The amendments to the law on the judiciary which are now in Parliament are necessary and even vital - said President Andrzej Duda in an interview for Polish public television news channel TVP Info.
Referring to work on controversial changes, which could see judges facing punishment for questioning legal reforms by ruling conservatives Law and Justice (PiS), he said that among the judges in Poland there is a group which has no disciplinary answerability. He said the amendments were "reasonable and tidied up the situation in the Polish judiciary" adding that he would listen carefully to the opinion of the Senate on the issue.
The changes were voted through by the lower house last week in spite of an appeal to hold from European Commissioner Vera Jourova, who voiced concern in a letter addressed to top Polish officials, including the President and Prime Minister. The amendments are now to be debated by the upper house of Parliament.
President Duda responded to this in an interview aired by TVP Info on Sunday, saying that at the same time the European Commission emphasized that member states have the right to regulate their own judiciary. He also said that "there was a river of lies flowing from Poland to Western Europe about what is going on in legislation concerning the judiciary (...) Poland is being demonized. (...) The lies are coming from groups which are losing their influence and which attempt solutions that almost use force against democratically elected authorities."
In the same interview, President Duda spoke of Poland being "in the avant-garde" of climate protection, as one of the countries in the world which lead in reduction of emissions. "We have reduced emissions in respect of 1988, according to the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, by more than 30 per cent (...) However further objectives are very difficult for us as they require de facto transforming all our energy sector, which is of course possible but only as a long-term process, because it must be safe for Poland". And that is why, he said, at the COP24 climate conference, Poland proposed the principle of "Just transition", which least affects the public.
Andrzej Duda also spoke of the coming presidential elections in 2020, saying that there will be "the right time" to declare if he is running. He also expressed the opinion that this will be "an interesting campaign" and appealed it for it to be "substantive and calm, and with respect towards candidates and voters, whatever they think or say out loud".
The presidential election in Poland is scheduled for May 2020.
Source: IAR, PAP