“Let Poland be Poland!”
That was the call of American conservatives, four decades ago, when the Solidarity movement of labor leader Lech Walesa arose in the port city of Gdansk to demand their freedom of the Communist system imposed upon Poland by the Soviet Union after World War II.
A decade later, Poland broke free of the Soviet Bloc and Warsaw Pact, and later joined the European Union and NATO.
The question that has arisen today also has to do with issues of Polish identity and independence.
Specifically, can Poland be Poland — and still remain in the EU?
In recent years, the ruling Law and Justice Party has revised its governmental structures. The judiciary has been subordinated, brought under greater central supervision and control, and a disciplinary chamber has been established and empowered to remove judges.
Such action, says the EU Commission in Brussels, violates basic EU law, which applies to all member states and trumps national law.
Brussels wants the chamber abolished.
Moreover, on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and the media, the Polish government has taken stands more consistent with its Catholic traditions than with the social agenda of a secularized Europe. (more...)
Can Poland Be Poland — and Stay in the EU?
Related:
New Escalation in the Confrontation between the EU and Poland
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