European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will review the asylum case of Polish politician Marcin Romanowski in February.
European Parliament Returns to Romanowski Case
On Thursday, January 29, RMF FM reported that the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will consider the asylum case for Law and Justice party politician Marcin Romanowski in the second half of February. After the asylum request was rejected in December by votes from PiS MEPs, the matter has returned to the European Parliament. Political group coordinators have agreed to return to the case, and the Petitions Committee has passed the relevant motion. A Polish citizen submitted the petition, while Michał Kobosko from Poland 2050 requested its consideration.
Committee to Investigate Hungarian Actions
The Petitions Committee will demand, among other things, from the European Commission an investigation into whether Hungary’s actions in the case of the European Arrest Warrant against Romanowski were in accordance with EU law. Moreover, PETI will call on the Hungarian government to promptly hand over Romanowski to Polish authorities, in accordance with the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions, reported RMF FM citing the Polish Press Agency.
Romanowski and Ziobro Seek Asylum in Hungary
The PiS MP fled to Hungary in December 2024 and received political asylum there. The National Prosecutor’s Office in Poland accuses him of corrupt practices. Among the 11 alleged offenses are attempted appropriation of over 58 million złoty, participation in an organized criminal group, and rigging contests for money from the Justice Fund, which he supervised as Deputy Minister of Justice from 2019-2023. A warrant and a European Arrest Warrant were issued for him. In December last year, the District Court in Warsaw annulled the ENA issued against the MP. Romanowski himself and PiS politicians believe that the investigation into the Justice Fund is “political revenge by the Tusk and Bodnar regime.” Former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro is also in Hungary.
Hungary’s New Law Protects Asylum Seekers
Since January 1, Hungary has implemented legal changes that in practice make it impossible to prosecute politicians. The asylum law amendment states that if a court receives an extradition request for a person covered by political asylum in Hungary, it must automatically reject it. The provision applies in every case – also when a European Arrest Warrant has been issued. The Hungarian weekly HVG first wrote about this, calling the changes “lex Ziobro.” The adopted regulations were published in the Official Journal on December 22. It is likely that Ziobro then received the asylum decision. Moreover, before the legal changes, a person who obtained political asylum in Hungary lost it upon obtaining local citizenship. Now a Hungarian passport does not deprive them of this form of protection.
