Ziobro is the subject of proceedings by Poland’s National Public Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses him of leading an organized criminal group and using his position to facilitate criminal activity.
Prosecutors allege he committed 26 offenses, including ordering subordinates to break the law by steering grants to selected entities, interfering in the preparation of competition offers, and allowing public money to be awarded to organizations not entitled to receive it.
In an interview published on Thursday by the Hungarian news site 444, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Hungary’s decision was unacceptable, rejecting Budapest’s argument that the rule of law in Poland was under threat.
Sikorski pointed to his own experience of receiving international protection in Britain after martial law was imposed in Poland in the early 1980s, when the communist authorities cracked down on the democratic opposition.
At the time, he said, friends of his were in prison and he had reason to fear he could also end up jailed.
He called it tactless for Ziobro to compare his current situation to the anticommunist emigration of that era.
Sikorski also rejected claims that today’s courts in Poland are controlled politically.
Asked whether Poland would accept refugees from Hungary, Sikorski said European Union member states operate on mutual trust, assuming that their institutions are equivalent.
He added that it is an exceptionally unfriendly act when an EU country fails to respect the European Arrest Warrant, an EU-wide mechanism designed to simplify and speed up the extradition of suspects and convicted persons between member states.
Sikorski also said that Ziobro’s lawyers are linked to Ordo Iuris, a conservative Polish legal organization. He described it as a religious fundamentalist circle hostile to the European Union, and said it cooperates with the Hungarian government.
He also claimed the group has ties to a US conservative organization that, in his view, seeks to weaken the EU.
Sikorski broadened his criticism to Hungary’s direction under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying that “corrupt nationalism” should not be confused with patriotism. He argued that Hungary has become the poorest country in the European Union under Orban.
Sikorski said the long tradition of Polish-Hungarian friendship remains, but he argued that relations are strained by Budapest’s actions inside the EU and NATO.
He accused Hungary of blocking EU funds that Poland should receive from the European Peace Facility, an EU instrument that supports security and defense-related assistance.
He also said Hungary is breaking solidarity within the EU and NATO by positioning itself "halfway" between the alliance and Russia.
Asked whether he could support suspending Hungary’s voting rights in the EU, Sikorski said much would depend on how Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April are conducted.
If there is electoral manipulation, he added, the European Commission and EU member states could take a tougher stance toward Budapest.
Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said on Wednesday that Poland may take Hungary to the EU's top court over the granting of political asylum to Ziobro.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP