WARSAW (Reuters) – The US ambassador to Poland said the European Union’s criticism of Poland’s accession to democracy is “exaggerated” as Warsaw faces cuts in EU budget funds over its judicial reforms .
FILE PHOTO: US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher watches as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz hold a press conference at Lazienki Palace in Warsaw, Poland on February 12, 2019. REUTERS / Kacper Pempel
Since coming to power in 2015, Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has faced criticism from the EU over its overhaul of its judicial system, with Brussels accusing Poland of violating EU law.
As its relationship with the EU has weakened, PiS has focused on building strong ties with the United States, especially since President Donald Trump came to power in 2016.
“If you ask me … do I think that many of the attacks on Poland on democratic values are exaggerated, my answer is yes, I do,” the US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, told Reuters in an interview.
The EU is struggling to respond to what many in Western Europe see as progressive authoritarianism in the eastern wing of the bloc, especially in Poland, Hungary and Romania.
In an election on Sunday, Polish President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, won a second term, reinforcing the government’s mandate to carry out reforms of the judiciary and the media.
Mosbacher said the EU has been reluctant to recognize how much progress Poland has made, particularly in terms of economic growth, since it became a democracy after the fall of communism.
“He is still seen as the teenager in the EU and he is no longer … I don’t think France and Germany … [are] comfortable with that still, “she said.
A mechanism that would freeze countries that do not meet democratic standards is under discussion at an EU summit that started on Friday.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to veto a massive EU stimulus plan over his objections to the mechanism, and talks will continue on Saturday.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has also pointed out to Polish regional authorities that it can curb EU aid to areas that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, after many cities passed motions against promoting what they called ” ideology “LGBT.
Mosbacher called the ruling party for its handling of LGBT problems in the Polish presidential campaign, after Duda said during his campaign that LGBT “ideology” was worse than communism.
“I think there were homophobic nuances,” Mosbacher said of the campaign. “I like it? No. And I’m quite vocal on that publicly. ”
He added that an agreement in June 2019 between Duda and Trump to bring 1,000 US troops to Poland would be finalized “in weeks, not months.”
Reuters reported last month that after a year of technical negotiations, the deal was crumbling amid disputes over funding and troop placement, which Mosbacher denied at the time.
Reports by Joanna Plucinska and Justyna Pawlak, Ros Russell Edition
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