Crucial parts of the Polish judicial reform are to be rolled back.
(Photo: REUTERS)
Brussels Numerous EU countries are benefiting from the Corona reconstruction fund on their way out of the crisis – but not yet in Poland. In order to be able to get the funds from the aid package, the Polish government has now removed a key obstacle. President Andrzej Duda announced that he intends to abolish the disciplinary body, which has been widely criticized by the EU.
“We don’t need this dispute,” said Duda on Thursday. Another body should replace the chamber. Judges suspended in the course of the judicial reform are to be reinstated as required. He wanted to give the government a tool to end the dispute with the commission.
The introduction of the Disciplinary Chamber was a core part of the 2018 judicial reform in Poland. It can dismiss any judge and prosecutor. In October, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay fines of one million euros a day until the chamber is abolished.
In addition, the Chamber of Poland blocked the way to the funds from the reconstruction fund. Before distributing these, the EU Commission has to check whether the money in the recipient country is subject to clean, rule-of-law control by the judiciary. However, there is still no law that the EU could use to assess whether the announced changes will meet the requirements.
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Duda is to be received by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels this Monday. A conversation about the threat from Russia has been announced.
However, both sides could also use the talks to ease mutual tensions. After all, a few days ago Poland cleared up another point of contention, at least for the time being.
Dispute with the Czech Republic ended
The government agreed with the neighboring Czech Republic to settle the legal dispute over the brown coal mine Turow. Opencast mining causes damage both in the Czech Republic and in Germany and ensures, among other things, that the groundwater level falls. The ECJ demands half a million euros per day from Poland as long as the opencast mine is in operation.
Now Poland has promised to pay 45 million euros to the Czech Republic. In return, the neighboring country wants to withdraw the complaint before the ECJ. However, the EU Commission is still taking action against opencast mining. She complains that Poland has extended the mining permit without examining the environmental impact.
>> Read here: Poland does not pay its fines to the EU
Brussels is warning against overestimating the signs of detente from Poland. In particular, it is still unclear how the successor body to the Disciplinary Chamber should be structured. The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley (SPD), warned: “As long as the PiS does not fully return to the separation of powers, selective changes should not be a free pass for EU funds.” don’t fix it with a gesture,” he said. “But a gesture can be the beginning.”
The European Parliament had repeatedly put pressure on the EU Commission to influence Poland and withhold the reconstruction funds. The deputies now see themselves confirmed in this. “The loss of EU funds makes an impression on the ruling party PiS,” said Barley.
More on this: Suddenly powerful: How the EU Commission directs the countries with billions of euros