Polish president defends country’s legal changes

Polish president Andrzej Duda has defended his country's recent changes to media and constitutional law, appealing to the European Union to "calm down" over legislative changes introduced by the government.

"I can assure you nothing exceptional is happening in Poland, " said Mr Duda following a meeting with former Polish prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk at the European Council headquarters in Brussels.

“This is what happens after a change in government. There is no conflict about it. There is no divergence in opinion about our position in the EU – these are internal conflicts and I am convinced that we will find understanding with our partners.”

Poland’s Law and Justice Party, which was elected with an overall majority in October’s general election, has provoked widespread criticism from the international community, including the human rights body the Council of Europe, over new laws which may curb judicial and media freedom.

The European Commission last week initiated the first stage in a process that could ultimately lead to Poland's suspension from the Council of Ministers as it launched a review of the new laws. The country's prime minister, Beata Szydlo, is due to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Mr Duda called for a "calm dialogue with toned-down emotion." He urged the European political system "to have an objective look at Poland".

“Unnecessary emotion and lack of analysis and verification very often lead to some escalation in emotional debate, and this is not beneficial to European Union, neither to the interest of our country.”

But Mr Tusk, himself a former Polish prime minister and founder of the country’s main opposition party Civic Platform, warned that Poland’s reputation was “being shaken”.

“What’s of key importance to Poland today is to maintain its very good reputation, its reputation it has worked on for the last 25 years,” he said, adding that the reputation had been forged by many governments, and the Polish people.

Mr Tusk said that while he believed the European Commission’s move to begin a legal review of Poland had been taken in good faith, “I can imagine that this goal could be achieved by other methods”.

Mr Tusk also cautioned against a “hysterical reaction” to the changes in Poland, confirming that the issue would not escalate to the level of heads of state or be placed on the agenda of future European Councils.

Mr Duda also expressed confidence that a deal to keep Britain in the European Union would be achieved, adding that Poland shared some of the concerns voiced by British prime minister David Cameron. Poland is seen as one of the main barriers to Britain achieving significant changes to EU rules on benefits for intra-EU migrants.

He also defended his country’s response to the refugee crisis. “We are open to anyone who’d like to come to Poland, who’d like to seek help in Poland if this help is justified,” he said. But in an implicit criticism of the EU’s refugee quota scheme, he added that refugees should be able to choose the EU country where they wanted to live, so that the EU’s principle of free movement is respected.