Hungary stands by the politicians of Polish opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and condemns all forms of politically-motivated targeting, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Wednesday.
Speaking to MTI by phone after a debate at the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, Zsolt Németh said the assembly had voted on lifting the immunity of Marcin Romanowski, Poland’s former deputy justice minister.
Németh said Romanowski was a target of the political transition led by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the country’s judiciary was under “serious pressure” from Poland’s new political majority.
Németh, as the leader of the Council of Europe’s conservative assembly group, said the group had pushed for the rejection of the Polish government’s motion to lift Romanowski’s immunity, but the left-wing majority approved it. Németh said the conservative group believed this went against the fundamental norms of defence.
He said it could be expected that Romanowski would be arrested again, adding that the European Conservatives Group and Democratic Alliance assured the politician of its support and solidarity.
Németh said Hungary condemned all forms of politically-motivated targeting, adding: “We were also on the receiving end of it, and we also valued the support of the Poles.”
Wednesday’s debate, he said, also covered the Council of Europe report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said that since the 2018 report, the country had met the conditions set by both the European Union and the CoE, noting that it had passed laws related to fighting corruption and judicial independence.
This, he said, had opened the door to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration and paved the way for the EU granting it candidate country status in March this year.
“We would like Bosnia and Herzegovina to start meaningful accession talks with the European Union,” he said, adding that the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU was looking at ways to accelerate the European integration of the Western Balkan countries.
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The Polish people can hardly wait to dump their socialist government. It is always a mistake to vote for a socialist. Their policies are too costly in the long run.