Polish bishops to push for protocol similar to Malta's

Polish bishops are to urge their government to follow Malta's lead among candidate countries by adding an ad hoc protocol to the EU accession treaty to ensure that laws outlawing abortion would be retained.

According to Archbishop Henryk Muszynski, the Polish delegate for the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), the Catholic Church "must demand a special clause" in the accession treaty to guarantee Polish legislation relating to abortion.

The bishop's comments were reported in the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and The EU Observer, among others.

During the accession talks, which were completed earlier this month, Malta asked for a clause similar to that of Ireland in order to safeguard its ban on abortion.

It was agreed that a protocol on abortion would be annexed to Malta's treaty giving legal certainty that EU law, present or future, cannot change the country's law on abortion.

A protocol is a legally binding instrument that is enforceable in a court of law, including the European Court of Justice.

Abortion in Malta is punishable at law under Section 241-243A of the Criminal Code.

On its part, the EU has no laws on abortion and nor does it have any competence to make such laws.

However, the fact that all EU countries except Ireland have already legalised abortion gave rise to concern that the EU might call on its members to legalise abortion in future.

This concern was fuelled last summer when the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging member states as well as candidate countries to legalise abortion.

Although not legally binding, many feel these resolutions imply political pressure.

Among the new EU acceding countries, only Poland and Malta ban abortion. In Poland, abortion was banned after the end of the communist regime and 40 years of a liberal regime.

Marek Dyduch, the general secretary for the ruling Left Democratic Alliance, was quoted as saying last week that after holding the EU referendum, the party would start working on the liberalisation of the abortion law.

Church hierarchs reacted angrily to the statement, which may cost the 'Yes' camp many votes in a country with an ever-growing number of sceptics.