Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are all in open defiance of EU migration rules.
In addition, Poland’s Law & Justice party’s move to take control of the courts was condemned by the European Parliament and European Commission.
The situation is now to the point where various countries want to shut off aid to Poland, but the EU treaty makes penalizing countries extremely difficult.
Bloomberg discusses the setup in Forget Brexit, Poland Risks Being the EU’s Real Rogue State.
Behind the noise of Brexit negotiations, the talk in the European Union this year has been that there’s potentially a bigger problem in the east. And the prospect of another rupture looks to be increasing.The mood in Brussels is that EU institutions can no longer stand by and watch a country that’s the biggest net recipient of European aid thumb its nose without paying some sort of price. Few people are discussing Poland following Britain out of the bloc, but a protracted conflict is getting more likely.Concerns about the shift in Poland triggered calls to limit access to EU funds for countries disrespecting the democratic rule of law.This week, Poland’s refusal to take in mainly Muslim refugees was referred to the European Court of Justice along with Hungary and the Czech Republic.“There is a growing feeling in Brussels that solidarity cannot be a one-way street, and that it becomes difficult to justify the 10 billion-euro per year net transfers for a country that is increasingly at odds with the bloc’s values,” said Bruno Dethomas, a senior policy adviser at GPLUS consultancy in Brussels and a former EU ambassador to Poland. “It is high time the EU reacted, or it risks losing its soul.”“Hostility towards the EU is part of Law & Justice’s DNA, and if it was up to the party, Poland would leave the bloc,” said Marcin Matczak, a law professor at Warsaw University. “But Kaczynski knows he can’t do that because Poles are benefiting from EU membership. Hence, the party slowly builds a negative attitude towards EU — while declaring that Poland has no intention of leaving.”
What Can the EU Do?
A fundamental problem in the EU treaty makes the situation difficult to address.
It takes unanimous agreement to do practically anything. Trade treaties are especially difficult. And there is no way to kick a country out of the block.
This problem was well understood from the outset, but Germany never wanted to be in a position where other countries could outvote it.
So here we are.
If the EU does find a way to punish Poland and cut off funds, it may drive Poland out of the block. The same applies to the Czech Republic and Hungary over migration rules.
Eventually things are going to splinter, and likely at the worst possible time.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Some say to communism and other say many rubbish stories. One thing is true certain big group of people with many privileges lost it – because these were coming not from the hard work or talent – but from communist past and setup of politics that favoured them.
Something more… They want to limit access to EU funds that dissipated due to Brexit. It is not only money that UK will stop to pay – but also a lot of losses linked to moving institutions from UK, other types of transfers like customs et cet. EU clerks say the hole after Brexit should be 13 billion and there are calculations showing that it can reach 28 billions.
“Concerns about the shift in Poland triggered calls to limit access to EU funds for countries disrespecting the democratic rule of law.” Sounds like typically twisted Bumberg lack of logic, saying the unelected EU bureaucrats are the democratic rule of law while a democratically elected government in Poland is disrespecting democracy.
Yes, gov changed rules: 1/ Online watching of the voting room and the box with votes, then calculation. 2/ Public organisations are allowed to control votes in the voting room since the change. 3/ The box with voting pages will be transparent like in France or Belarus. 4/ Voting by post dramatically limited. Readers who follow EU know that presidential elections in Austria some years ago had been cheated by postal votes.
Government changes the voting cards letting to falsify the choice signed on the card – in next election there will be no freedom of choice.
Government propaganda is succesful. I agree with the sentence “Sick country by the way”. I do not agree with “Who is loosing on this healing – protests or supports protestors.”
I live in Poland too. My observations are totally opposite. Police do not shoot plastic weapon into face of people like 3 years ago (several cases including death of football supporter). Finally there is pluralism in mass media. On cost of public TV – true – but that’s the cost of pluralism. Small business owners are not afraid with tax controls. When new gov came into power – they cancelled internal regulation of polish IRS that penalising of min. 80% controlled businesses is mandatory. Freedom of age when you want to retire – next freedom taken from people by former gov came back to people. You choose early low pension or work a while for much better one. Close to 90% of people are not satisfied with the way how courts are operating. With new regulations judges that break the low will be judged by independent court. In the past there were situation when judge sentenced for stilling used to continue being judge and penalising stillers!!! VAT tax mafia – gov took from them almost 10 billions USD of taxes. And many others. Sick country by the way. Long way to heal it. Who is losing on this healing – protests or supports protestors.
Now country is turning into fascism.
I live in Poland. It is undemocratic country. If anyone doubt it try to live here for a moment.
Why you say these lies? What is the reason? Democracy is just increasing in Poland. No more inspections at redactions of magazines, no more firing of journalists for their articles that did not follow the official propaganda, no more fighting with demonstrations and no more shutting with plastic bullets, no more bugging of journalists, freedom to retire in the reasonable age early at 65 and late at 67 with higher pension. And many other freedoms liked to the democratic state that were not the case under former gov.
I think I saw this back in 2001, when Polish membership was proposed. It was clear at that time, that all kind of rules were being put in place for the central-european entrants, to benefit Germany and cripple them. One item that comes to mind was shutting down any competitors to German Electric. However, Poland showed such go-getter-ness, and such corruption, that it was clear to me that they would agree to anything, then ignore it, and eat the Eurocrat cake.
And they would deserve it.
Stupid old Merkel opened the doors to these migrants, contrary to the rules. Now she wants everyone else to take them in. I don’t blame the Poles for telling the EU elite to f*** off. Good for them.
Poland is acting by the rules by refusing to take in migrants who have no right to be in the EU in the first place: they should all be deported. The question is not about right or wrong, but who rules. And Poland hasn’t even used it’s main weapon; making peace with Russia. That would really drive the apparatchiks berserk.
So Bloomberg says Poland risks being the EU’s biggest rogue state. Is it true that the EU troika is not elected and thus unaccountable to the people of the EU?
Of course Poland has an extremely powerful counter argument: “as other countries pay so much money to us, these countries deserve all the blessings of an enlarged Muslim population, and we humble Poles don’t”… How about that?
Poland and fellow rule transgressors should simply demand the same latitude as is typically awarded to France where flouting of EU rules with impunity is commonplace. For example, Macron I acknowledge has spoken of reducing the French budget deficit to within Eurozone permitted tolerances but the infringement of long-standing persists. Of course, within the Evil Empire, some, like Greece and Ireland, are more equal than others.
Why dont we do a referendum in Europe with regards to inmigration policies? I would assume the EU would at least need the support of its members before forcing down this policy. This issue is really turning people against our “leaders” while they turn a blind eye, its unreal.
The EU calling Poland undemocratic that’s a joke.
I think that Merkel is in defiance of EU rules this open border policy is a violation of the Schengen agreement. At least that’s what I have read.
Good Luck
Poland’s Law & Justice party has to fix what – general speaking – liberals and leftists destroyed between 1989- 2015. Thanks God and Polish people we have finnally our own government – not goverments “sponsored” once by Berlin , once by Moscow . Read what German media and Russian media speak and write about our curentlly goverment . germans and Russians hate us like Norh Korea hates America . Mr. Mish – if want to write about Poland – could you tell your readers full true , I mean more objective picture , because – as some rabbi said – partly truth is a pure lier. ( or manipulation – that’s mine). Maybe start from President Trump’s speech in Warsaw this summer… and later we’ll see. And besides that I really like to read your articles .