{"id":2605,"date":"2021-11-16T13:52:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T12:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10164\/?p=2605"},"modified":"2022-02-09T11:09:34","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T10:09:34","slug":"rule-of-law-update-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commissie-meijers.nl\/nl\/rule-of-law-update-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Rule of law update – October"},"content":{"rendered":"
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General<\/strong><\/p>\n

The European Parliament’s legal affairs filed a lawsuit against the Commission for inaction on the dismantlement of the rule of law in Poland and Hungary on the basis of the Conditionality Regulation.<\/strong> However, it is not sure if such a legal action will be successful, as doubts remain about its admissibility and its chances to succeed. Read more on Politico<\/a>, 29 October 2021.<\/p>\n

LGBTQI+ rights:<\/strong> Hungary and Poland have vetoed the EU children right’s strategy and accuse other member states of putting the rights of LGBTQI+-activists above those of children, read more on euobserver<\/a>, 8 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Babi\u0161 and Orb\u00e1n blacklist critical international journalists<\/strong> from a joint press conference held by the two leaders in the beginning of October. The blacklisted journalists included newspapers such as Die Zeit,\u00a0Le Monde, ARD and Czech journalists writing for Seznam Zpr\u00e1vy\u00a0and\u00a0Investigace.cz. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 1 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Austria<\/strong><\/p>\n

Austrian Chancellor Kurz resigns over corruption allegations.<\/strong> Kurz announced his resignation after allegations of Kurz embezzling finance ministry funds to pay for polls that served his political agenda have been revealed. Read more on Euractiv<\/a> and Politico<\/a>, 11 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Bulgaria<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bulgarian mogul Delyan Peevski named in the Pandora Papers, the Bulgarian partner of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 7 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Bulgarian MEP Elena Yoncheva (S&D) files case against the Bulgarian government at the European Court of Human Rights. She accused them of launching a money laundering case against her to repress and discredit her work. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 5 October 2021.<\/p>\n

CZECH REPUBLIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pandora Paper revelations:<\/strong> Czech billionaire-prime minister Andrej Babi\u0161 is facing questions after his purchase of a \u20ac20m castle in the south of France a few years ago using four obscure companies came to light in the latest financial data-leak. Babi\u0161 denies any wrongdoing and blames the \u201cCzech mafia\u201d for the offshore data leak. Read more on Politico<\/a>, 8 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Greece<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU media watchdogs calls on Greece to protect press freedom.<\/strong> The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) urged the Greek government to withdraw proposed amendments that would introduce fines and jail sentences for journalists found guilty of publishing \u201cfalse news\u201d. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 13 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Hungary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Conservative politician P\u00e9ter M\u00e1rki-Zay won the race to become the Hungarian opposition\u2019s joint candidate for prime minister. <\/strong>M\u00e1rki-Zay has been able to win the support of many liberal and left-wing opposition parties after a group of opposition parties came together to jointly defeat Viktor Orb\u00e1n in the upcoming elections. Read more on Politico<\/a>, 18 October 2021.<\/p>\n

The Hungarian government wants to introduce bill that locks controversial prosecutor<\/strong>, P\u00e9ter Polt, behind a two-thirds majority. The country\u2019s chief prosecutor could then only be removed with a two-thirds parliamentary majority, a new bill submitted by Justice Minister Judit Varga proposed. Polt, a former Fidesz member, has been accused of pro-government bias. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 14 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Members of the European Parliament are worried that Hungary is siphoning EU funds through foundations.\u00a0<\/strong>MEPs from the LIBE Committee have been on a three-day visi<\/a>t to Hungary to assess the rule of law situation. Read more on euobserver<\/a>, 6 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Prominent business figures with close ties to Viktor Orban’s government have had secret offshore businesses. Read more on Direkt36<\/a>, 4 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Hungary only EU state against bill to attract skilled migrants. <\/strong>With the ‘Blue Card’, the EU wants to attract more highly-skilled immigrants to come to Europe. Hungary attracted only six in 2019\u00a0 but still opposes reforms to make it easier, citing labour protection rules. Read more on euobserver<\/a>, 4 October 2021.<\/p>\n

