The MEPs who spoke on Tuesday 9 February during the debate on the de facto ban on abortion in Poland appeared, for the most part, tired and worried about having to question the Commission on this subject again, but determined to do so “whenever necessary”.
This was the commitment made by the President of the Socialist Group, Iratxe García Pérez, during the plenary session and at a press conference, followed by many of her colleagues, despite the fact that “those who did not want this debate” did not like it.
This one - the second in 3 months (see EUROPE 12609/4) - was convened after the publication in the Polish Official Journal on Wednesday 27 January of the decision of the National Constitutional Court invalidating the right to abortion in cases of severe foetal impairment (see EUROPE 12588/9). 90% of the legal abortions still performed in the country were precisely for this reason.
Moreover, this decision could cost doctors contravening it 3 years in prison and “paves the way for other potential bans on abortion in cases of rape and incest”, summarises the European network of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
Democracy in question
“Poland is becoming a state of fear”, was the sad observation of Polish MEP Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, speaking on behalf of the EPP. “No one has the right to speak for Polish women”, she added, denouncing these retrograde measures.
Evelyn Regner (S&D, Austria) said the decision had led to “the biggest demonstrations we have seen in the country since 1989”. She also denounced the undermining of democracy in Poland.
There has also been much criticism of the independence of the Constitutional Court. “We are not talking about the decision of an independent court, but about a political decision”, said Sylwia Spurek, Polish Greens/EFA coordinator. The coordinators of Renew Europe and The Left, Samira Rafaela (Netherlands) and María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (Spain), for their part, described the institution as a “pseudo-court” with neither “legitimacy nor independence”.
The few MEPs from the ID and ECR groups who took part in the debate regretted that Poland was once again being “pilloried” - as ID coordinator Joachim Kuhs (Germany) put it - and that the European Parliament was interfering in a debate that is a national competence.
The Commission responsible
“We have come to this point because the Commission has not been effective in enforcing respect for the rule of law in Poland and in ensuring the adoption of the directive against unequal treatment”, Sylwia Spurek clarified.
Like her, many MEPs have called the Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, to account. “What more will it take to get a real commitment from the Commission” towards Poland, asked Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA, Germany), also referring to the violations of LGBTIQ rights in the country.
Several MEPs have called for budgetary measures to be taken. Among them was Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D, France), who also called on the Commission to fund access to abortion care for Polish women who want it, in neighbouring countries.
The Commissioner has not replied to these requests. She confined herself to an equally terse and largely similar answer to the one sent in writing the same day to the MEPs, who had submitted a priority question with a request for a written reply on the subject at the end of November.
Ms Dalli noted that the Commission remained opposed to “any rollback of sexual and reproductive rights” and that, although States are competent in this area, the institution would continue to support governments in their implementation of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) on women's health.
See written answer: https://bit.ly/2Z2Yd2i (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)