The European Union has no reason to be concerned about the state of democracy in Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful leader of the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS), said on Friday.
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“There are topics to discuss within the EU, but the conversation about the Polish democracy and Polish freedom makes no sense, as they are not under threat,’’ Kaczynski said in an interview for a public radio broadcaster.
According to him, poles enjoy free elections, can freely travel, undertake public and economic activity and full freedom of the media is ensured.
Kaczynski, however, made reference to the jailing of politicians in Spain who called for Catalan independence.
“If we sentenced someone to over 10 years in prison for wanting something that the government does not like.
“Even if it concerned Poland’s territorial integrity, there is no doubt that Europe would scream that citizens’ rights are being trampled on,’’ he said.
Poland has been at loggerheads with the European Union over its controversial judiciary reforms, introduced since PiS came to power in 2015.
A report says the EU fears the reforms undermine judicial independence and subjugate the judiciary to the executive power.