As the EU General Affairs Council prepares to hold a hearing on 22 February on the rule of law in Poland under the Article 7.1 TEU procedure, the undersigned civil society organisations would like to draw the attention of EU Ministers to some alarming developments. Since the Council last discussed the situation in June 2021, a severe and steady decline in the respect for EU values in Poland has continued unabated. Despite the numerous actions undertaken by EU institutions since the procedure was launched in 2017, the Polish government has continued to systematically infringe upon those standards and ignore EU recommendations and the EU Court’s rulings.
Amnesty International and civil society organisations urge governments to address these developments at the hearing and to spur the Council into action by adopting recommendations and/or holding a vote on a determination that there is “a clear risk of a serious breach” of EU values in Poland under Article 7.1 TEU.