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Poland abortion protest

Resource

Concerns regarding the rule of law and human rights in Poland (letter to the European Commission)

Civil society sent a letter to EU Commissioners to raise concerns regarding the deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Poland.

Civil society sent a letter to EU Commissioners to raise concerns regarding the deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Poland.

In light of recent developments and continued and persistent attacks against the rule of law and human rights in Poland, we believe it is critical for the European Commission to issue an update to its Reasoned Proposal under Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) expanding the scope of the ongoing procedure to include violations of EU values as set out in Article 2 TEU.

We commend the European Commission’s efforts to hold the Polish government to account for violations of EU law. Further action, however, is urgently needed, on account of the continued deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Poland, and repeated failures by the Polish government to comply with the Commission’s Recommendations and with the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

We now respectfully request the European Commission to:

  • issue an update to its Reasoned Proposal of December 2017 to extend EU scrutiny to recent developments and all Article 2 TEU violations;
  • urge the Council to move forward with the ongoing procedure under Article 7(1) TEU, as requested also by the European Parliament in its September 2020 resolution;[1]
  • call on Poland to implement all previous Commission Recommendations and CJEU decisions, and to restore the independence and legitimacy of the Polish judiciary, including the Constitutional Tribunal, without further delay.

 

For more information on the context in Poland please read the full letter above and the related content. 


[1] European Parliament resolution of 17 September 2020 on the proposal for a Council decision on the determination of a clear risk of a serious breach by the Republic of Poland of the rule of law (COM(2017)0835 – 2017/0360R(NLE)), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0225_EN.pdf.

when

country

Poland

Subject

Abortion Care