European Commission threatens Poland with financial sanctions
After years of contention on issues of rule of law, the European Commission issued an ultimatum to the Polish Government on Tuesday, obliging it to comply with an EU Court of Justice ruling from last week which found that Poland’s disciplinary procedures for judges were in violation of European law.
The ruling was in relation to the body established in 2017 with the power to discipline judges, called the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. The Court of Justice insists the Chamber lacks guarantees of “independence and impartiality”, suggesting it can be used to exert undue pressure on judges. The Chamber has the power to rule on the independence of judges and can lift their immunity to criminal prosecution. The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) insists the measures are necessary to fight corruption.
Poland must implement the decision and end the operations of it Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court by August 16th or face financial sanctions according to the Commission. Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourová, responded sternly. “Let me repeat what we have said many times: EU law has primacy over national law. All decisions by the European Court of Justice […] are binding on all Member States’ authorities and national courts.”
Hours after the announcement, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal declared that applying the Court of Justice’s interim measures would be unconstitutional, thereby directly challenging the court’s authority and supremacy. The Commission followed up saying it was “deeply concerned by the decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal” which “reaffirms concerns about the state of the rule of law in Poland.”
This latest episode is just one of many ongoing justice issues between Poland and the EU. In February 2020, Poland passed new measures to prevent judges from referring certain legal issues to the European Court of Justice. Separately, the Polish Constitutional Court is considering a motion from the Polish Prime Minister to review the constitutionality of parts of the EU Treaties.
Additionally, the Commission recently started legal action against Poland for violations of the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people, through the so called ‘LGBT-ideology free zones’ that have been adopted in a number of regions and municipalities in Poland in recent years.
There have been suggestions from many quarters that the new rule of law conditionality clauses should be invoked against Poland to prevent EU funding from being dispersed to Warsaw for as long as they remain in violation of EU law.
Poland’s Recovery and Resilience Plans has not yet been endorsed by the Commission but many have highlighted the irony of a situation whereby the Commission would threaten Poland with financial sanctions but still disperse €23.9 billion in grants and €12.1 billion in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.