EU regulations require information about asylum in the form of a note, which was sent by Hungary, but it does not contain information about who received asylum or what type it is, said Ignacy Niemczycki, deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs. He added that Polish diplomacy requested information from the Hungarian authorities.
Zbigniew Ziobro, former Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General during the PiS government, is one of the suspects in the investigation into the Justice Fund. On Monday, one of his defenders, Bartosz Lewandowski, announced that Ziobro had been granted political asylum and international protection in Hungary. Ziobro wrote on the X platform that he “chooses to fight political banditry and lawlessness.”
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs Ignacy Niemczycki said on Tuesday in an interview on RMF24 that the Polish government has still not received official information from Budapest on this matter.
– The procedure is that if EU regulations or national regulations based on EU regulations apply, a given Member State is obliged to inform the Council of the European Union, i.e. other Member States – such a note is sent to the secretariat. This is not a procedure that is used every day, because such situations are absolutely exceptional – explained Niemczycki and added that such a note from Hungary appeared, but “it does not contain information about who received this asylum and there is no exact information about what type of asylum it is.”
According to Niemczycki, the situation is reminiscent of granting asylum to the former deputy minister of justice during the PiS government, Marcin Romanowski. – Two people received some form of protection in Hungary, formally we don't know anything – he said.
The deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “Polish diplomacy has already taken action regarding Ziobro's asylum case, and the first step will be to determine the facts.” – We asked the head of the station in Budapest to try to obtain information from the Hungarian authorities. That's the first thing. Secondly, last week we called the Hungarian ambassador in Poland, in Warsaw, also demanding information. However, the ambassador clearly said that he would not provide us with any information, Niemczycki said.
He said that the lack of information from the Hungarian ambassador “is not particularly surprising, because Hungary is a country that does not cooperate on the most important issues, including aid for Ukraine.” Niemczycki added that, in his opinion, a complaint in European courts in this case will have limited effects, because European law allows one Member State to grant asylum to a citizen of another country. – These are extreme situations, these regulations are not very precise, but according to the assessment of my colleagues, the regulations allow it, so for me this matter is strictly political and shows what kind of partner Hungary is in the EU – he explained. – We have already discussed this matter with former deputy minister Romanowski. Unfortunately, the possibilities of acting within the framework of EU regulations are limited, he added.
Niemczycki also referred to the position of the head of Hungarian diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, according to which asylum was granted to people “who would be exposed to political persecution in Poland” and “democracy and the rule of law in Poland are in crisis and are at risk.” – The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs regularly travels with Prime Minister Orban to Moscow, discussing the interests of Hungary and the interests of his political faction. It's hard for him to be a conversation partner for us, he concluded.
On Monday, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Waldemar Żurek said in a post on the X platform that “the attitude of the Hungarian side is unacceptable.” He pointed out that information about Zbigniew Ziobro's alleged “asylum” has not yet been confirmed in any official international manner. He added that the ongoing proceedings against Ziobro have not been suspended and on January 15, the court will consider the prosecutor's request for the arrest of the former Minister of Justice.
Ziobro himself stated on Monday at X that he would remain abroad until “real guarantees of the rule of law are restored in Poland.”
Ziobro is under investigation by the National Prosecutor's Office, which accuses him of leading an organized criminal group and using his position for criminal activities. Ziobro allegedly committed 26 crimes, including: give orders to his subordinates to break the law in order to provide selected entities with subsidies from the Justice Fund, interfere in the preparation of competition offers and allow funds to be awarded to unauthorized entities.
A meeting of the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów is scheduled for January 15, which is to address the prosecutor's request to detain Ziobro for three months. If the court accepts the request for arrest, the prosecutor's office – according to its announcement – will issue an arrest warrant for the former minister and, on its basis, further searches for the PiS MP throughout the country will be launched. If, in the course of these activities, the services determine that Zbigniew Ziobro is not on Polish territory, the next stage of the prosecutor's office will be to launch a search on the basis of the European arrest warrant. (PAP)
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