Debate: Plans to undermine further fundamental rights in Poland, in particular regarding the standards of the European Convention of Human Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Date: WEDNESDAY, 15 DECEMBER 2021
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

The Commission considers that there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland. It’s for this reason that it adopted the recent proposal in accordance with Article 71 of the Treaty. This procedure is still ongoing, and just as the Minister mentioned yesterday, we provided at the General Affairs Council an update on the state of play. The Commission has also undertaken other steps to protect the rule of law in Poland. In particular, it launched a number of specific infringement procedures and successfully requested interim measures from the Court of Justice to protect the independence of Polish judges. The Commission is also very concerned about the recent rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal and will not hesitate to make use of its powers under the Treaties to safeguard the uniform application and integrity of Union law. Honourable Members, on 15 July the Commission also launched an infringement procedure against Poland in relation to the so-called LGBT ideology-free zones resolutions adopted by several Polish regions, counties and municipalities on the basis of a lack of sincere cooperation on this topic. Let me be very clear. LGBTQI-free zones have no place in our Union. This is not our model of society. This is not our Europe. The Commission services also engaged in a dialogue with the Polish authorities concerning the amendments of the 2014-2020 Polish regional programmes, to which, as you know, REACT-EU funds are being added. As a result of this dialogue, all regions which had adopted such problematic resolutions, namely the regions of Lubelskie, Małopolskie, Łódzkie, Podkarpackie and Świętokrzyskie, have now replaced them or amended them. They also committed to ensure non-discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. The Commission services have resumed the negotiations on this basis of the REACT-EU programme amendments in relation to those five regions. As always, the Commission will continue to monitor the compliance with the principle of non-discrimination. My colleague, Commissioner Dalli, also addressed this House on 20 October on the occasion of the first anniversary of the de facto abortion ban in Poland. As you know, legislative powers in this area lie with the Member States. Moreover, in the area of public health, Member States are responsible for the definition of their health policy, and the Union’s competence is in general limited to encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, to lend support to their action. Nevertheless, the Commission reminds that, even when exercising their exclusive competences, Member States must respect fundamental rights, which bind them by virtue of their national constitutions and their commitments under international law. All women across the European Union should have access to good-quality healthcare and treatment. Sexual and reproductive health is integral to our general health. Women’s rights are a gauge for the overall situation of fundamental rights. We at the Commission will continue to monitor the developments in all Member States concerning, in particular, gender equality, and just like the European Parliament, we are following the developments in Poland particularly closely in that regard.