Poland asks Brussels to drop sanctions for undermining the rule of law | International

The new Polish government has called on the European Commission and EU member states to end the sanctions procedure against their country for undermining the rule of law. To convince them, the Minister of Justice of the Liberal Executive led by Donald Tusk presented this Tuesday to the Council of the EU the reform plan with which he intends to dismantle the attacks on justice by the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS, for example), its acronym in Polish) and restore independence to judges and magistrates. And the reactions were very positive: “I think it is a realistic plan which should restore the independence of the judiciary. This is also an objective of the Commission. The action plan (presented) is a step in the direction that could lead to the closure of Article Seven,” said Commission Deputy Chairman Vera Jourova, responsible for the field of state defense by right.

Jourova’s words were delivered during a joint appearance with Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar; the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib ―who in turn holds the presidency of the Council of the EU―, and the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, a staging with a clear objective: Warsaw’s relations with the Union institutions have entered a completely different phase from the one they experienced with the government party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski. This mention of “article seven” refers to the maximum sanction procedure of the Community treaties, which can even result in the suspension of the sanctioned country’s voting rights in the Council of the EU. This is what we usually call in the Brussels bubble the nuclear button.

“I will explain (to the rest of the partners and the European Commission) that if we roll out the plan, Poland should not leave the Article Seven procedure open. This is not necessary if all of us in Poland , are absolutely committed to restoring the rule of law,” Bodnar said upon arrival at the meeting.

The liberal coalition won the legislative elections last October and ousted the ultra-conservatives, who had governed since 2015, from power. During this period, they undertook a series of changes that undermined the independence of the Polish justice, such as the creation of a sanctioning chamber of judges, or the irregular appointment of magistrates to the Constitutional Court, a body which later ruled that EU treaties violated the Polish Constitution. All this led the European Commission to launch this sanction procedure in 2017 and transmit it to the Council of the EU, where it has not yet been successful. The process is the same as that which Hungary opened, also to attack the rule of law, and which the Member States also continue to promote.

Today, the new Polish executive is calling for the process to be abandoned and the Commission welcomes this request, even if it demands results. “There is a lot of work to be done. The minister (Bodnar) presented a series of laws which will have to be approved in Poland and that is when we realize the extent of the list of offenses. All these problematic issues need to be resolved,” Jourova said. “The action plan is important, but also how it will be implemented.”

The Commission’s head of justice, who recently visited Warsaw to meet Bodnar, also appreciates the Polish government’s plans: “There were many positive comments during the meeting (…). We have already seen some decisions. It’s not just about the plan. There are certain decisions to go further with different concrete measures, such as participation in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office,” Reynders said.

If the reforms that the Tusk executive plans to implement continue, Warsaw could not only see the Article Seven sanction procedure lifted without sanction, but it could also start receiving resources from the European recovery fund, which so far has not been perceived. . The European Commission demanded judicial reforms from the government to approve its plan and have access to this money, 59.8 billion euros between grants and credits. However, these reforms have not yet seen the light of day. The liberal coalition faces, among other difficulties, opposition from the country’s president, also ultra-conservative Andrej Duda, who has a veto over legislation. If you finally manage to overcome the obstacles, the money will probably be paid. This Friday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to meet Tusk in Poland, according to Polish media. The German politician will travel across the country to Ukraine, where she will travel with Alexander De Croo, the Belgian prime minister.

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