Polish party blames EU ‘manipulation’ for losing power after 8 years

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – Manipulation and unfair treatment by the EU were key reasons for the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s ouster from power after eight years in late 2023, according to a senior official of the Polish opposition party.

“There was unfair information against our government, especially in the Polish but also the international media,” Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Poland’s former secretary of state for Europe, told Anadolu.

He said the European establishment supported the then-Polish opposition, referring to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party and the coalition that won the October 2023 elections.

Tusk, who was the president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019, has been premier since last December.

The PiS’ electoral defeat came after persistent with the EU over alleged rule of law abuses and democratic backsliding, including judicial interference. The bloc withheld funds for the EU member state, some of which are now being released to the Tusk’s pro-EU government.

“The EU used a lot of political and diplomatic instruments, and a lot of manipulation, against the Polish government,” said Mularczyk.

He accused Tusk of having used “a lot of forces against public media and the prosecutor’s office” since taking power.

“There was no reaction from the EU. EU leaders said everything in Poland is fine, that there is no rule of law problem under Tusk, and finally they announced that funds would be open to the Tusk government,” said Mularczyk.

He rejected the EU’s allegations against the former PiS government as “untrue and unfair,” stressing that it was “a political instrument” used against the party.

There were “a lot of double standards” and the EU was “instrumentalizing its power,” Mularczyk said.

- ‘Cooperation should be based on alliance with US, UK’

Mularczyk said there are “major differences” between the policies pursued by his party and the Tusk government.

“After five months, we see major differences between our foreign and security policy and that of the Tusk government. We see Poland’s cooperation with NATO and the US. Without US cooperation, it would be very difficult to protect the eastern flank of NATO. We initiated a lot of military and security investments with the US and NATO,” he said.

He said there are still major countries in the EU who “don’t spend too much on security,” citing Germany, “which doesn’t spend 2% of its GDP,” and the Netherlands as examples.

“Some countries talk about security but do nothing. Some are responsible partners, like the US and UK. So, our cooperation should be based on an alliance with the US and UK,” said Mularczyk.

“Tusk would like to organize our security policy in relation to Germany. He wants to be engaged in the Sky Shield project. This is a virtual project. We see this mainly as a shield for the German economy rather than a real model for European security.”

The PiS had a vision for Poland to be “a partner for Germany, not a junior partner,” he said.

“There are a lot of unresolved historical issues. Germany never paid reparations for WWII. On the other hand, Germany is centralizing Europe,” he added.

- Migration issues

Mularczyk said the PiS remains opposed to the EU’s migration plans, stressing that the bloc “should protect its borders and give support in the countries where the problems start, such as humanitarian aid in Africa.”

He accused Tusk of “double standards” in his stance on the issue.

“Tusk is close to EU establishment policy. For domestic consumption, he says he is against the EU migrant plans, but to the EU he says something else,” he said.

“They want to present themselves as pro-EU. Our government was accused of pushbacks of migrants. There were big attacks on our government and border guards, media attacks. They attacked us for our policy, but now are in fact continuing it.”

Tusk, whose governing coalition suffered a setback in local elections and is facing internal tensions, has maintained Poland’s hardline position adopted by his predecessors.

He recently reiterated that Poland will not agree to new rules allowing for the relocation of migrants within the EU, pointing out that the country has already taken in around 1 million Ukrainian refugees.

After years of deadlock, the European Parliament recently approved major changes to the bloc’s migration laws, designed to tighten border management and asylum processes.

The reform requires EU countries to take in asylum seekers from “frontline” states such as Italy and Greece, or provide money or other resources to these countries facing an influx of migrants.

- Views on Türkiye

Regarding Türkiye, Mularczyk emphasized that Poland has “a very good historical relationship” with the country.

“We see Türkiye as a good Polish partner. We see this in the war in Ukraine. Türkiye supports Ukraine, the EU and Poland,” he said.

“We think that Türkiye should become a member of the EU club, because it is a very important country on three continents. Türkiye gives a valuable element of security for global architecture,” he added.​​​​​​​