(ANSA) - STRASBOURG, 21 OCT - "The Polish constitutional court lacks legal validity and independence and lacks qualifications to interpret the country's constitution".
Thus the resolution of the European Parliament on the question of the rule of law in Poland passed with 502 in favor, 153 against 16 abstentions.
The document reiterates the request to block the disbursement of European funds "to those who violate the values of the Union in a systematic manner".
The vote in the plenary comes after the heated debate in plenary on Tuesday in the presence of the Polish Prime Minister MateuszMorawiecki and the President of the Commission Ursula von derLeyen. In the resolution, MEPs deplore the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court of 7 October 2021 "as it constitutes an attack on the European community of values and laws as a whole", and affirm that the Polish Court has thus been transformed "into an instrument to legalize the illegal activities of the authorities" .
To overcome the political stalemate Parliament asks that EU taxpayers' money not be granted to governments that undermine European values "in a flagrant, targeted and systematic way" and therefore asks the Commission and the Council to initiate infringement procedures against Poland, use the regulation on the conditionality of the rule of law refrain from approving the draft of the Polish resumption plan.
Finally, MEPs stress the importance of discussing the crisis of the rule of law in Poland at the European Council on 21-22 October.
(HANDLE).
