Polish Central Bank Governor Adam Glapiński, whom the new ruling majority accused of illegally supporting the previous government’s policies, will not be prosecuted, said Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Earlier this month, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde expressed concern about Tusk’s stated plans to put Glapinski on trial, stating he was protected by EU law.
“The independence of the central bank means that there are no consequences for this or that policy,” Tusk told a press briefing.
He said that Glapiński was wrong in his inflation forecasts but that this was no reason to take him to court.
Nevertheless, there are also issues “other than policy” that undermine the neutrality of the Polish Central Bank (NBP) and its head personally, the prime minister added, citing irregularities at the institution in recent months and years.
“Glapiński should be at the vanguard of those who protect the political neutrality of the NBP, but we note that he has failed this test,” Tusk said.
He called for no premature conclusions to be drawn and for investigators to be allowed to work so that specific legal objections could be formulated.
The ruling coalition says Glapiński tailored the bank’s policies to help the then-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS, ECR) government, hampering the fight against inflation and breaking the constitution.
PiS, which has governed Poland since 2015, lost its parliamentary majority after national elections in October and was replaced in power by a broad coalition led by Tusk, comprising Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO, EPP/S&D), the centrist Third Way bloc (Renew/EPP) and the Left (S&D/Left).
Tusk’s new government has pledged to reverse the controversial legislative changes made by its predecessors, which have brought Poland into conflict with the European Commission over the rule of law in the country.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
