Lithuania will support Poland in dispute with EC – Grybauskaitė

“I would like to touch upon a problematic European matter. Discussions are currently in progress between the European Commission and the Polish government. Lithuania and Lithuania’s position will be very strong and clear – we will not support any coercive or power methods against any country, including Poland. Lithuania will not support the vote against the state of Poland by force, we will invite both sides to agree,” Grybauskaitė told a news conference on Saturday after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

She said Lithuania held a similar position on migration and the rule of law in the community.

“I am grateful for the position presented by the president. It is well-balanced and it shows understanding of our situation,” said the Polish president.

In his words, problems in connection to the Polish judicial reform, which his objected by Brussels, is due to misinterpretation.

“I believe that the problems, which, in my opinion, are rather a result of misunderstanding and certain misinterpretation, will be solved,” said Duda.

At the end of 2017, the European Union (EU) launched unprecedented disciplinary proceedings over Polish reforms of the judicial system. Brussels says they threaten democracy by granting the government full control of courts.

The EU gave Warsaw three months to correct the situation. If no steps are taken, EU nations will vote on whether the Polish reforms cause “systematic threats” to the independence of the country’s judicial system and the rule of law in the European Union.

If the threat is recognized, Poland will face another ballot on the proposal to freeze the Warsaw mandate in votes on the community’s decisions.