May caught in the middle of Poland-eu row

As EU meets to discuss legal sanctions, Brexit chief calls on PM to condemn Warsaw policies

THERESA MAY was last night facing calls from the European Parliament’s Brexit chief to condemn Poland’s autocratic government as a “test” of the UK’S commitment to the EU’S liberal, democratic values and the future relationship with Europe.

The demand came as the European Commission meets today to discuss whether to launch Article 7 legal proceedings against Poland’s hardline conservative government for violating the EU’S commitment to democracy and human rights.

The threat to make Poland a pariah in the EU family comes at a highly embarrassing moment for Mrs May who is due to visit Warsaw tomorrow as part of a diplomatic charm offensive that has been launched by Britain towards Poland since Brexit.

If the EU carries out its threat as expected today, Mrs May faces flying into the middle of a diplomatic maelstrom as both sides demand clarity on whose side Britain now stands. Guy Verhofstadt, the head of the European Parliament’s Brexit working group, told The Daily Telegraph that Mrs May’s visit to Warsaw would provide a clear “test” of where the UK’S true loyalties now lie.

“The current Polish government is guilty of backsliding on the rule of law and undermining European democratic values,” he said.

“I hope Mrs May will firmly raise this issue in Warsaw. This visit is an important first test of the UK’S pledge to defend European liberal democratic values, as we move forward together to build a strong security partnership,” he said. The linkage between Mrs May’s approach to Poland and the strength of the future EU-UK partnership comes at a crucial moment in the Brexit negotiations as both sides prepared to move on to talks about trade, security and Britain’s place in the wider European neighbourhood.

Mr Verhofstadt noted that Mrs May had “unconditionally committed” Britain to the security of Europe in her Florence speech last September.

Mrs May’s pledge in Florence echoed Article 2 of the EU treaties which commits all EU members to support the “values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for rights”. Poland is accused of violating those values with what EU leaders call anti-democratic and unconstitutional reforms to its media laws and judiciary.

If triggered, Britain would face the first acid test of its loyalties in a vote in the European Council where an Article 7 process must be triggered by a vote from 22 of the 28 member states.

The final sanctions – which can include stripping Poland of its EU voting rights – must be endorsed unanimously. Hungary has already promised to veto such a move, but the UK will not be able to escape a public test of loyalties. The Article 7 proceedings could not come at a worse moment for Mrs May who is due to arrive with both her Foreign Secretary and Chancellor, in a show of diplomatic force.

The triumvirate will take part in the second Uk-poland Summit, an annual event started after Brexit to deepen ties between the two countries, which Mrs May originally described as “two resolute and strategic allies”.

In the interim, the UK has sought to curry favour with Poland, promising to consider teaching Polish in UK schools, deploying 150 Light Dragoons as part of the Nato ‘‘tripwire’’ on the Russian frontier and opening a new Belvedere Forum to deepen business and cultural ties.