Dnevnik says EU opted for the lesser evil in decision on Poland

Ljubljana – The European political map was divided along the familiar lines this week on the issue of the rule of law and other issues, Dnevnik says. Only the extreme right in the EU Parliament and Viktor Orban – partly also Janez Janša – showed understanding as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki “roared against Brussels institutions and the EU law”.

But rather than the fierce response of pro-European forces in the Parliament what was interesting during the debate at a summit in Brussels was the relatively mild response of EU leaders.

Although they stressed that the EU law was the same for everyone they did not go into argument with the Polish PM. Instead, they searched for dialogue with “one of the black sheep of the EU” in the compromise spirit of the last Brussels summit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Readiness for dialogue could very well be the best of all bad options. It is also clear that any further arguments with the Polish populist party that is in power could do the EU more damage than good in the long run.

The EU Commission and Council face the tough decision on how to stand up to the undermining of the EU law while not shaking the boat too much.

None of the choices is rosy. Launching procedures to determine violations may not lead to Hungary or Poland being stripped of their voting rights as long as the political elite protects their allies with veto.

Cutting EU funding to the controversial member states could actually mean punishing the people, which could trigger a process of desintegration in the bloc.

The only other option is to file another lawsuit against those violating the EU law but this does not solve the issue of primacy of the EU law.

After the summit of EU leaders, it is still not clear how Brussels will solve this issue, Dnevnik says in Problems Postponed with Dialogue.

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