In a long-running and bruising clash, the executive European Commission has accused Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party of undermining the rule of law with reforms to the judiciary and state media since taking power in late 2015.
After repeatedly declining to backtrack on its judicial reforms, Warsaw has now sat down to negotiations as parallel talks on the bloc’s next joint budget starting in 2021 get underway.
EU ministers held their third debate on the matter in Brussels on Tuesday, with Germany and France warning Poland against using discussions with the Commission as a smokescreen.
“The clock is ticking. The European Commission and a series of EU members are very concerned about the rule of law situation, particularly the independence of the judiciary,” said Michael Roth, Germany’s minister for EU affairs.
“In recent days I have noticed positive signals of willingness (from Poland) to engage in dialogue. That’s an important point, but at the end it’s not about promises but concrete acts,” Roth told reporters.
Brussels has recommended that the bloc launch an unprecedented Article 7 punitive procedure against Warsaw, which could lead to suspending Poland’s voting rights in the EU, unless it concedes ground by March 20.
Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański said Warsaw would soon publish an explanation of some 13 laws PiS has passed on the court system to demonstrate to other EU states it acted to rid Poland of the vestiges of communist rule.
“We expect member states to make their own assessment of this situation and really consider whether there is any serious risk of a serious breach of the rule of law. In our view, there is no such serious risk,” he said.
The Commission and the bloc’s founding members, which include the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France, and Germany, say the PiS measures risk undermining the EU’s internal market and judicial cooperation.
“The need for reform of the judiciary can never be an excuse to enhance political control over the judiciary. The judiciary should be independent. The separation of powers is a fundamental principle,” Commission deputy head Frans Timmermans said.
Timmermans said he would assess the new Polish document when it comes to see whether it was promising enough to continue talks, or else ask EU states to take action against Warsaw.
Stripping Poland of its voting rights is highly unlikely to occur because it would require unanimity, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promised to block any such action against his Polish ally.
But the dispute could badly hurt Poland if other member states move to cut vital funding in the looming budget talks. Poland is currently the main beneficiary of the EU budget.
Senior Polish officials have hinted Warsaw could modify some of the new judiciary laws, though details have yet to be agreed.
The ministerial session on Tuesday ran for longer than planned, suggesting a lively discussion. Some of Poland’s fellow Eastern European countries said the Commission should not push Warsaw too hard.
“Today is no time for decisions,” said Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva of Bulgaria, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, adding that Poland’s willingness to enter again into talks with Brussels represented “huge progress”.