Poland Poses Latest Challenge to European Union

Maybe we should do a Poland. After Trump gets elected appoint as many true conservative to the Supreme Court of a young enough age that the court reflects the country instead of their partisan selves.

The EU and the Polish judges have their sense of democracy and CONSTITUTIONAL law skewed by political agendas and not legal NECESSITIES of Constitutional law.

The WSJ "reporters" misrepresent the facts, by omitting facts in the issue.

The outgoing government, noticed they were losing in the polls, and in the last days in office LEGISLATIVELY ALTERED the top court, with additional seats and then filled them immediately - packing the court in their favor.

The Polish elections were democratic.  The only question, the WSJ never addresses, is if the new government is prevented from making the court changes IT made BY THE CONSTITUTION.  No one has reported they are, only that judges on the top court don't like them.

The EU does not even ask if the Polish Constitution PREVENTS the acts taken by the new government, only that they too don't like them.  They don't like them because the outgoing government and the judges they appointed are friends of the EU, period; end of story.

@TOM PAINTER  Agreed. In fact, both the European Parliament adopting a resolution on the situation in Poland (2015/3031(RSP) and European Commission in its actions show an unjustified usurpation of competence to interfere in the internal affairs of a Member State. Such interference violates the founding principle of subsidiarity of the European Union. The EU Parliament makes an arbitrary assessment of the internal political situation of the Member State, which falls outside the scope of competence of the EU institutions. 

see more http://www.en.ordoiuris.pl/the-resolution-violates-the-basic-principle-of-subsidiarity,3772,i.html 

@PIOTR BEDNARSKI
Thanks Piotr for the additional legal technicalities of the case.  The WSJ "reporters" have been pushing the EU Commission line for weeks and months, taking the statements of EU officials, without question, and denying fair audience to the Constitutional and legal arguments in favor of the actions of the present Polish government.

@TOM PAINTER @PIOTR BEDNARSKI In fact it is amazing how partial the media might be in presenting one side of the story, usually in line with communique prepared by European Commission. Though I need to admit that WSJ is not the worst in this league if we compare with even FT not to say mainstream German press (e.g. BT or FAZ) or strongly politically engaged left orientated newspapers

@PIOTR BEDNARSKI
I have been a WSJ reader for a long time.  I have watched the WSJ carefully and since Newscorp bought it and Murdoch appointed his Liberal son to head it, it has been a slow but increasing slide in leftward editorial bias and growing lax quality of news reporting.

Poland has been centuries under the boot of aggressive neighbors. There fate was never deserved and today, they are speaking as a equal state long denied.

This looks like a implosion of the basic principles of the European Union, between Western and Eastern countries. . It shows the weakness of a Constitution which is not backed up by the ability of the entire European Union to enforce the basic tenets of the Constitution by force if necessary. The US faced this issue in the 1860s and undertook the enormous cost of life to enforce the principles of the Constitution of the US signed in 1776. The European Union is less than 30 years old and it looks like it doesn't have the morale and fiscal capability to enforce their Constitution.

@Lawrence Fuller Funny take at Civil War.

@Lawrence Fuller You might misread the current problems in EU and Poland. Unfortunately, the roots and the development of the crisis with Constitutional Tribunal in Poland are more complex than presented in this article and go back to previous government maneuvers (similar to those of Obama now in US with Supreme Court) to ensure blocking majority in the Constitutional Court and some problems with the workings of the Tribunal itself. 

Forcing EU sovereign state to adopt a resolution of EU parliament of European Commission is not the same as enforcing US Constitution of 1776 as Europe is not yet United States of Europe but rather conglomeration of independent, sovereign states which rendered only part of their sovereignty but under check and balances to keep centralist tendencies of European Commission at control.

 Poland is like a little sister to Germany... a sister that is supposed to  be handicapped and depended. What happened to many young professionals from Poland? Where are they working now? Many left and many more  will leave but on the other hand, Poland is allowed to sell  their rotten apples in Germany.... What an exchange! LOL

Polexit?

@Jimmie Smithers Plexpulsion

Sure, I get national identity, but it was democratic values, (not Brussels values,) which Poland adopted that gave their economy a strong impetus. The former Russian satellites which did not embrace democracy and a market economy as thoroughly as Poland did not fare as well. What we have in Poland is a reversal of that.

Reagan again said it best--A country with no borders, is no country.

Europe has given up its borders and so none of its members want to be part of this "country." In fact one Britain wants to leave. Its not about money it is about identity. Where is God in Europe? No one is in the churches. What do Europeans hold true to faith- the Euro?? 

Sweden never had a constitutional court because the Socialdemocrats (socialists)  did not want it. So Sweden got an exception when they joined EU 1994.

In Sweden the state broadcasters SVT and SR, founded by a mediatax,  have been under complete control of Socialists since 1968. About 80 % of journalists are members or favor the communists, the social democrats or the green populist parties. Print media is get a subsidy from the state, about 80% goes to communist, leftwing media. (SOM institute 2011) 

A similar situation you have in Denmark and Norway. In Poland many communists hang on to their jobs in media after the fall of communism.

It seems to me that for the EU bureaucrats a left wing dominance in media and the courts is normal. If a right of center government, as in Poland try to change the system of crony communism they come under attack.

No wonder that the Bruxelles left wing bureaucracy will fight to the last grenade to protect status quo. 

@Stefan Bjoerklund Good and realistic comment. I have impression that the existance of Constitutional Tribunal (or its version in some countries in a form of Supreme Court) has become a subject of some sort of ideology saying that democracy without CT does not exist. It is higly overestimated role of CT.

Switzerland or Sweden can live without Constitutional Tribunal and we do not consider both countries undemocratic.

see more elaborate comment on http://www.en.ordoiuris.pl/the-resolution-violates-the-basic-principle-of-subsidiarity,3772,i.html

After Roosevelt abandoned Poland to the USSR at Yalta in 1945, Poland did not gain complete independence from the Soviets and have fully free elections until 1991. Poland now has nameless, faceless bureaucrats in Brussels trying to replace the Soviets as puppet master - just 35 years after independence. Be strong Poland.

How many divisions did the U.S. have in Poland in 1945 to prevent Soviet domination?

@Patrick Meegan The world of diplomacy is resplendent with choice, the least desirable of which is war. My comment did not reference armed invasion. Why did you jump to that conclusion?

Ms. Wolfgang, thank you for your reply and question. And I agree that war should be the last choice.

From the Soviet perspective, having lost millions to the German invasion (and after the Napoleonic invasion, and the German invasion of WWI, and the attempt of the Western allies after WWI to support the White Russian forces), no diplomacy would have removed the Red Army and prevented the Soviet-dominated buffer states that formed much of the Warsaw Pact.

Stalin himself, when asked what influence the Pope should have in establishing the postwar order, asked how many divisions the Pope had. So I borrowed his line, and his conclusion. No divisions, no influence.

I doubt whether President Roosevelt abandoned Poland in 1945 so much as simply acknowledged the facts.

One could argue that by delaying the Allied invasion of France until June 1944 (well after the Soviets had turned the tide in the East), that Roosevelt and Churchill abandoned Eastern Europe to the Soviets well before Yalta.

My fiend in Poland told me that all the communists left Warsaw and went to Brussels. I think he's right. Expect more Poland.

@JON WEXFORD It's a blatant lie: all the communists went to Berlin. Don't listen to fiends.

Whatever the objectives of the EU, the Poles should have sovereignty in their own country. It cannot be left to Brussels bureaucrats.