A group of NGOs (such as Transparency International EU, Open Society European Policy Institute) has written a letter<\/a> to the European Commission calling for to withhold approval of Hungary\u2019s recovery funds<\/strong>. The organizations express \u201cconcerns regarding Hungary\u2019s inadequate anti-corruption framework\u201d and requested that the Commission withholds Hungary’s recovery plan \u201cuntil concrete measures are put in place.\u201d The Commission has held back<\/a> the recovery funds because of concerns about the recovery plan, including its anti-corruption measures. The Commission wants Hungary to join the so-called Arachne database, in which all projects involving European money are registered, so that it is easier to see whether there is any fraud. Hungary has so far refused to cooperate. After a 3-day-visit by MEPs, they voiced concern about Hungary’s possible misuse of EU funds in Hungary through a recently introduced system of foundations, read more about this on euobserver<\/a>, 6 October 2021.<\/p>\n

IPI<\/a> condemns exclusion of journalists during Babi\u0161-Orb\u00e1n press conference:<\/strong> On Wednesday, September 29, journalists from various European and Czech media were denied admittance to an afternoon press briefing by Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n of Hungary and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161 in the Czech city of \u00dast\u00ed nad Labemof, which focused on defence, migration and the coronavirus pandemic. Among those denied entry were journalists from Le Monde, Die Zeit, and journalists from the German regional public broadcaster MDR and the Czech news websites Seznam Zpr\u00e1vy and Investigace.cz. Other investigative and freelance journalists were also barred.<\/p>\n

Poland<\/strong><\/p>\n

The CJEU issued fine of 1 million euros per day for Poland’s failure to suspend its (sham) Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court<\/strong> – a body the CJEU has ruled<\/a> violates EU law and is being used to pressure judges over their rulings by lifting their judicial immunity and retroactively suspending all decisions already taken by judges. The fine is the highest-ever daily penalty the CJEU has imposed on an EU member nation. If Poland does not pay the fine, the Commission can deduct the fine from its payments to Poland.<\/p>\n

Majority of Polish citizens want the Polish government to end dispute with EU<\/strong>. Some 73 percent of Poles said Warsaw should back down in its rule-of-law dispute with Brussels in a survey by IBRiS for the Rzeczpospolita newspaper, read more on euobserver<\/a>, 27 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Donal Tusk becomes the new leader of Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO)<\/strong>. He received 97,4 % votes in favour, he was the only candidate to participate in the vote. The party was criticized for as all regional candidates are men. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 25 October 2021.<\/p>\n

The Polish parliament is considering a new law called \u201cStop LGBT\u201d<\/strong>, proposed by the Foundation for Life and Family. The bill would change the right to free assembly in Poland in such a way that public gatherings may not “question marriage as a relationship between a woman and a man” or “propagate the extension of marriage to persons of the same sex.” This will most likely spark a new conflict with the EU after Poland had to backtrack on its plans for anti-LGBTIQ free zones because the European Commission threatened to withdraw EU funds. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 21 October 2021.<\/p>\n

On 7 October 2021, the Polish Consitutional Court has come to a judgment in case K 3\/21 concerning the primacy of EU law over Polish constitutional law.<\/strong> Poland has escalated its fight with the EU, after the country\u2019s Constitutional Tribunal (a politically controlled puppet court) issued a ruling in case K 3\/21 challenging the EU\u2019s legal order. \u201cThe effort by the Court of Justice of the European Union to interfere in the Polish justice system violates the principle of the primacy of the Polish constitution,\u201d the Constitutional Tribunal ruled on 7 October 2021. Jakub Jaraczewski from Democracy Reporting International perfectly sums up what is at stake for the EU as a union after the decision in K 3\/21 in this article<\/a> for Verfassungsblog. As many – most prominently the Polish government – equates the decision in K 3\/21 to the one issued by the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe concerning the ECB\u2019s PSP programme, Alexander Thiele<\/a> explains why these cases are intrinsically different for several reasons. Polish legal experts Stanis\u0142aw Biernat and Ewa \u0141\u0119towska also illustrate why K 3\/21 is not just another ultra vires-ruling as the German Constitutional Court’s judgement in this article<\/a> on Verfassungsblog.<\/p>\n

Pro-European demonstrations on 10 October after Poland’s “Polexit” ruling in K 3\/21<\/strong>: approximately 200,000 people in 126 towns and cities across Poland, the rest of Europe and the world demonstrated against last week\u2019s decision of Poland\u2019s Constitutional Tribunal that ruled EU basic treaties are partially illegal.<\/p>\n

