The Commission is launching infringement proceedings against Poland

LAST UPDATE: 15.06

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Poland following a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court that challenged the principle of European supremacy over national law.

“We consider that this decision has violated the general principles of autonomy, supremacy, efficiency and uniform application of the law in the Union, as well as the binding rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union. We also consider that the Constitutional Court no longer meets the requirements of a an independent and impartial tribunal, as required by the European Union Treaty, “said Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs.

The European Commission, the watchdog of the European institutions, has sent a notice to the Polish government, which has two months to respond. Infringement proceedings can lead to referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union and even to the imposition of financial sanctions.

The European Union has been at loggerheads for years with Poland’s nationalist super-conservative government over judicial reform, which affects the independence of the judiciary. Poland has been repeatedly convicted by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The conflict escalated following a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court in July, which ruled, under the influence of the government, that the rulings of the European Court of Justice on judicial reform were contrary to the Polish Constitution.

Tensions escalated further on October 7, when the Polish Constitutional Court, appealed to Prime Minister Matthias Morawiecki, challenged the supremacy of European law, ruling that certain articles of the EU treaty were in conflict with the Polish Constitution.

Judicial reform in Poland is also the reason for the Commission’s refusal to disburse the resources of the recovery fund corresponding to Poland. The European Commission demands that the activities of the disciplinary body of the Polish judiciary, which has been set up as part of the judicial reform, be stopped, in accordance with a relevant ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which accuses the body of lacking independence from political power.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki disagrees with the European Commission’s view of the Polish Constitutional Court and rejects accusations of politicization, reacting to the European Commission’s decision to launch an infringement proceeding against Warsaw.

SOURCE: AMPE