The judicial reform in Poland has also divided the population there.
(Photo: dpa)
Vienna Poland is evidently reluctant to let the constitutional conflict with the EU escalate completely. On Wednesday, the country’s constitutional court, with limited independence, held another hearing on whether European law should take precedence over national law. Many observers had expected that the court would finally decide on this. After all, it had postponed the decision several times.
But even on Wednesday, the constitutional court, which is at least partially dependent on the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), could not bring itself to a decision. Rather, it has postponed the case to September 30th.
The government of Poland evidently fears the harsh penalties of the EU if it were to apply the law of the union of states in the future at its own discretion. A lot is at stake economically for Poland, such as the money from the EU’s Corona development fund.
The Commission has already approved the programs of some countries. Others are scrutinizing others, such as Poland’s plan. The responsible EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovski said just a few days ago that one has to see whether EU law has priority and what effects this has on the Polish development plan.
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The government intends to use the money from Brussels to finance an ambitious economic program for which it has been promoting it for months. The “Polish Order” (Polski Lad) is supposed to turn Poland into a medium-sized company, as it is in Western Europe according to the ideas of the PiS.
Judicial reform strains relationship with the EU
There are plans, for example, to raise the tax exemption limit, but also to make the tax system more progressive. More money should also flow into the poorly financed health care system. From the point of view of the PiS, the economic program must not fail because it is a prestige project and should help the party achieve a new election victory in two years’ time.
It is all the more awkward to get tangled up in an ongoing feud with the EU. The constitutional conflict with the EU has its roots in 2015, when the PiS won the elections. No sooner had she taken over the government than she began to reorganize the judiciary.
Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro is in charge of this. He is a representative of the arch-conservative party “Solidarisches Poland”, the coalition partner of PiS. In recent years the government has severely restricted the constitutional court’s capacity to act and its independence. A judge appointed by the government has presided over this judicial body since the beginning of 2017.
A disciplinary body was also set up at the Supreme Court. Among other things, judges who do not agree to their being retired as a result of a reduction in the retirement age decreed by the government can turn to this body.
Poland is also arguing with the EU over lignite
With these and other actions, Poland got on a collision course with the EU. The Commission doubts that the Polish judiciary is still completely independent of the government. The conflict escalated completely when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the disciplinary body had to cease its work. The judges in Luxembourg decided that the chamber was dependent on the government and therefore violated EU law.
Poland is currently not only having a constitutional conflict with the EU. The country is in dispute with the association of states also because of the lignite mining in the triangle with the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Czech Republic has lodged a complaint with the ECJ against the opencast mine and the generation of electricity from coal. The country complains that coal mining has a negative impact on the environment. The ECJ has issued an order on this, but Poland disregards it. If the country does not stop the opencast mining before a final judgment is available, it will lose 500,000 euros in subsidies from Brussels per day.
In this argument, too, the emotions boil. As in the constitutional conflict, certain PiS politicians try to create the impression that Poland is being held in a kind of bondage by EU judges.
More: Violations of the rule of law – is the EU turning the tap on Hungary and Poland?