Poland's president has 'no competence' to appoint judges, says EPP MEP

Michał Wawrykiewicz, European People's Party MEP, said that Poland's President Karol Nawrocki is "trying to block the restoration of Rule of Law" in his country, after tensions over the Poland's Constitutional Tribunal escalated on Friday.

The MEP insists Nawrocki's Law and Justice party wants to "keep the political power" over the court which was a "politically manipulated theatre of puppets" during the decade the party was in power.

Wawrykiewicz, who belongs to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's party, insists the "only competent authority" to appoint judges of the Constitutional Tribunal is the Parliament, and that the President has "no competence". On Saturday, the European Commission issued a statement supporting the position of Prime Minister Tusk.

Poland’s long-standing political battle over the judiciary reached a new flashpointafter Poland's President Karol Nawrocki forced his way into the Constitutional Tribunal amid clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters. Nawrocki and supporters are demanding the reinstatement of a conservative top judge, whose suspension is backed by Tusk's pro-EU government.