The Vice-President of the CJEU rejects Poland’s request to revoke the order of 14 July 2021<\/strong> requiring suspension, among other things, of the Supreme Court disciplinary chamber provisions, C-204\/21 R-RAP<\/a> (currently only available in French), 6 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Fabrice Leggeri, the executive director of the EU\u2019s border agency Frontex, visited the Poland-Belarus border<\/strong> on Monday to review Warsaw\u2019s response to the increase in migrants arriving from Belarus. Leggeri was accompanied by Polish Deputy Minister of Interior Bartosz Grodecki. But there is still no sign of Warsaw requesting help from Frontex in patrolling the border, as it continues to defy the European Commission, which has pressed for greater transparency following the deaths of five migrants<\/a>. Politico, 5 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Slovenia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Slovenian president Janez Jan\u0161a attacks European Parliament<\/strong> ahead of visit of MEPs<\/a> between 13 and 15 October to examine the state of the rule of law and media freedom in Slovenia. Jan\u0161a posted a now-deleted tweet<\/a> denouncing a number of MEPs as \u201cSoros puppets in the EU parliament\u201d. Read more on Politico<\/a>, 14 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Slovenia shamed on corruption by European watchdog (GRECO)<\/strong> as it has failed to implement Aany of GRECO\u2019s 15 recommendations made in 2018, read more about this on euobserver<\/a> 7 October 2021 and read the full report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Europe’s chief prosecutor Laura K\u00f6vesi warned that the EU budget might not be safe because Slovenia continues to delay naming delegated prosecutors to the EPPO<\/strong>, euobserver<\/a>, 4 October 2021. However, the Administrative Court has sided with the two prosecutors picked to represent Slovenia in the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (Tanja Frank Eler and Matej O\u0161tir) as it overturned a government decision to annul the selection procedure. The government has asked the justice ministry to publish another new call to fill the country\u2019s two top EU prosecutor positions. Read more about this on Euractiv<\/a>, 6 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Romania<\/strong><\/p>\n

Romania\u2019s center-right governing coalition collapsed after lawmakers brought down Prime Minister Florin C\u00ee\u021bu\u2019s administration in a non-confidence vote<\/strong>. Read more on Euractiv<\/a>, 5 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

When is a tribunal not a tribunal?<\/a> Poland loses again as the European Court of Human Rights declares the Disciplinary Chamber not to be a tribunal established by law in Reczkowicz v. Poland<\/strong>, Article by Anna Mechlinska for Strasbourg Observers, 26 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Babi\u0161’s Media -The Erosion of Freedom of Press in Czechia<\/a>, Terezie Bokov\u00e1 for Verfassungsblog, 15 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Why the rule of law matters<\/a> – Recent events in Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic illustrate the importance of independent prosecutors and judges, Paul Taylor, Politico, 12 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Gazing into the Abyss<\/a> – The K 3\/21 decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, Jakub Jaraczewski, Verfassungsblog, 12 October 2021.<\/p>\n

Resisting Membership Fatalism<\/a> – Dissociation through enhanced cooperation or collective withdrawal, Merijn Chamon and Tom Theuns, Verfassungsblog, 11 October 2021.<\/p>\n

The Rule of Law from Below \u2013 A Concept Under Development<\/a>, Antoine Buyse, Katharine Fortin, Brianne McGonigle Leyh and Julie Fraser, Utrecht Law Review, October 2021.<\/p>\n

The Role of Civil Society in Protecting Judicial Independence in Times of Rule of Law Backsliding in Poland<\/a>, Barbara Grabowska-Moroz and Olga \u015aniadach, Utrecht Law Review, October 2021.<\/p>\n

Other<\/strong><\/p>\n

Podcast, Rechtsstaatlichkeit<\/strong>, listen to it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Podcast What the hell just happened in Poland?<\/strong>, listen to it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Podcast by IPI about Media Capture in the EU<\/strong>, listen to it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

#WolneS\u0105dy<\/strong> has published an informative overview of the judges lawfully and unlawfully nominated nominated of the Supreme Court:<\/p>\n

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For our English speaking friends: NeoNCJ closed all pending competitions to the Supreme Court yesterday. A total of 1\ufe0f\u20e39\ufe0f\u20e3 persons who have undergone the procedure before the neoNCJ are waiting for the appointment. Currently there are 5\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3 legal judges and 4\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3 neojudges in the SC. pic.twitter.com\/qtgi2AtcWe<\/a><\/p>\n

— Wolne S\u0105dy \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa (@WolneSady1) October 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n