“The Article 7 proceedings against Poland should be terminated; the Hungarian Government has had conceptual problems with the proceedings from the beginning”, Minister of State Szabolcs Takács from the Prime Minister’s Office declared following a council meeting of EU affairs ministers in Brussels.

The second official hearing of the Polish Government was held during the meeting of Ministers of EU Affairs, as part of the EU’s rule of law proceedings.

In a telephone statement to Hungarian news agency MTI, Mr. Takács said the Polish delegation had once again replied to every question “in a correct manner, point-by-point”.

No clear decision has been made on the next step in the procedure, in addition to which it is also difficult to follow the process exactly, he added.

The Minister of State also stressed that in his opinion the procedure against Warsaw is politically motivated.

The similar proceedings initiated with relation to Hungary last week were not included on the agenda in any form, he added.

According to press reports, the “Polish issue” will also be on the agenda at Wednesday’s session of the European Commission, and the EU infringement proceedings launched against Poland with respect to its High Court Act could be passed on to the European Court of Justice.

The European Commissions launched Article 7 proceedings against Warsaw last December, citing the risk of the systemic violation of the rule of law, while in Hungary’s case similar proceedings were initiated by the European Parliament.

The Polish Government has received heavy criticism in recent years, primarily because, according to many, it wishes to reduce the independence of the judiciary.

(MTI)