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07-30-2017, 03:56 AM
BRUSSELS: The European Union an**unced on Saturday it had launched legal action against Poland’s rightwing government over a new law that it fears will erode judicial independence.
The action escalates EU pressure on Warsaw over what Brussels sees as a growing threat, **t just to democratic standards in Poland but across the 28-nation bloc.
"The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland by sending a letter of formal **tice," the EU’s powerful executive said.
It was sent after Poland published the law reorganising its ordinary courts on Friday.
The EU statement said Warsaw had one month to reply to the Commission letter, which "raises concerns that... the independence of Polish courts will be undermined."
The action eventually could lead to Poland being hauled before the bloc’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, and possibly fined.
The Commission has also warned of even tougher measures if the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has raised EU concerns since winning the Polish elections in late 2015, forges ahead with deeper court reforms.
In Warsaw, Polish President Andrzej Duda’s chief of staff Krzysztof Szczerski warned on Saturday that the Commission had "entered a path that leads **where," saying organisation of the courts was the sovereign preserve of member states.
"At a certain point, a reversal will be obligatory" for the Commission, which will face "increasingly high" costs each step it takes, Szczerski told PAP news agency. Poland’s deputy foreign minister for European affairs, Konrad Szymanski, said the new law carried proper guarantees and the EU action was "unfounded."
The EU move had been expected after Duda on Tuesday signed into law a measure allowing the justice minister to unilaterally replace the chief justices of common courts, which rank below the Supreme Court.
However, Duda, a former PiS party member who turned independent, stunned the government when he vetoed a**ther bill that would have reinforced political control over the paramount court.
He also vetoed a bill allowing parliament to choose members of a body designed to protect the independence of the courts.
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has vowed to push ahead with all the reforms despite Duda’s vetoes.
European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday warned the "commission is ready to immediately trigger the article 7 procedure" if Supreme Court justices are sacked.
Article 7 is a never-before-used EU process designed to uphold the rule of law, a so-called "nuclear option" that can freeze a country’s right to vote in meetings of EU ministers.
The chances are slim that its voting rights could actually be suspended. Populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed he would instantly veto any such move by the EU.
The escalating standoff with Poland threatens to deepen an east-west split in the EU. —AFP
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The action escalates EU pressure on Warsaw over what Brussels sees as a growing threat, **t just to democratic standards in Poland but across the 28-nation bloc.
"The European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Poland by sending a letter of formal **tice," the EU’s powerful executive said.
It was sent after Poland published the law reorganising its ordinary courts on Friday.
The EU statement said Warsaw had one month to reply to the Commission letter, which "raises concerns that... the independence of Polish courts will be undermined."
The action eventually could lead to Poland being hauled before the bloc’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, and possibly fined.
The Commission has also warned of even tougher measures if the governing Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has raised EU concerns since winning the Polish elections in late 2015, forges ahead with deeper court reforms.
In Warsaw, Polish President Andrzej Duda’s chief of staff Krzysztof Szczerski warned on Saturday that the Commission had "entered a path that leads **where," saying organisation of the courts was the sovereign preserve of member states.
"At a certain point, a reversal will be obligatory" for the Commission, which will face "increasingly high" costs each step it takes, Szczerski told PAP news agency. Poland’s deputy foreign minister for European affairs, Konrad Szymanski, said the new law carried proper guarantees and the EU action was "unfounded."
The EU move had been expected after Duda on Tuesday signed into law a measure allowing the justice minister to unilaterally replace the chief justices of common courts, which rank below the Supreme Court.
However, Duda, a former PiS party member who turned independent, stunned the government when he vetoed a**ther bill that would have reinforced political control over the paramount court.
He also vetoed a bill allowing parliament to choose members of a body designed to protect the independence of the courts.
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has vowed to push ahead with all the reforms despite Duda’s vetoes.
European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans on Wednesday warned the "commission is ready to immediately trigger the article 7 procedure" if Supreme Court justices are sacked.
Article 7 is a never-before-used EU process designed to uphold the rule of law, a so-called "nuclear option" that can freeze a country’s right to vote in meetings of EU ministers.
The chances are slim that its voting rights could actually be suspended. Populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed he would instantly veto any such move by the EU.
The escalating standoff with Poland threatens to deepen an east-west split in the EU. —AFP
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