We live in times in which one must repeatedly restate the obvious.
The European Union is an incredible place to live in. The unrestricted space for travel and freedom in crossing borders is something that is often taken for granted as normal. This is the EU that Poland likes and wants. This is the EU to which Poles agreed to.
Yet, this same EU has a much different face, as well.
This EU is a brutal censorship state — a forceful overlord which imposes certain policies on Poland and seeks to punish insubordination. The name “community” in and of itself imposes certain “common” values. This would be understandable if these values were ones on which we all had agreed on. But they’re not.
The situation worsens when, like today, there are no exceptions, and enacted treaties are discarded because someone bigger and stronger has decided that the EU will look whatever way they want it to look like.
The strength of the European structure does not stem from the fact that it impresses Poles, as was the case during the communist era. The West is no longer so amazing that we would accept their reality without a second thought. Poland has its own good thing going, and Poles must defend that.
When the EU treaties were drafted, it was obvious that every state should have a measure of freedom when it came to shaping its internal system, including the judiciary. This is why the judiciary was excluded from Brussels’ competencies.
And yet today we hear that one person has decided that the situation in Poland needs to be rectified — that the justice minister of Poland should not delegate judges to other courts if they do not agree to do so. Basic logic indicates that something is not right here.
The European Court of Justice has outright told Poland that the rule of a supervisor making a decision — and an employee abiding by it — is no longer in effect. Indeed, the propagation of “freedom” is currently entering yet another level.
It is also interesting to see that the most recent affair concerns Judge Waldemar Żurek, who has complained that the “regime” has attacked him for…what exactly? No matter how much he beats around the bush, the matter concerns Żurek’s active participation in politics — and, as a judge, he is not allowed to do so. This (obvious) fact must be repeated — for some strange reason, it is being lost.
Poland is currently in a difficult position: Brussels has all the money and is using this advantage with impunity.
Brussels doesn’t care that there is no legal basis for blocking Recovery Fund money for Poland. It is what it is — what can Poland do? Whoever has the money has the power.
To be frank, given all of the recent stunts the EU has pulled off, I am surprised that the index of Poles who are Euro-enthusiasts remains so high.
We must truly love Europe if we are still able to forgive the EU of so much.
