About: Law and Justice Party
Commission refers Poland to top EU court over treatment of judiciary
The European Commission referred Poland to the EU's Court of Justice on Thursday (10 (October) in order to "protect judges from political control" enforced by Poland's ruling conservative PiS party.
Poland’s ruling party plans to allow arrests of MPs and judges
Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS/ECR) announced its election program at the weekend, under which there would no longer be immunity for judges and prosecutors and it would be possible to detain parliamentarians at the request of the prosecutor general.
Farage to lobby EU countries in search of Brexit extension veto
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said on Wednesday (13 March) he will lobby EU countries to make sure one of them vetoes a possible extension of Article 50 past the 29 March deadline.
Orban says Fidesz may leave EPP, look at Poland for alliance
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday (8 March) his ruling nationalist Fidesz party may drop out of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) amid a row over his government's anti-Brussels media campaign.
Defiant Kaczynski says Poland must avoid EU’s ‘social diseases’
Poland belongs in the European Union but should be careful not to be "infected by social diseases" that dominate the bloc, ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jarosław Kaczyński said on Sunday (2 September).
Poland’s deportation of human rights activist: The back story
The expulsion from the Schengen zone of Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a Ukrainian human rights activist, was due to serious doubts regarding funding of her organisation, Poland's Internal Security Agency said on Monday (20 August).
Ukrainian rights activist claims Poland banned her from Schengen zone
A Ukrainian human rights activist claimed on Thursday (16 August) that Warsaw had banned her from Poland and the rest of the Schengen zone in what she called "a political affair".
Sanctioning Poland over refugees would be wrong
The European Commission is threatening Poland with financial penalties for refusing to take in refugees. But that approach misses the bigger picture, writes Bartosz Brzeziński.
Timmermans: ‘Poland should be a leader in Europe – but it needs to cooperate’
The current Brussels/Warsaw spat is not a war of words between Frans Timmermans and Poland (as the Polish government presents it), but rather a collective demand by a decisive majority of EU states to respect the rule of law, the First Vice-President of the European Commission told EURACTIV’s partner Gazeta Wyborcza.
Thousands of anti-government protesters hit streets of Warsaw
Tens of thousands demonstrated in Warsaw against Poland's government on Saturday (6 May), saying the rule of law was at stake after a slew of controversial reforms and appointments to public broadcasters.
Benjamin Barber: Populism is losing its lustre
We live in an interdependent world, where everyone can cross borders. But it’s easier to hate Muslims than to acknowledge the reality, political scientist Benjamin Barber told EURACTIV Poland.
How should the EU stand up to the recurring temptation of ‘national democracy’?
Over the last few years, support for right-wing national populists has increased substantially in more than half of EU member states. Adam Balcer asks how it undermines European identity and how this challenge can be overcome.
Situation of Polish journalists is ‘untenable’
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has called on the European Commission to defend press freedom in Poland, after the country fell 29 places in the RWB’s global ranking. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.
Poland drops controversial media proposals after protests
Polish President Andrzej Duda yesterday (19 December) announced that the governing conservatives have scrapped controversial proposals to restrict media access in parliament that had fuelled opposition outcry and street demonstrations.
Tusk rallies against ‘undermining of democracy’ in Poland as protests continue
European Council President Donald Tusk weighed in on Poland's political crisis on Saturday (17 December), urging the ruling party to respect the constitution, the voters and the democratic process, as two days of anti-government protests spread from Warsaw to two other cities.
The first year of Law and Justice
It's been a tough year since Poland's populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) first took office. Both for Poles, and for the EU. EURACTIV Poland's Editor-in-Chief Karolina Zbytniewska takes a slightly satirical look back.
Battle over abortion law heats up in Catholic Poland
Poland's abortion battle resume today (22 September) when the devoutly Catholic country's parliament debates rival initiatives to either liberalise or further tighten a law that is already one of the strictest in Europe.
Poland’s constitutional conundrum…explained
Like other European nations, Poland will remain a source of conflicting messages in years to come. But the EU has nothing to worry about – the democratic government in place can be removed in a peaceful manner next time people come to vote, writes Piotr Macej Kaczyński.
Poland shrugs off EU warning
Poland downplayed the EU's unprecedented warning on Thursday (2 June) to the country's right-wing government to respect the rule of law, or face punitive measures. EURACTIV Poland reports.
240,000 Poles join landmark pro-EU march
Around a quarter of a million Poles flooded central Warsaw on Saturday (7 May), marching to defend their country's place in the European Union and protest against moves by the right-wing government, which they claim undermine democracy.
MEPs rap Poland over rule of law
MEPs passed today (13 April) a non-binding resolution, calling on the Polish authorities to restore the ability of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal to uphold its Constitution and guarantee respect for the rule of law.
Law and Justice banks on Smolensk conspiracy theories
Following the Law and Justice (PiS) party's victory in the 2015 elections, conspiracy theories resurfaced in Poland about the 2010 Smolensk crash, which killed President Lech Kaczyński, the brother of the new ruling party's chief, Jaroslaw Kaczyński. EURACTIV Poland reports.
Kaczynski blames Tusk for Smolensk crash
Responsibility for the 2010 plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński along with 95 other people lay with the then government of Donald Tusk, the late president's twin brother and leader of the current ruling party said yesterday (10 April) at an event to commemorate the disaster.