European Parliament scolds Poland

The resolution calls on the Commission to bring Warsaw to heel.

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday in support of a resolution saying the Polish government’s confrontation with the country’s top constitutional court posed a danger to “democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

The non-binding measure, approved by 513 votes to 142 with 30 abstentions, also called on the right-wing government in Warsaw to end a crisis over the country’s Constitutional Tribunal, and if that doesn’t happen for the European Commission to activate the “second stage” of its rule of law procedure against Poland.

The vote is another blow for the Law and Justice government (PiS), which has seen relations with Brussels worsen significantly since it came to power in late October.

The government has embarked on radical changes to Poland’s institutions, the most controversial of which critics say reduces the Constitutional Tribunal’s independence. Changes to the tribunal’s procedure have been ruled unconstitutional by the tribunal itself, but the government refuses to recognize the verdict.

Poland’s constitutional crisis was examined by the Venice Commission, a body of the Council of Europe, which had been invited to the country by the foreign minister. Its report rebuked the government, but Warsaw has not followed its recommendations.

The Commission launched an unprecedented probe into Poland’s rule of law in January, a procedure that could theoretically end with Poland losing its voting rights as an EU member. However, such an outcome is unlikely as the decision has to be unanimous, and Hungary — which has similar issues with Brussels — has promised to stand by its Polish ally.

“I don’t think that today or in the near future anyone in Europe would want to impose sanctions or penalties against Poland,” Donald Tusk, president of the European Council and former Polish prime minister, said in Strasbourg. “I wouldn’t support such a step.”

The European Commission also wants the government to obey the tribunal’s verdict, but has been reluctant to worsen the confrontation with Warsaw, which is why the Parliament stepped in with its resolution.

“Respect for European values is not a choice but an obligation,” said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the centrist ALDE grouping. “The PiS government is distancing Poland from a community of shared values.”

The Polish government puts the blame for frictions with the EU on the opposition Civic Platform party, saying the party first tried to change the makeup of the tribunal illegally just before losing power and still hasn’t accepted its October defeat.

“The opposition is fighting against the government by using the European institutions as a political football, which shows a total lack of integrity,” said Ryszard Legutko, a PiS MEP, calling the resolution “absurd, harmful, dishonest and counterproductive.”

However, the government’s attempts to shift responsibility to the opposition aren’t gaining much traction. In a new poll by the Ariana organization, 53 percent of those surveyed felt the government is violating democratic standards and 56 percent wanted the government to obey the tribunal’s verdict. Another survey by the IBRIS organization found that 63 percent of Poles feel democracy is in danger, up from 55 percent late last year.

Tusk, a founder of Civic Platform, said there is growing international concern over Poland’s direction.

“If the authorities don’t want international opinion to occupy itself with their affairs, it shouldn’t give them the pretext for doing so,” he said. “Today there are too many pretexts.”

The problem for the government is that it doesn’t have a face-saving way of backing away from the confrontation. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Law and Justice and Poland’s most powerful politician, called a recent meeting of fellow party leaders to seek a compromise. However, the opposition demanded that any such attempt be preceded by the government carrying out the tribunal’s verdict.

The fight over the tribunal is only one of a broader series of concerns over Warsaw’s actions. Gianni Pittella, head of the European Parliament’s Socialist bloc, noted “a series of worrying retrogressive measures” in areas such as efforts to toughen Poland’s abortion law, a media law that strengthens government control of public radio and television, and new legislation expanding policy surveillance powers.

Jan Cienski contributed to this article.