Poland’s conservative PiS party promotes intolerance, EU legislators say
But PiS says court reforms are needed for Poland’s moral renewal, and has accused the EU of heavy-handed meddling in Poland’s affairs
Brussels/Warsaw — On Wednesday, the European Commission voiced fresh concerns over Poland’s plans to reform its courts and EU legislators accused Warsaw of promoting intolerance, reflecting deep fears for the rule of law in the country. Poland’s nationalist, socially conservative ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), in power since late 2015, is at loggerheads with the EU over its push to bring the courts and state media under more direct government control, as well as over migration and the logging of a primeval forest. PiS says the court reforms are needed for Poland’s moral renewal and accuses the EU of heavy-handed meddling in the country’s affairs. Critics say the changes threaten judicial independence and spell an erosion of democratic standards. PiS-allied President Andrzej Duda unexpectedly vetoed two of the government’s judicial reforms in July and presented his own version of these draft laws, infuriating PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and precipitating a power struggle in t...
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