2018-12-29 12:14 update: 2019-01-04, 11:56
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz. Photo PAP/PAP/Jacek Turczyk
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz has declared that Poland "protests and will continue to protest against double standards in the EU." He made the statement in reference to the possibility that the EU deficit ceiling may be broken by France.
Asked about Poland's position before next year's negotiations regarding the multi-year EU budget, Czaputowicz told PAP that the debate "has been politicised."
"There is a difference of interests; some countries, which do not want to support the EU budget, use various arguments. They keep saying that there are states, which benefit from EU funds, but do not observe EU standards. And this is to be an argument to reduce these funds," the minister said, stressing that "there are no rational arguments" for limiting the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Cohesion Policy.
According to Czaputowicz, criticism of Poland in Europe is designed to weaken its voice in budget negotiations. He underlined that "it is difficult for EU leaders to accept the taking over of power in Poland by the party Law and Justice (PiS).
"In my opinion, the chief problem in EU-Poland relations is that it is hard for European elites to recognise the democratic choice of the Polish people," he went on to say.
According to the official, one of the causes of such a situation is the fact that Poland's opposition parties, Civic Platform and the Polish People's Party, belong to the main EP party, namely the European People's Party (EPP).
"It is natural that the EPP leadership supports its party colleagues, as it wants to win a good result in the EP elections (....). And the current EC Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, is a member of the Socialists and Democrats, of which the Democratic left Alliance (another opposition party in Poland - PAP) is a part of. So it is obvious that these groupings are interested in weakening the Polish government and supporting its opposition," he emphasised.
The minister declared that the charges regarding the rule of law made against Poland "have no reflection in reality." He underlined that Poland had already applied the CJEU rulings in regard to its Supreme Court and the Białowieża Forest logging.
Referring to French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to increase minimum wage and lower overtime rate taxes, Czaputowicz stressed that it might lead to a situation in which France's budget deficit is likely to overshoot the European Union’s limit of 3 percent of GDP next year.
"This breaks EU laws and standards - 3 percent (of GDP) is the limit, and it has already been made clear that it will be exceeded. It is strange that the EC wants to pass over this so lightly, and that the EC Commissioner for economic affairs, Pierre Moscovici said that it was understandable in this situation.
Minister Czaputowicz recalled that in responding to the notion that the European Commission "treats France with leniency in connection with its budget deficit," EC President Jean-Claude Juncker said that "this is because it is France."
"This means that some states can break EU laws while others cannot. These are double standards. We have been protesting against them and we will continue to do this as a cohesive EU, where standards are observed by all, lies in Poland's interest. This is the only way for the EU to develop properly," he emphasised.
The official stressed that "during a debate on the future of the EU, Poland presents and will continue to present a vision of a competitive Europe, which is based on four freedoms and economic discipline, which develops and whose role in the world is growing, and which enjoys political legitimacy and social support."
"It is Poland's goal to preserve healthy economic foundations of the EU," the minister said, adding that populist gestures towards societies, which do not have a reflection in incomes of West European countries, can pose a threat." (PAP)
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