Poland has asked the European Union’s executive not to impose fines for undermining the independence of the judiciary, saying it was working to dismantle the controversial judges’ disciplinary body, according to a January 10 letter seen by Reuters.
Warsaw owes € 70 million at the moment because it did not immediately stop working on the section pending the final ruling of the EU Supreme Court on the system, which has been widely criticized for allowing the government to sideline judges who challenge its policies.
The letter is the latest development in the case, one of many battles between the nationalist, Eurosceptic Law and Justice Party (PiS) ruling in Poland and the EU to undermine democratic control and balance.
Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sados, wrote in the letter that the head of the Supreme Court had already decided to stop handing over certain cases to the Disciplinary Board and that the government was “currently consulting on draft laws aimed at continuing the reform process.” judicial system “.
“In these circumstances, I urge the Commission to suspend the sending of payment invitations until the planned reforms are carried out,” he wrote.
The Brussels-based executive said it would start sending invoices to Warsaw very soon and had ways to secure the fines due, including by deducting them from development aid intended for Poland in the event that PiS refuses to pay.
The PiS introduced the Disciplinary Chamber in 2017 as part of sweeping changes in the judiciary, which ousted many judges – including prominent critics of the government – and promoted new ones, including the assignment of top judicial roles to party allies.
The letter does not describe in detail how or when Warsaw will recall the chamber, which has the power to relocate or make judges available.
Fundamental disputes with the EU over democratic standards under the increasingly authoritarian PiS have cost Poland its reputation as a “model” country for the post-communist transition and access to billions of euros in EU funds to recover from the pandemic.
At stake are more EU development funds, a key driver of Poland’s economic growth since joining the bloc in 2004.
According to Commission officials, there has never been another EU country that has not acted on the orders of the bloc’s supreme court or paid fines for that omission.
Poland has two such cases so far, as it also refuses to change its behavior or pay fines ordered by the court in a dispute with neighboring Czech Republic over the Turow coal mine.
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Source From: Capital
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