Marcin Romanowski. Photo: Hromadske.
On Thursday, 19 December, Hungary announced that it had granted political asylum to Polish MP Marcin Romanowski. This decision, which caused serious tensions between the two EU member states, was justified by the provisions of Hungarian and European law, the Time Ukraine Israel news portal reported, citing Euractiv.
Political asylum as a consequence of distrust in the Polish judicial system
Hungarian Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Gergely Gulyas said that the decision to grant asylum was made because of the risk of political influence on the trials in Poland. “This is political asylum, which can be granted if there is a reasonable doubt that the case will be considered impartially,” he explained in a commentary for the pro-government Mandiner.
Gulyas recalled the case of Romanowski’s previous arrest, which was declared illegal by Polish courts due to his parliamentary immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Romanovskiy disappeared 11 days ago following a court order for his arrest. His lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, confirmed that his client had applied for asylum in Hungary.
Orban accuses Poland of political persecution
Despite the close alliance between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost power after the 2023 elections, Hungary has sharply criticised the current Polish political system. Orban accused Warsaw of using the “rule of law” as a tool to suppress political opponents, promising to grant asylum to anyone who suffers from “political persecution”.
The charges against Romanovskiy
Romanowski, a former Deputy Minister of Justice of Poland (2019-2023), is accused of 11 criminal offences, including participation in an organised criminal group and attempted embezzlement of almost €40 million from a fund for victims of crime. Polish prosecutors are demanding his arrest, but Hungary has decided to protect the politician.
Poland’s reaction and international implications
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called Budapest’s decision a “hostile act”. This is not the first time Hungary’s actions have caused outrage among its European partners. In 2018, Hungary granted asylum to former North Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and this year it granted temporary asylum to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
This decision could exacerbate relations between Hungary and Poland, which, despite their ideological proximity, are at the centre of a complex international dispute.
