FOR in the media

As part of this episode of the “World of Freedom,” I focus on the events that gained popularity in the world of freedom-oriented NGOs, primarily in April. Conferences, indexes, useful online tools, legislative successes or interesting analyses are just some of the events worth paying attention to. The “World of Freedom” is not only a source of information but, above all, an encouragement for civic activity, supporting freedom organizations and joining in their work.

The Minister of Justice feels that the opinion of the Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice Evgeni Tanchev is incompatible with EU law and constitutes a "defence of pathology in the Polish judiciary." 

The introduction of the controversial 500+ program in Poland has so far resulted in no increase in fertility rate. Noteworthy, 12% of the program budget would be sufficient to eliminate extreme child poverty. Meanwhile, 100,000 women were pushed out of the labor market.

On Tuesday, June 18, 2019, the European Court of Justice considered two preliminary requests submitted by courts in Lodz and Warsaw. Both courts are concerned whether the new system of disciplinary proceedings against judges meets EU standards, particularly those enshrined in the principle of effective judicial protection. However, the hearing was mainly focused not on particular provisions of law questioned by the Polish courts, but on the admissibility of the questions these courts referred to the ECJ.

Recently announced reforms to Poland’s pension system are just the latest in a long line of changes made over the past eight years. Unfortunately, the majority of these have been motivated by short-term goals (either fiscal or political), without looking at the long-term stability of the pension system.

“I remember the Communist propaganda, and this is worse,” said Leszek Balcerowicz, an economist who played a major role in Poland’s transition to capitalism from socialism and who now runs FOR, a foundation focused on civic development. “Every day, they push this message of how successful the government has been, how well the economy is doing. And then you have this huge increase in social spending.”

In an interview with the Korean newspaper Segye Times, Leszek Balcerowicz talked about the transitions in Poland.

Mass protests of the “yellow vests” have been taking place in France since 17 November 2018. The catalyst of the demonstration was a fuel tax increase, supposed to place a disproportionate burden on the middle class from the province. However, the list of demands quickly grew to include various social and protectionist slogans. The protestors are demanding a simultaneous growth of the state and a reduction of taxes.

The knock-on effects of the deteriorating situation in Poland became notably visible when an Irish High Court judge decided to delay the extradition of a man to Poland over concerns about the rule of law there pending a preliminary reference request sent to the ECJ.

On 21 November, public opinion in Poland and the EU was surprised by the ruling Law and Justice’s (PiS) proposal “backtracking on controversial reforms it made to lower the retirement age of Supreme Court judges”. The amendment was issued in the morning and it went through the whole legislative process in the lower house of parliament for less than 3.5 hours. President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, waited until 17 December and finally signed the new law which is the 7th amendment to the act on the Supreme Court since its enactment in late 2017.