Żurek, from the liberal, pro-EU government of Donald Tusk, retorted this use of political asylum now poses a massive challenge to the EU’s ability to enforce rule of law. If Hungary’s approach goes unanswered, he warned, others will bypass the courts across the 27-country bloc to protect their political allies.
“This is a dangerous precedent for the entire European Union,” Żurek said. “If the EU accepts this, everyone will start citing it … justice will become a political tool.”
“An asylum decision is a political decision — not a ruling by an independent court,” he added. “That is what is most worrying, because it circumvents the rules of the European arrest warrant.”
Ziobro fled to Hungary after losing parliamentary immunity in November.
A Polish court is expected to decide in February whether to order Ziobro’s arrest. Under normal EU practice, such a ruling would trigger swift extradition. But in Orbán’s Hungary, there is a high risk it will hit a dead end.
A loophole already in use
This is not Poland’s first run-in with this loophole. Ziobro’s case follows that of his former deputy, Marcin Romanowski, who was granted asylum by Hungary in 2024 and remains there despite a valid arrest warrant. EU institutions have so far failed to take any step to force Budapest to hand him over.