The financial sanctions against Poland were requested on September 9th by the EU commission responsible for monitoring the rule of law in the EU.
(Photo: dpa)
Brussels From now on, Poland has to pay a fine of one million euros a day to the EU until the disciplinary body ceases its work to punish judges. That was decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). He is implementing his own judgment of July 14th. It is to be feared a “serious and irreparable damage for the legal order of the EU and for the values on which the Union is based”, it said in a communication of the ECJ.
Poland has already announced that it will abolish the disciplinary body in its current form, but it is still working on existing cases. It can dismiss any judge and prosecutor. Its introduction was a core part of the judicial reform of 2018.
The proceedings before the ECJ are just one of several arenas in the dispute between Poland and the EU. Among other things, Poland is threatened with legal proceedings. This type of procedure has been around since January 2021, but has never been used. Poland and Hungary doubt that such proceedings would be permissible, which the ECJ will decide on in a few months. Until this ruling is available, the heads of state and government of the EU do not want to use the procedure. The formal decision lies with the EU Commission.
A ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court, according to which European law cannot take precedence over Polish law, had worsened the situation. Another point of contention: Poland is still waiting for money from the Corona reconstruction fund. These have so far been withheld by the EU Commission without any specific justification.
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Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says that the EU will start a “third world war” if it does not pay out the reconstruction funds. He left the last EU summit temporarily to meet the French right-wing extremist Marine Le Pen.
Chancellor Angela Merkel in particular warns of further escalation and instead advocates dialogue. However, the dispute has escalated rather than calmed down. The MEPs of the European Parliament do not join the call for dialogue. They want the pressure to be increased and are threatening the Commission with legal action if it does not act soon. They see the court on their side.
“The dialogue has not stopped the dismantling of the rule of law,” said the Green MP Daniel Freund the Handelsblatt. “We now need painful measures against Poland.”
The penalties for the disciplinary body and two other violations by Poland currently add up to 1.6 million euros per day. Poland has to pay 500,000 euros a day because it does not stop lignite mining on the Czech border despite an interim order, and 100,000 euros because of the clearing of a primeval forest.
The sum corresponds to only about three percent of what Poland receives from the EU budget, says Freund. “Under no circumstances should Poland receive any money from the reconstruction fund as long as its judiciary cannot work independently again,” said Freund. The EU countries have jointly borrowed money on the financial markets for the fund. Poland is to receive 36 billion euros from this.
More: The EU cannot help but punish Poland.