EU’s Timmermans overstepping powers: Polish FM

He was speaking after Timmermans, the first vice-president of the European Commission, earlier in the day said that Warsaw had failed to propose “concrete measures” to address the EU executive arm’s concerns over the rule of law in Poland.

Waszczykowski told a press conference in Budapest that Timmermans had been invited to Poland, but instead of conducting a dialogue with the country's foreign and justice ministers, he “participated in political demonstrations.”

Moreover, a few weeks ago, Timmermans “announced publicly at a press conference that his personal ambition and mission was to monitor Poland,” Waszczykowski said after a meeting of foreign ministers from Visegrad Group and Eastern Partnership countries in Budapest.

"Therefore I think he has decided to go beyond his prerogatives as an international official, an international bureaucrat working for a European institution, and undertake political debate, political action against Poland," Waszczykowski told reporters.

"We still hope that sooner or later it will be possible to return to dialogue on real issues, not just on the rule of law in Poland," Waszczykowski also said, adding that the European Union was struggling with a number of problems.

According to Waszczykowski, pressing issues at hand for the EU include the future shape of the bloc, Britain’s exit and external problems.

"These are the issues that we should focus on rather than interference in the political situation of one EU country or another," Waszczykowski added.

Timmermans said in Brussels on Thursday that a response sent by Warsaw to the European Commission’s latest recommendations on the rule of law in Poland did not dispel doubts and that further steps toward Poland would depend on the decisions of EU Commissioners.

He added that the European Commission was close to triggering Article 7 of the EU treaty -- which in theory could lead to sanctions -- against Poland, but suggested that it would wait to see what President Andrzej Duda proposes in terms of a future law regulating the work of Poland’s Supreme Court judges. (str/pk)

Source: PAP