Poland blocks creation of EU anti-capital punishment day

(BRUSSELS) - Poland on Thursday rejected plans to organise a "European Day" against the death penalty in a new clash between the Kaczynski brothers and their EU partners as the country heads towards elections.

During a meeting of EU ambassadors, Poland vetoed a European Commission proposal to designate October 10 -- which has been an international day of opposition to capital punishment since 2003 -- "European Day against the Death Penalty".

For Warsaw, "it's not necessary to promote a ban on the death penalty because such punishment doesn't exist in any European country," said Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski.

Instead of limiting the focus to the death penalty, the government of the deeply conservative and catholic Kaczynski brothers would prefer a broader "Day in Defence of Life".

"If someone wants to discuss the death penalty, then he should also discuss banning euthanasia and abortion in the same context," Szaniawski said.

The EU's current Portuguese presidency said during the meeting that any debate about the Polish proposal was "useless" because "there is no European policy on euthanasia and abortion but there is one for the abolition of capital punishment," according to one official.

Poland's blocking of the initiative fuelled indignation at the European Parliament where conservative Finnish lawmaker Piia-Noora Kauppi said: "EU leaders should condemn with firmness the position of the Polish government."

"Already in the beginning of this year, President (Lech) Kaczynski spoke on relaunching the debate on the use of death penalty in Europe," she added.

Portugal hopes to change Warsaw's opinion by October 9, when a European declaration in favour of the universal abolition of the death penalty is to be signed at an international conference in Lisbon.

"We're not happy with the situation and we're going to hold consultations to try to find a solution," Portuguese spokesman Manuel Carvalho said in Brussels.

According to Amnesty International, 1,591 people were executed worldwide last year, mainly in China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and the United States.

Poland is in the midst of a political crisis after the Kaczynski twins decided mid-August to dissolve their right-wing coalition and attempt to organise early elections in autumn, two years ahead of schedule.

In Brussels, the beginning of the Polish campaign period has fuelled concerns that the Kaczynski brothers will take tough positions towards the EU, where they have already tested nerves with hardlines towards the bloc's reform treaty and relations with Russia.