Poland considers a decision by the Hungarian government to grant political asylum to a wanted former deputy minister to be a “hostile act” and has summoned the Hungarian ambassador, the Polish foreign ministry revealed on Friday.
Marcin Romanowski, a deputy justice minister in the previous government, is subject to a European Arrest Warrant as part of an investigation into alleged abuse of public funds.
He was granted political asylum by Budapest on Thursday, in a move described by the Polish foreign ministry as being “against elementary principles binding on European Union member states.”
“Justifying this decision with alleged political persecution is offensive to Polish citizens and authorities,” the ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that Hungary’s ambassador would receive a formal protest.
The statement also said Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski had decided to recall Poland’s ambassador to Hungary, Sebastian Kęciek, for consultations.
“If Hungary fails to fulfill its European obligations, Poland will also ask the European Commission to initiate proceedings against Hungary under Article 259 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,” the statement said.
Defending Budapest’s decision to grant asylum, Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, accused the Polish government of hounding its political opponents.
"The actions of Tusk's government have created a situation where the Polish government disregards its constitutional court's rulings...and uses criminal law as a tool against political opponents," Gulyás said on the mandiner.hu website.