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The European Parliament has come under fire for firing one of its Vice Presidents
European Parliament Vice President Ryszard Czarnecki was removed from his post earlier last week after he compared a fellow MEP to a Nazi collaborator.
Mr Czarnecki’s controversial comments landed him in hot water, leading the European Parliament to dismiss the senior official – the first such axing in the institution’s history.
But the politician’s peers have now questioned the bold move and challenged the European Union over what they consider a highly irregular round of voting which led to the dismissal.
Jan Pospieszalski, publicist and media broadcaster, blasted the act.
He said: “It seems to me this is all some sort of sadness and bitterness.
“Because on one hand we have a European Parliament which could, for example, attempt to solve the EU’s most burning issues.
“We have problems with the flow of migrants, we have a collapsing Eurozone, we have a South that is terribly indebted, we have Brexit – when all of a sudden this rabble finds the energy and time and great political will to ‘murder’ a man for saying what he thinks about one person.
“For the love of God, this is absurd. I would have used the word childish if it did not include our MEPs who took part in it.”
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MEP Ryszard Czarnecki was ousted from his position for his comments against a fellow MEP
Mr Czarnecki himself referred to the incident as “Czarneckigate” and expressed his regret at being let down by his colleagues.
All of a sudden this rabble finds the energy and time and great political will to ‘murder’ a man for saying what he thinks about one person
He said: “Professor Ryszard Legutko said there is one standard that exists in the EU and that is the double standard – and this is an example of that.”
The Polish Law and Justice (PiS) politician, one of the parliament’s 14 vice presidents under President Antonio Tajani, was dismissed after calling fellow Polish MEP Róża Thun a ‘szmalcownik’ – a pejorative term used against Polish Nazi collaborators during World War Two.
Mr Czarnecki was accusing Ms Thun of acting as an “informer against her own country” in a radio interview, after she criticised Poland’s PiS government for locking horns with the EU.
The comments sparked widespread outrage from MEPs who underlined that the Vice President’s comments had gone beyond the accepted boundaries of political discourse.
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Jan Pospieszalski blasted the EU for voting against Mr Czarnecki
Ms Thun has since launched legal action action against Mr Czarnecki, demanding he apologise for his comments.
She said: “Firstly I demand he corrects these horrible words, which he has publicly said and later admitted that they are not true.
“Secondly, I want him to donate money to charities working towards a better understanding between Poland and Israel.”
The European Parliament convened on February 7 to vote on Mr Czarnecki’s dismissal, with the motion passing with a majority of 447 votes to 196.
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Mr Czarnecki said he did not regret his words and stood by them
But the Polish politician remained unapologetic in the wake of the fallout, saying: “I have stayed true to my beliefs, and upheld my negative stance on politicians criticising Poland.”
He said he remained calm ahead of the impeding vote, saying his “conscious was clear” for carrying out his duty for Poland.
Mr Czarnecki said: “After the vote, a raft of people I knew and respected hung their heads low and I think that summed it all up.”
Zdzisław Krasnodębski, member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, is touted as Mr Czarnecki’s replacement in the European Parliament.