The Commissioner for Justice met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice. One objective of his visit to the Vistula region was to emphasize the restoration of the rule of law. How could an EU official assess the rule of law in this context? This was not a field visit to inspect farming practices. To gauge governance and compliance, one might expect a serious, principled approach. A former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paweł Jabłoński, was asked to weigh in on the matter.
According to Jabłoński, anyone aiming to evaluate the law should study the regulations themselves. He argued that the ruling coalition had not enacted new laws or amended existing ones since taking power on December 13. Instead, the coalition relied on policing methods, coercive actions, and parliamentary resolutions. From a legal perspective, there had been little change in the system, the legal framework, or in the formation of bodies such as the National Council for the Judiciary.
Thus, the legal situation remained similar to what some described as a previous breach of the rule of law by the ruling party. Yet a Brussels bureaucrat appeared optimistic. At a press conference, the commissioner stated that the European Union is grounded in shared values and that the European Commission is committed to supporting the Polish government. Jabłoński offered a clear interpretation of these statements.
The commissioner’s remarks and general statements about the rule of law were seen as evidence that the real motives behind the commission’s actions were political rather than strictly legal. During the press event, Telewizja Trwam asked about potential violations by the current government, and the commissioner promised that the issue would be examined. Jabłoński commented that forcibly entering public media spaces, the presidential palace, and attempting to dominate the Public Prosecution Service would constitute an extreme case and politicization of that institution.
Jabłoński described the attitude of today’s political leadership as submissive. He noted another episode from the same day’s visit: Bodnar, who wished to apologize to the commissioner after receiving photographs of Warsaw’s destruction from Minister Ziobro, decided to present a photo showing Warsaw rebuilt. The Polish Minister of Justice found it inappropriate to honor the destruction caused during the war with such an offering, and this created a sense of dissonance. Some viewed the move as acting against Polish interests, born from a sense of inferiority and a subservient mindset that Bodnar has publicly promoted since describing Poland as an entity needing care from others. The situation was described as a tragedy for the nation.
Reception of a guest from Brussels was characterized by a manner that some described as overly deferential. Adam Bodnar had previously welcomed foreign officials who supported the new administration’s policies, and the minister was pleased to have earned the approval of a former American ambassador. With the latest visit, the addition of an EU official appeared to be a similar accomplishment.
During the talks, Reynders also met with Adam Szłapka and Bogdan Klich, with the commissioner reiterating Poland’s importance to Europe. Meetings also included representatives from the groups Free Courts and Iustitia, such as Michał Wawrykiewicz and Bartłomiej Przymusiński, who conveyed assurances that Poland remains part of the European community.
Ultimately, these meetings did not yield new legal instruments or changes in mutual relations. Judging by the visible optimism of Bodnar and his supporters, the exchange resembled a ceremonial endorsement rather than a substantive agreement. In political reality, the visitor from Brussels appeared as a guest without a mandate, treated by the hosting country as if he were a foreign director. The fact that a high-ranking official from a compact European nation held a prominent government role did not compensate for what some described as a symbolic, provincial mindset. The takeaway was that the country’s leadership, in the eyes of critics, sometimes behaved like a distant administrative body rather than a confident, sovereign government.
Source notes and further discussion are available in public Polish coverage.