Poland’s foreign minister said he was "shocked" by Wednesday's debate in the European Parliament on the rule of law in Poland.

MEPs on Wednesday debated developments in Poland and said the situation in the country posed a “clear risk of a serious breach” of the European Union’s values. They also voted to trigger the first stage of the “Article Seven” procedure.

Witold Waszczykowski told reporters he did not understand "on what basis" MEPs debated judicial reform in Poland in a situation where key planned legal changes have yet to be approved by the country's lawmakers.

Debate smacking of 'hate speech'

Waszczykowski also commented to reporters that the language of Wednesday’s debate smacked of “hate speech.”

He also said that Poland maintained dialogue with Brussels and accused EU officials of not wanting to talk with Warsaw.

'Instrument' of 'pressure'

The Polish foreign ministry on Wednesday issued a statement in which it said that the resolution adopted by the European Parliament "should be regarded as an instrument for exerting political pressure on Poland."

The ministry also said that the resolution is "a one-sided document that is too often based on political assessments, while making too little use of in-depth legal analysis. Such an approach is detrimental to the process of European integration as it only leads to stigmatizing a Member State."

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło said she would take up Wednesday’s "scandalous" events in the European Parliament at an EU summit on Friday.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR