The Latest: Hungary vows to stand by Poland in EU review
The Latest on EU action against Poland (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
Hungary's deputy prime minister says the EU decision to launch proceedings against Poland is "unprecedented and astounding."
Zsolt Semjen, also head of Hungary's Christian Democrat party, said the EU's decision Wednesday "seriously damages Poland's sovereignty."
Semjen said Hungary would oppose the EU Commission's move "at every forum" and defend Poland from the "unjust political procedure."
Hungarian state news wire MTI reports that Semjen also reiterated Prime Minister Viktor Orban's vow to veto any EU efforts to sanction Poland because of its disputed reforms of the judiciary.
Semjen says it is "unacceptable that Brussels is putting pressure on sovereign member states and arbitrarily punishing democratically elected governments."
Over the past several years, Orban's government has also been a target of EU criticism because of a perceived weakening of democratic checks and balances.
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2:40 p.m.
A spokeswoman for Poland's ruling party has called the European Union's decision to launch a censure procedure against Poland "political," and says it has nothing to do with the facts about the steps that Poland is taking.
Beata Mazurek of the ruling Law and Justice party insisted that the changes Poland is making to its justice system, and which EU leaders find undemocratic, are based on the situation in other EU member states.
She insisted that the EU Commission is deaf to such arguments and wants to sanction Poland for political reasons, including for its refusal to accept migrants.
Mazurek argued the procedure will hit Poles but will not affect the ruling party's policies of reorganizing the judiciary and other walks of life.
She also argued that no punitive sanctions can be triggered against Poland because they would need unanimity, which will not be achieved because of Hungary's opposition to them.
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1:30 p.m.
Poland's justice minister says the European Union member will continue its overhaul of the justice system despite an unprecedented censure from EU leaders.
Zbigniew Ziobro, who co-authored the controversial reorganization of the justice system and whose powers are strengthened by it, said he received news that the EU had launched the procedure with "calm."
He said Poland needs to continue with it, and that Poland "will only be a significant EU member when it has a well-functioning justice system."
He insisted its provisions were drawn from justice systems of western EU members.
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1:25 p.m.
The European Union's executive has triggered proceedings against Poland that could lead to sanctions over its recent decisions involving the judiciary.
The triggering of Article 7 was widely expected and EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans said that "we are doing this for Poland, for Polish citizens" so they can rely on a fully independent judiciary in their nation, which is a key underpinning of EU principles.
Timmermans said that despite the measure indicating that "the rule of law is under threat" he remained open to dialogue with Warsaw to remedy this abuse "of naked political power."
Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, however, insisted that despite the EU measure, Poland will continue to 'reform' its justice system.
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1 p.m.
Poland's state news agency PAP says the European Commission, the guardian of European Union law, has taken an unprecedented step toward possibly imposing sanctions on Poland over judicial laws seen as violating Europe's basic democratic values.
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro seemed to confirm the step on Wednesday, saying he received the decision with "calm" and insisting that Poland is a law-abiding country.
According to PAP, which did not identify its source, the Commission triggered what is formally known as Article 7, a procedure that could eventually lead to Poland losing its voting rights in the bloc.
Sometimes called the "nuclear option," Article 7 has never been triggered against a member state before. The step is seen as a sign of serious concern about the new judicial laws.
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