Judgment of Polish Constitutional Court provokes dissatisfaction of European Commission / Article

The ruling of the Polish Constitutional Court provokes the dissatisfaction of the European CommissionUģis Lībietis / Latvian Radio00:00 / 03:50

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This ruling is likely to further aggravate Poland’s relations with the European Union. The EU Commissioner for Justice has already stated that Brussels will do its utmost to restore and defend the supremacy of European Union law over national law. Representatives of France, on the other hand, have indicated that Poland has attacked the entire European Union.

Controversial reforms

Disputes between Poland and Brussels over justice have been going on since the Polish ruling party, Law and Justice, proposed and then adopted controversial judicial reforms.

For example, despite the European Union’s objections to appoint sympathetic, conservative judges to the Constitutional Court, or to set up a disciplinary chamber of judges, or to transfer them to other courts without the consent of the judges.

Poland considers that such reforms are necessary to eradicate corruption and the remnants of the communist past by refusing to comply with a number of orders of the European Court of Justice.

The latest ruling of the Polish Constitutional Court was awaited with great impatience, as it had already been postponed several times.

The President of the Court, Julia Pzilebska, has now stated that several clauses of the Treaty on European Union are incompatible with the Polish Constitution, pointing out that the institutions of the European Union have acted outside their competences.

The Polish government considers that European law in the field of justice is not superior

Peter Miller, a spokesman for the Polish government, also points out: “Poland respects European Union law in areas where national competences have been transferred to the European Union. However, these are clearly defined competences, such as trade, economics, movement of goods, services and people. “

According to Miller, the ruling of the Constitutional Court clearly sets the boundaries where national laws still take precedence over European Union law, adding that Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Spain have done the same in the past.

The European Commission’s reaction followed the judgment shortly, with Justice Commissioner Didier Reinders announcing that the European Commission would use all the instruments at its disposal to ensure the supremacy of European Union law. According to him, it is still necessary to get acquainted with the details of the judgment, but the supremacy of the laws of the European Union is the basis of all the activities of the Union.

The European Commission must act

When it comes to what Brussels’ future actions against Warsaw might look like, the issue of withholding funding for Poland’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is the most frequently mentioned. Garvan Valšs, the head of Article7 Strategies and a researcher of European Union affairs, also points out this.

“The simplest way is to initiate legal proceedings to withhold payments to Poland. However, this means that this judgment will have to be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union. If it finds that this is not in line with the principles of the European Union, it can ask the Polish authorities not to implement the judgment, ”says Waltz.

“If this judgment is not complied with, then already it is possible to impose a fine at the request of the European Commission. That is why the European Commission must now act and use the right legal processes as soon as possible to ensure that the European Union’s treaties are complied with. “

Brussels may withhold funding

The European Union’s economic commissioner, Paulo Gentiloni, had previously said that a Polish court ruling could lead to € 23 billion in recovery funding, as well as € 34 billion in cheap loans for Poland. Such a threat has been described by the Polish government as blackmail. However, the allocation of funding is much more plausible, but with strict preconditions.

Tensions with Brussels have once again raised the issue of Poland’s possible withdrawal from the European Union. It should be noted here that the vast majority of the Polish population wants to stay in the European Union.

Some commentators point out that the Polish government wants to prove to its citizens that Europe can reap all the possible benefits without complying with many laws, but Brussels is likely to do its utmost to convince Poles to the contrary.

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