After Poland Compares EU To Nazis, Brussels Launches "Unprecedented" Review Of Polish Media Laws
Relations between Poland the EU are deteriorating rapidly on the heels of President Andrzej Duda’s move to approve new laws that allow the conservative (and eurosceptic) Law and Justice (PiS) government to name the chiefs of public TV and radio, and select judges for Poland's constitutional court.
Over the weekend, we highlighted a letter from Polish minister Zbigniew Ziobro to EU commissioner Gunther Oettinger in which Ziobro dismissed criticism of the new laws as “silly.” He went on to suggest that perhaps the Germans should focus on their own domestic issues.
"Such words, said by a German politician, cause the worst of connotations among Poles. Also in me. I'm a grandson of a Polish officer, who during World War II fought in the underground National Army with 'German supervision',” Ziobro wrote, before saying he has come “to a sad conclusion that it is easier for you to talk about fictitious threats to media freedom in other countries than to condemn censorship in your homeland.” That’s an apparent reference to the coverup of the sexual assaults that occurred in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
Finally, assuring that diplomacy between the two nations will remain impaired for the foreseeable future, the front page of the Polish Wprost weekly, one of the more popular media outlets in the country, showed the following picture of Merkel, and the EU Commission cronies Juncker, Oettinger and Schultz, with the title "They want to supervise Poland again." Which, as Reuters explains, means "occupy."
Now that the Nazi card has been played it's time for the EU to hit back. "Poland's legal maneuvers have prompted escalating warnings from the EC that it could intervene. The EC's vice president, Frans Timmermans, sent two letters asking Polish authorities for information," Deutsche Welle wrote on Tuesday noting that "the queries infuriated Poland's Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who said Tuesday he was 'astonished' by Timmermans' request, slamming it as 'an attempt to exert pressure upon the democratically elected' parliament and government of a sovereign state."
"You had the possibility to receive from me the competent information regarding this issue ... using routine working contacts ... I deplore the fact that you decided not to do so. Thus, I first found out about your unjustified accusations and unfair conclusions from the media," Ziobro seethed.
Well if Ziobro was angry before, he's furious now because Brussels has taken it a step further. "The European Commission has opened an unprecedented inquiry into whether new Polish laws break EU democracy rules," BBC reports. Under the so-called "rule of law" mechanism the Commission can force a member state to change any measure that poses a "systemic threat" to fundamental EU values.
Polish PM Beata Szydlo is having none of it. "Democracy is alive and well in Poland," she told the Polish parliament on Wednesday.
"The Commission has no right to evaluate changles to Poland's public media law," Foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski told Reuters.
Here are the bullet points on the procedure courtesy of BBC:
- EU introduced mechanism in 2014 to protect fundamental values
- Activated by "systemic breakdown" affecting proper functioning of state's institutions and mechanisms
- Three-stage process: Commission assessment and opinion, recommendation of action with time limit and then potential resort to Article 7 of Lisbon Treaty
- Article 7 can mean suspension of state's voting rights in EU Council, where ministers from 28 states shape EU policy
And here's a bit more color:
The Polish prime minister told MPs she would defend Poland in a European Parliament debate next week and represent the whole of parliament and society.
Four channel directors at broadcaster TVP resigned earlier this month in protest at the government's media laws, which place public radio and TV under a new national media council. That change gives the treasury minister the right to hire and fire management.
Most Poles watch or listen to the public TVP channels and one minister has accused news channel TVP Info of broadcasting propaganda for years.
Shortly before the measures came into effect, another law was signed off requiring most rulings by Poland's 15-member Constitutional Court to have a two-thirds majority with at least 13 members present. The ruling party put forward five names to the court, which then appointed two as judges.
Thousands of Poles have protested against the changes in recent weeks in Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Krakow.
What's next you ask? Well, here's the EU Commission itself to explain:
A reply to the letter of First Vice-President Timmermans on the media law was received on 7 January and on 11 January on the Constitutional Tribunal reform. On the Constitutional Court reform, the Commission is cooperating with the Council of Europe Venice Commission, which is preparing an Opinion on the matter.
Under the Rule of Law Framework, the Commission enters into a structured and cooperative exchange with the Polish authorities in order to collect and examine all relevant information to assess whether there are clear indications of a systemic threat to the rule of law.
Following today's orientation debate, the College mandated First Vice-President Timmermans to send a letter to the Polish government in order to start the structured dialogue under the Rule of Law Framework. The College agreed to come back to the matter by mid-March, in close cooperation with the Venice Commission.
Ultimately the question is whether Poland's new laws represent an illegitimate an intolerable attempt to bring the media under state control or whether the inquiry is just another example of Berlin and Brussels attempting to impose their will by decree.
One thing is certain: this will do nothing to ease tensions in the bloc where the worsening migrant crisis and subsquent attempt to address it with a controversial quota system has already created quite a bit of animosity and suspicion towards the German government and the eurocrats tin Brussels.
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Maybe, Polish Government should hire Ms.Victoria Nuland ?
