurred, consider legal action at the European Court of Justice.
The European Commission unblocked €10.2bn in funds for Hungary a day before
the EU’s December 14-15 summit. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said at the time that judicial reforms carried out by the government were in "full compliance with the requirements" set by the EU. However, the timing of the decision was widely seen as a blatant attempt to bribe Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to support aid for Ukraine and the launch of its accession negotiations at the summit.
At Wednesday’s debate in Strasbourg, European Commission President
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