Outrageous double standards in Brussels: the Tusk government is trampling on the rule of law in Poland, while the European Commission turns a blind eye

The Fidesz and KDNP delegation to the European Parliament has sent a written question to the European Commission to draw attention to the Tusk government’s actions in Poland, which are trampling on the rule of law. The fact that the European Commission remains deeply silent on this issue is an outrageous double standard on the part of the Commission. We can all easily imagine what would have happened, what action Commissioner Jourová would have taken immediately, if all this had happened in Budapest, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The delegation has turned to the Commission with the following written question:  

On the 20th of December, the new Polish government forcibly took over the public media. They fired
board members and appointed their own people, brutally violating the Constitution and Polish law.
They sent thugs to the headquarters of the public television, used physical violence to remove
employees, and took a public television channel off the air.
While the European Commission has been vocal about the rule of law and media freedom in the case
of Hungary, it is now completely silent. This silence suggests the application of double standards by
the Commission on rule of law matters. We can easily imagine what would happen if all this took
place in Budapest, under Prime Minister Orbán.

1. Do you consider that the forcible takeover of public media, bypassing the appropriate legal
   procedures under national law, is a procedure compatible with the rule of law and respects media
   freedom and plurality?
2. How will you ensure that the respect for the rule of law is measured by the same standards in all
   Member States, irrespective of the government and its political positions?

Background: In the case of a priority question to the European Commission, MEPs have three weeks to reply to a written question sent to the European Commission after the formal approval of the text by the EP President. Otherwise, they have six weeks to answer.