WARSAW: Poland said on Friday it barred Hungary's ambassador from the opening gala of its EU presidency because of a diplomatic spat over a former minister, a decision Hungary called "pathetic and childish". In December, Hungary gave refugee status to Polish lawmaker Marcin Romanowski who had served as deputy justice minister in the previous right-wing government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party. Facing corruption charges and an arrest warrant, Romanowski had fled Poland for Hungary, which is governed by PiS ally Viktor Orban and was granted political asylum there. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called the move a "hostile act".
"Following the situation around Romanowski, Minister Sikorski sent a note to the Hungarian ambassador saying he was not a welcome guest" at the Polish EU presidency opening gala, Poland's deputy European affairs minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said to the TVP state broadcaster. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the decision "pathetic and childish", according to a statement. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Council President Antonio Costa are expected to attend the event held in Warsaw as Poland replaces Hungary at the bloc's helm for a six-month rotating presidency. Ties between Warsaw and Budapest have soured since Poland's October 2023 legislative elections, which ousted the PiS government from power and ushered in the pro-European coalition led by Tusk.
In July, the European Commission concluded in a report that Hungary did not meet EU democratic standards, notably on corruption, political financing, conflicts of interest and media independence. Orban has promised to fight to protect money "that is ours". "They constantly try to take the money of Hungarians by a variety of means and a variety of methods," he said in December, threatening to veto the EU's budget to pressure it into relenting.
Polish prosecutors have charged Romanowski with 11 offences including participation in an organised crime group and attempted embezzlement of funds totalling almost 40 million euros ($41 million) from a fund for crime victims, which he supervised. Polish officers arrested Romanowski in July but his detention was later deemed illegal by the courts because he had parliamentary immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and he was released. He disappeared in early December after PACE revoked his immunity and a court ordered his arrest. — AFP
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