'Poland will be marginalised in Europe' Tusk in astonishing ATTACK as Warsaw defies EU

TENS of thousands of Poles protested against a new
law that allows parliament to appoint Supreme Court
judges, defying a European Union warning that the
move undermines democracy and the rule of law.
The bill, sponsored by the ruling Law and Justice party
(PiS), was passed by parliament's lower house earlier
in the day after tumultuous debate. It saw one of the
biggest protests since the PiS came to power in late
2015.
European Council President Donald Tusk, a former
Polish centrist prime minister and arch-adversary of
PiS, said he had asked President Andrzej Duda for an
urgent meeting about the "political crisis" in the
country.
Mr Tusk said in a statement that PiS moves on courts
were backward, went "against European standards and
values", harmed Poland's reputation and risked
marginalising the country.
He said: “It falls to us, together, to avert bleak
outcomes which could ultimately lead to the
marginalization of Poland in Europe… The situation,
including at international level, is really serious. And
that is why I am asking for serious measures and
serious partners. Please let us try, Mr. President.”
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EU's Donald Tusk has attacked Poland's decision
The vote came a day after the EU gave its largest
formerly communist member state a week to shelve
judicial reforms that Brussels says would put courts
under direct government control.
If Warsaw's nationalist-minded PiS does not back
down, the government could face fines and even a
suspension of voting rights, although other
eurosceptics in the EU, notably Hungary, will likely veto
strict punishment.
In the best-case scenario, Poland will see its clout in
Brussels wane further, damaged by mounting
frustration among its EU peers arising from bitter
disputes over issues such as migrant quotas and
nature conservation.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the Polish
People's Party (PSL), told a crowd in Warsaw: “We will
... not allow them to trample European values. We will
not allow ourselves to be pushed out of the European
Union."
Poles have been protested the government's bill
A crowd in front of the Presidential Palace, carrying
Polish and EU flags responded with chants, "Free
Poland, European!" "Free Poland, European!"
Sources close to the Presidential Palace told Reuters
that President Duda was on vacation on the Baltic
seacoast.
Warsaw City Hall estimated the crowd at more than
50,000, while police put it at 14,000. Tens of
thousands demonstrated in other Polish cities.
Piotr, 48, who came to the protests in Warsaw with his
five-year-old son, said: “I wanted to be here on this
historic day when our freedoms for which we fought
for more than 25 years are being taken away.”
The government says the changes are needed to make
courts accountable and to ensure state institutions
serve all Poles, not just the "elites" it says are the
support base for the centrist opposition.
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PiS has offered no concessions, instead presenting the
criticism as unacceptable foreign meddling in the
domestic affairs of the country, which overthrew
communism in 1989 and joined the EU in 2004.
"We will not give into pressure," Prime Minister Beata
Szydlo said on Thursday evening in a special state
television address defending the bill. "We will not be
intimidated by Polish and foreign defenders of the
interests of the elite."
The bill will go to parliament's upper house today,
where PiS has absolute majority. Duda, a PiS ally, will
have to sign it before it can become law.
Critics at home and abroad say the legislation is part
of a drift towards authoritarianism by the government,
which espouses nationalist rhetoric coupled with left-
leaning economic policy.
Since being elected in 2015, PiS has tightened
government control over courts and prosecutors, as
well as state media, and introduced restrictions on
public gatherings and the activity of non-governmental
organisations.
Last week, parliament passed another bill that ends
the terms of current members of the National Council
of the Judiciary, one of the main judicial bodies, and
gives parliament powers to choose 15 of its 25
members.
Political opponents, rights groups and the EU say the
changes undermine the separation of powers between
the executive and the judiciary, a fundamental
democratic principle.
While PiS remains broadly popular among many Poles,
particularly poorer and older voters from the
countryside, there have been widespread protests
against the plans.
A senior aide to President Duda, Krzysztof Szczerski,
said Tusk should instead focus on explaining Poland's
stance in Brussels.
"The president is surprised that there has been such
increased engagement in this matter by European
institutions because everything is in accordance with
the Polish legal order.”
In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another
nationalist critic of Brussels, wrote a letter to his
Polish counterpart to express Budapest's support.
"We stand by Poland, and we call on the European
Commission not to overstep its authority," Hungarian
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
The bill passed on Thursday calls for replacing all
Supreme Court judges except those elected by a
judicial panel that is to be chosen by the parliament.
The Supreme Court's tasks include validating
elections.

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