The Polish opposition has announced a vote of no confidence in the controversial anti-EU justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, leader of Solidarna Polska, amid uncertainty whether Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party will defend their coalition partner.
Ziobro’s Solidarna Polska, part of the ruling United Right coalition, is considered one of the biggest Eurosceptics in the government. He is also a central figure in Polish resistance to the Union’s common policies and is directly responsible for issues with the rule of law of Polish courts, which are a thorn in the side of Brussels.
The main reason for the dispute with Ziobro is the justice system, and the European Commission has made the transfer of billions of euros from the Recovery Fund to Poland conditional on its reform.
The opposition has jointly called for a vote of no confidence in Ziobro, which they call a gesture of sympathy towards the government and an opportunity to remove him from their ranks.
“We want to help this government. […] They are complaining so much about Ziobro, and you can see that they do not have the courage (to dismiss him – ed.),” said MP Barbara Nowacka.
“We will submit a motion for a vote of no confidence in Minister Ziobro before the next sitting of the Parliament, and we will help you dismiss this man, also in your interest,” said one of the opposition leaders, Donald Tusk, addressing the government.
It is unclear how PiS will proceed in the Ziobro case. On the one hand, Prime Minister Matusz Morawiecki and party spokesman Radosław Falenta said the party announced that it would defend its coalition partner.
“We have different groups, different coalition partners. Solidarna Polska is our very important coalition partner, and of course, we will defend the unity of the United Right,” Morawiecki said.
However, President of the PiS party, Jarosław Kaczyński, said, “We must remember that we are fighting in a very difficult situation, but we remain the Right. A moderate right wing,” the PiS president concluded. As he added, “our opponents will try to expose all extreme people.”
The EU funds from the National Reconstruction Fund applied for by Poland amount to more than €23.9 billion in grants and €34.2 billion in low-interest loans. A motion of no confidence in Ziobro will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday.
(Bartosz Sieniawski | EURACTIV.pl)
Source: euractiv.com
