WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland accused the European Union on Wednesday of "double standards" in its treatment of member states, a day after Brussels rejected Warsaw's defense of its court reforms that critics say threaten democracy.

 The EU has threatened to take punitive action that could include stripping Poland of its voting rights if Warsaw does not retract legislation that tightens state controls over the judiciary.

 "Nothing hurts the idea of European integration more than the actual inequality of its member states before the law, the use of double standards and the departure of the European Commission from its role as an objective guardian of treaties to (become) an instrument in the hands of some states," Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told parliament.

 Poland argues that in some other EU member states, including Spain and Germany, politicians also play a role in picking some judges. It says its judicial reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of Poland's court system.

 The right-wing government in Warsaw is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the EU's executive, on a range of issues, including migrant quotas. Poland is refusing to take in some of the mainly Muslim asylum seekers under the quota system.

 Czaputowicz, who was briefing lawmakers on the government's foreign policy goals for 2018, said EU institutions were ignoring voters' concerns and that this was feeding a euroskeptic backlash against Brussels.

 "A deficit of democracy in the European Union is not a figure of speech, it is reality that has deep political consequences," he said.

 "The rising wave of opposition to integration on the European continent is not the cause of the democratic weakness of the Union, but a result of it," he said, adding that Poland still wanted a "strong European Union". 

 Despite the strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels, opinion surveys show that support for the EU in Poland - the biggest recipient of EU funds for infrastructure and other projects - is among the highest in the 28-nation bloc.

 In his speech, Czaputowicz also stressed Poland's concern that increased EU integration should not lead to a reduced role for the United States in defending Europe.

 Poland, a staunch NATO ally, values its close security ties with the United States in the face of a more assertive Russia.

 Warsaw and Washington both oppose the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas directly to western Europe. Germany and Austria support the project.

 

 (Reporting by Marcin Goettig and Pawel Sobczak; Writing by Marcin Goettig; Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>WARSAW, March 21 (Reuters) - Poland accused the European Union on Wednesday of "double standards" in its treatment of member states, a day after Brussels rejected Warsaw's defence of its court reforms that critics say threaten democracy.

The EU has threatened to take punitive action that could include stripping Poland of its voting rights if Warsaw does not retract legislation that tightens state controls over the judiciary.

"Nothing hurts the idea of European integration more than the actual inequality of its member states before the law, the use of double standards and the departure of the European Commission from its role as an objective guardian of treaties to (become) an instrument in the hands of some states," Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told parliament.

Poland argues that in some other EU member states, including Spain and Germany, politicians also play a role in picking some judges. It says its judicial reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of Poland's court system.

The right-wing government in Warsaw is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the EU's executive, on a range of issues, including migrant quotas. Poland is refusing to take in some of the mainly Muslim asylum seekers under the quota system.

Czaputowicz, who was briefing lawmakers on the government's foreign policy goals for 2018, said EU institutions were ignoring voters' concerns and that this was feeding a eurosceptic backlash against Brussels.

"A deficit of democracy in the European Union is not a figure of speech, it is reality that has deep political consequences," he said.

"The rising wave of opposition to integration on the European continent is not the cause of the democratic weakness of the Union, but a result of it," he said, adding that Poland still wanted a "strong European Union".

Despite the strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels, opinion surveys show that support for the EU in Poland - the biggest recipient of EU funds for infrastructure and other projects - is among the highest in the 28-nation bloc.

In his speech, Czaputowicz also stressed Poland's concern that increased EU integration should not lead to a reduced role for the United States in defending Europe.

Poland, a staunch NATO ally, values its close security ties with the United States in the face of a more assertive Russia.

Warsaw and Washington both oppose the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas directly to western Europe. Germany and Austria support the project. (Reporting by Marcin Goettig and Pawel Sobczak Writing by Marcin Goettig Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>Poland has accused the European Union of "double standards" in its treatment of member states, a day after Brussels rejected Warsaw's defence of its court reforms that critics say threaten democracy.

The EU has threatened to take punitive action that could include stripping Poland of its voting rights if Warsaw does not retract legislation that tightens state controls over the judiciary.

