The Court’s ruling is another step in an escalating rule of law conflict between Poland and the rest of the EU. At an EU summit last week, most European heads of government pressured their Polish counterpart Morawiecki to stop undermining independent justice in Poland. Critics of the Polish PiS ruling party believe that the party is on the way to a Polexit: the departure of Poland from the EU. Warsaw denies that.
The penalty of 1 million euros per day is the highest the Court has ever imposed. The financial penalty follows Poland’s refusal to comply with a previous Court ruling that the Disciplinary Chamber (which is filled with pro-government judges) is at odds with European rules for fair justice. Because of that refusal, the European Commission went to the Court for a penalty and got its way on Wednesday.
Withholding EU subsidy
If Warsaw does not change that Disciplinary Chamber and does not pay, the Commission could withhold the millions of euros owed from the EU subsidies to which Poland is entitled. The financial scope is certainly there: until 2027, Poland is entitled to more than 125 billion euros from EU funds. Morawiekci announced a reform of the Disciplinary Chamber at the EU summit last week, but details are still lacking.
In September, the Court already imposed a penalty payment on Poland of 500,000 euros per day for not closing the Turow mine near the Polish-Czech border. The government in Prague demanded that closure because the mine is causing major damage to nature in the Czech Republic, and the court was right. Warsaw has so far not paid that penalty, nor has it closed the mine, which now allows the Commission to cut the amount (plus interest) of EU subsidies to Poland.
Poland and Brussels have been at odds for years over what the Commission (and many Member States) see as the systematic undermining of the Polish rule of law by the PiS government. Earlier this month, the Polish Constitutional Court ruled that some parts of the European Treaty (including those on the role of the European Court) are contrary to the Polish constitution and therefore not legally valid in Poland. The European Commission is expected to file a case against this Polish ruling at the European Court of Justice.
In addition, the Commission is considering activating the new rule of law mechanism that would allow countries that gag the judiciary to cut their EU funds. Poland and Hungary are furious about this intention.
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