At least she's got experience to deal with the Brussels.
EU = Totalitarian tos*ers
EU = Totalitarian tos*ers
EU = Totalitarian tos*ers
Poland is just a play field for growing conflict between CIA and German intelligence services, last Polish government fell just because of disclosed by CIA German surveillance of Polish politicians from Civic platform associated with US interests i.e. CIA agents and consequently collapse of the government and escape of PM to Brussels to "work" as ceremonial president of EU Commission with staff of nine, following with electoral defeat in May and and October last year.
It seem to me that German puppet masters have been defeated and CIA reigns supreme in Poland now and hence massive German propaganda cleansing from "Polish" German owned media and propagation of anti-German and -EU rhetoric while being in the same time staunchly anti- Russian. Opposition to Syrian refugees is just an anti-German stand for political reasons.
It is hidden war between Germany and US aimed to takeover EU, that is brewing in Europe and EU countries take sides in this conflict. In Poland national narrative was historically always anti- German and anti-Russian, expressing independent stand supported by majority of the people. The economic really is just opposite Poland is highly dependent on both.
They had that war already. Germany became a colony in 1945.
Pushing Poland back to Putin's lap...
George Friedmans stratfor: intermarum; Poland, ukraine, turkey.
Between east sea and black sea.
Usa's isolation of russia. I mean thats why they fight in Syria.
youtube: putin valdai; friedman intermarum; Dier Krieg der viele väter hat...... (schulz- rohnhoff)
Putin at Valdai: Russia has two bases outside its borders... our partner has 270.
Why are we being called agressive ?
Did russia bombe libya and killed usa ambassador ? Have we bombed iraq, yemen. Did russia topple the ukraine government ?
Is russia bombing Pakistan, afghanistan ?
Poland a new usa-bastion. A new usa defeat just like Vietnam, conventional warfare.
And new president the Donald ? The new Kennedy...... with or without a grassy knob ?
And the usa, peace loving, taxpayer sees the constitution fucked !
Poor americans......
Poor Europeans......
and all thanks to the concept of.... democratic states.
Poland is always the stuck up slut that thinks she's too good for the gang members that want to grape her. Like some high class tart in a bordello strutting and selling her charms to the highest bidder no sooner had she the pedophiles in Brussels salivating after bringing the country into the twentieth century with Europeons tax money than she decided to throw her a$$ at her Washing town admirers where she could play with their big dildo rockets and antagonise the Russian Bear even more than the Ukrops. It was the same tease back in the USSR and like then the totalitarian chain around the victims of the EUUSR is only as strong as its weakest link.
So keep bitching and playing all sides of the bordello until the house comes down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m41Tdl5mvdg
EU "democracy rules"? That's fucking rich, coming from a bunch of unelected bureaucrats. Deutschland couldn't rule the world through the nazi's, with whom US business leaders conspired, so after the war they came up with this "European Union" crap in order to strip nations of their sovereign right to determine their own national policies. How's that workin' out for ya'll? If the UK has any real leaders left, which I highly doubt, they'll Take the next Brexit and get the fuck out of Dodge.
Poles completely clueless, they gave up their sovereignty when they joined the EU Caliph, 'er "union".
Right, a union of publicly funded Muslim hostels.
They're not a trade union but an invasion chump union.
Telling the truth about greedy lying socialist jew media = Anti-Semitism
Telling the truth about disease spreading homosexuals = Homophobia
Telling the truth about violent racist kneegrow trash = Racism
But what does the socialist jew media call it when you lie about whites, Christians or heterosexuals????????JOURNALISM!!!!!
Poland is a wobbler, so they're a target for change as well as invasion, look for economic sanctions against those that don't submit to Muslim invasion.
Rock on Poland! Dump that EU looser train. Liberty is not about being owned by Brussels. Your elected government can not decide who runs your tax payer funded TV channel!?! Tell 'em to F' off.
a little comment from the front-line:
"Ultimately the question is whether Poland's new laws represent an illegitimate an intolerable attempt to bring the media under state control or whether the inquiry is just another example of Berlin and Brussels attempting to impose their will by decree. "
the law ("lesser media bill") was all about state-owned public media outlets (tv, radio, and gov-financed news agency) already state-controlled. it is something of a tradition that new ruling party purges government-controlled TV and installs their apparatchiks. the same was done 8 years ago when former party come to power and UE didn't complain.
what one should watch is an upcoming so-called "larger media bill" where ruling party will really try to inflence balance in the media. many Poles belive media are mostly controlled by "German financial capital" and represent German interests and therefore should be regulated somehow lilke in Hungary. now that, from libertarian perspective, would really be worrisome.
one interesting thing is that while there has been established a template for financial bail-ins (Cyprus, Greece), a new template for political get-outs (Hungary, Poland) is being estabilished as well.
Actually vast majority of Polish citizens support PiS in its euro skeptical moves. Above mentioned "protests" are in fact sponsored by, yes you guessed it, G. Soros. It actually explains their goals...