The state of democracy in Poland is being pushed into sharp decline and is at risk. European authorities must do all they can to stop this downward spiral. This was the assessment of the situation in Poland from the Presidency of the Party of European Socialists (PES), a high-level decision-making body within the Party. The Presidency supported the European Commission’s use of the Rule of Law Framework as a good starting point.

The Party of European Socialists is united in support for action to restore democracy in Poland. Sergei Stanishev, PES President said:

‘The Law and Justice party has pushed through a series of decisions in the last few weeks which could tip the balance of powers in Poland away from a democratic system with checks and balances into something else – something incompatible with European values.

Our party supports European action to safeguard the independence of the judicial system and freedom of speech in Poland, as in all Member States.’

The declaration signed by the Presidency announced the support European Union authority’s proposal to put a monitoring mechanism, activating the Rule of Law Framework, in place to observe the status of Poland’s democracy. It applauds the work of European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, who invited the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo to explain the situation in the European Parliament.

Party of European Socialists (PES)
http://www.pes.eu/