The right-wing government in Warsaw is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the EU's executive, on a range of issues, including migrant quotas.

Poland is refusing to take in some of the mainly Muslim asylum seekers under the quota system.

Warsaw says its judicial reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of Poland's court system.

Poland argues that in some other EU member states, including Spain and Germany, politicians also play a role in picking some judges.

"Nothing hurts the idea of European integration more than the actual inequality of its member states before the law, the use of double standards and the departure of the European Commission from its role as an objective guardian of treaties to (become) an instrument in the hands of some states," Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told parliament.

Czaputowicz, who was briefing legislators on the government's foreign policy goals for 2018, said EU institutions were ignoring voters' concerns and that this was feeding a eurosceptic backlash against Brussels.

"A deficit of democracy in the European Union is not a figure of speech, it is reality that has deep political consequences," the foreign minister said.

"The rising wave of opposition to integration on the European continent is not the cause of the democratic weakness of the Union, but a result of it," he said, adding that Poland still wanted a "strong European Union".

Despite the strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels, opinion surveys show that support for the EU in Poland - the biggest recipient of EU funds for infrastructure and other projects - is among the highest in the 28-nation bloc.

In his speech, Czaputowicz also stressed Poland's concern that increased EU integration should not lead to a reduced role for the United States in defending Europe.

Poland, a staunch NATO ally, values its close security ties with the US in the face of a more assertive Russia.

Warsaw and Washington both oppose the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas directly to Western Europe. Germany and Austria support the project.</s>WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland accused the European Union on Wednesday of “double standards” in its treatment of member states, a day after Brussels rejected Warsaw’s defense of its court reforms that critics say threaten democracy.

The EU has threatened to take punitive action that could include stripping Poland of its voting rights if Warsaw does not retract legislation that tightens state controls over the judiciary.

“Nothing hurts the idea of European integration more than the actual inequality of its member states before the law, the use of double standards and the departure of the European Commission from its role as an objective guardian of treaties to (become) an instrument in the hands of some states,” Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told parliament.

Poland argues that in some other EU member states, including Spain and Germany, politicians also play a role in picking some judges. It says its judicial reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of Poland’s court system.

The right-wing government in Warsaw is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the EU’s executive, on a range of issues, including migrant quotas. Poland is refusing to take in some of the mainly Muslim asylum seekers under the quota system.

Czaputowicz, who was briefing lawmakers on the government’s foreign policy goals for 2018, said EU institutions were ignoring voters’ concerns and that this was feeding a euroskeptic backlash against Brussels.

“A deficit of democracy in the European Union is not a figure of speech, it is reality that has deep political consequences,” he said.

“The rising wave of opposition to integration on the European continent is not the cause of the democratic weakness of the Union, but a result of it,” he said, adding that Poland still wanted a “strong European Union”.

Despite the strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels, opinion surveys show that support for the EU in Poland - the biggest recipient of EU funds for infrastructure and other projects - is among the highest in the 28-nation bloc.

In his speech, Czaputowicz also stressed Poland’s concern that increased EU integration should not lead to a reduced role for the United States in defending Europe.

Poland, a staunch NATO ally, values its close security ties with the United States in the face of a more assertive Russia.

Warsaw and Washington both oppose the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas directly to western Europe. Germany and Austria support the project.</s>"First of all, we need to solve all sorts of problems that are so obvious within the eurozone… Our economies are not yet ready. We have not reached this point yet," Morawiecki said at a conference in Brussels.

He added that the structure of the Polish economy differed from the structure "prevailing in Western Europe."

READ MORE: EU Parliament Backs Launching Checks on Whether Poland Violates EU Values

In 2017, Morawiecki, who served as Poland’s minister of economic development at that time, said that Poland may consider adopting the euro as its currency only in 10-20 years when the country is as developed as eurozone countries in terms of micro- and macroeconomy.

Moreover, the Warsaw-Brussels ties have been marred recently with the European Union criticizing Poland over its ongoing judicial reform, which may pose a threat to the separation of powers in the country. In December, the European Commission proposed to the Council of the European Union to trigger Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union over a risk of Poland's breach of the rule of law. Triggering the article will mean launching procedures that could result in Poland losing EU voting rights. The Commission's commitment to act was reaffirmed by its First Vice-President Frans Timmermans on February 27.</s>Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz meets with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas during his visit in Warsaw March 16, 2018. — Reuters picWARSAW, March 21 — Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz today stressed Poland’s right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

“We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people,” Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland’s foreign diplomacy.

These reforms “do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them.”

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as “systemic threats” to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country’s right-wing government—a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU’s concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz’s remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU’s executive arm will analyse Warsaw’s response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether “steps forward were made or not”.

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure—covering systemic threats to the rule of law—which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland’s ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland’s commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

“The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments,” he said. — AFP</s>Warsaw (AFP) - Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Wednesday stressed Poland's right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

"We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people," Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland's foreign diplomacy.

These reforms "do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them."

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz's remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland's commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

"The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments," he said.</s>Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Wednesday stressed Poland's right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

"We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people," Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland's foreign diplomacy.

These reforms "do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them."

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz's remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland's commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

"The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments," he said.</s>Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Wednesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 1 hour):

The statistics office is due to publish retail sales data for February at 0900 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters expect nominal retail sales to have risen by 8.0 percent year-on-year last month.

Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz is due to present foreign policy goals for 2018 in a speech in parliament at 0800 GMT.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki welcomed on Tuesday a statement by the U.S. Department of State that firms engaged in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project could be subject to U.S. sanctions, Morawiecki said on Twitter.

Poland recorded a budget surplus after February and value added tax revenue rose compared to the previous year last month, Finance Minister Teresa Czerwinska told reporters late on Tuesday.

European Union member states are not ready to vote against Poland in the so-called Art.7 punitive procedure launched by the European Commission, Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told TVN24 television.

The European Union executive on Tuesday dismissed Poland's latest defence of court reforms that critics say weaken democracy, potentially paving the way for more clashes with Warsaw after weeks of some rapprochement.

The infrastructure ministry sees no chances that it could increase payments to construction firms given the rise in costs of raw materials and labour, a stance that could lead to bankruptcies in the sector, Puls Biznesu daily reported.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****

For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau)</s>Poland accused the European Union on Wednesday of "double standards" in its treatment of member states, a day after Brussels rejected Warsaw's defense of its court reforms that critics say threaten democracy.

The EU has threatened to take punitive action that could include stripping Poland of its voting rights if Warsaw does not retract legislation that tightens state controls over the judiciary.

"Nothing hurts the idea of European integration more than the actual inequality of its member states before the law, the use of double standards and the departure of the European Commission from its role as an objective guardian of treaties to (become) an instrument in the hands of some states," Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told parliament.

Poland argues that in some other EU member states, including Spain and Germany, politicians also play a role in picking some judges. It says its judicial reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of Poland's court system.

The right-wing government in Warsaw is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the EU's executive, on a range of issues, including migrant quotas. Poland is refusing to take in some of the mainly Muslim asylum seekers under the quota system.

Czaputowicz, who was briefing lawmakers on the government's foreign policy goals for 2018, said EU institutions were ignoring voters' concerns and that this was feeding a eurosceptic backlash against Brussels.

"A deficit of democracy in the European Union is not a figure of speech, it is a reality that has deep political consequences," he said.

"The rising wave of opposition to integration on the European continent is not the cause of the democratic weakness of the Union, but a result of it," he said, adding that Poland still wanted a "strong European Union."

Despite the strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels, opinion surveys show that support for the EU in Poland - the biggest recipient of EU funds for infrastructure and other projects - is among the highest in the 28-nation bloc.

In his speech, Czaputowicz also stressed Poland's concern that increased EU integration should not lead to a reduced role for the United States in defending Europe.

Poland, a staunch NATO ally, values its close security ties with the United States in the face of a more assertive Russia.

Warsaw and Washington both oppose the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas directly to western Europe. Germany and Austria support the project.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz accuses the European Union of "double standards" and of suffering "a deficit of democracy". Poland and the European Commission are engaged in disputes over migrant quotas and proposed reform of Poland's judiciary.