A majority of Dutch MPs have voted in favour of a motion urging the cabinet to take Poland to the European Court of Justice for political interference in the legal system.

The motion states that there is ‘a serious threat to the rule of law in Poland, which is the foundation of the European Union’ and that the European Commission has failed to enforce previous court rulings about this.

The Dutch government, the motion said, should now investigate and make the necessary arrangements to take Poland to court, preferably together with other like-minded states. The motion was drawn up by two coalition parties – CDA and D66 – together with GroenLinks.

In response, foreign affairs minister Stef Blok has said he will ‘approach other countries to see if they are open to this step’.

New talks

EU leaders will meet face to face for new talks next week, when they are expected to focus on the decision by Poland and Hungary to block the EU’s coronavirus aid package and budget.

Both Blok and prime minister Mark Rutte have made it clear that the Netherlands cannot accept any attempt to water down conditions for the EU’s new budget and coronavirus recovery fund, despite the threatened veto by Hungary and Poland.

The compromise deal is already the ‘lower limit’ for the Dutch and the conditions cannot be made weaker to appease the Hungarians and Poles, Rutte told MPs last month.