Lithuanian MPs suggest urging EU to cancel its decisions on Poland

VILNIUS – A group of Lithuanian lawmakers have drafted a resolution that would express solidarity with Poland amid its ongoing dispute with the European Union over the supremacy of EU law and the judicial reform.

The draft resolution expresses support to "the State of Poland depending its constitutional sovereignty and national identity".

With this resolution, the EU would be urged to cancel its adopted decisions on Poland.

The draft resolution "On solidarity with the Republic of Poland" was drafted by 40 members of the Seimas' opposition groups, two HU-LCD members and one member of the Liberal Movement.

Meanwhile, Zygimantas Pavilonis, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, representing the ruling conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, says such a declaration is in fact also aimed against Lithuania's constitutional provisions.

"I will probably never in my life forget the night from December 12th to 13th of 2002 when we all with Poland signed the EU Accession Treaty in Copenhagen. And none of the signatory countries, and we were joining on a block, had any exceptions, including on the supremacy of EU law. It was clearly stated in our Accession Treaties," Pavilionis told BNS.

He also underlined that a referendum on EU membership was later held in Lithuania and a relevant constitutional act was adopted.

"I do hope that Poland and Brussels will find a solution and it will not shake the foundation of our EU," Pavilionis added, urging people not to "cut the branch we, thank God, are now all sitting".

After coming to power in 2015, Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party launched a judicial reform and established a new disciplinary institution in 2017, having the power of disciplining judges.

The European Commission later said it undermined judicial independence in Poland and was incompatible with the supremacy of EU law.

Also, in October, Poland's Constitutional Tribunal rejected the principle of supremacy of EU law over national laws, ruling that some articles of the EU treaty run counter to the country's Constitution.

The European Commission has also vowed to use a new mechanism and suspend EU funding for Poland.

Also last month, the European Court of Justice fined Poland 1 million euros per day for ignoring an EU ruling that called for the country's Supreme Court disciplinary chamber to be suspended.