WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A dispute between the European Union and Poland over judicial independence resumed Thursday when a senior EU official said Poland’s new regulation fell short of expectations, threatening billions of euros of stimulus budget for Warsaw. .
New that abolished a debatable and politicized framework that disciplined judges were promulgated by Polish President Andrzej Duda and will come into force on July 15. But they introduce a new framework of judicial accountability, which will be appointed by the president.
Poland has also taken other steps, or “milestones,” to secure judicial independence before it can get some of the frozen budget totaling about 36 billion euros ($39 billion).
Vera Jourova, vice president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said the new regulation “does meet” the required criteria and that the budget will be paid until the independence of Polish judges is guaranteed in a legally binding manner.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would fight according to his point of view.
“I am convinced that by the end of this year, or early next year, the first recovery budget for rapid projects in Poland will be delivered,” Morawiecki said.
He also used the existing risk to Europe’s security posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an argument to triumph over discord and disputes.
According to media reports, Morawiecki faces strong complaints from his right-wing ruling Law and Justice party, whose members and ministers say he has consulted them on terms agreed with the EU.
The committee conditionally approved Poland’s recovery plan, which is a step towards disbursing the frozen funds. But the adjustments that will take effect next month are widely perceived as superficial and keep judges above politics.
EU Executive Leader Ursula von der Leyen warned this month that no cash would be delivered if Poland failed to achieve the “milestones” of abolishing the disciplinary chamber, rewriting its regulations and allowing judges sanctioned or suspended by the chamber to be examined.
Von der Leyen has been criticized by centrist lawmakers in the European Parliament who have argued that it is inopportune to pave the way for budget disbursement to Poland, as Warsaw has met most EU conditions.
The disciplinary chamber, which will be abolished next month, faces Poland. The Court of Justice of the European Union has fined Poland a record one million euros a day for failing to dismantle it.
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