In principle, the following applies to all EU countries: European law weighs heaviest in decisions. This means that judgments of the European Court of Justice are binding and take precedence over national law.
But now Poland wants to get rid of that. At the request of the prime minister, the Court there looks at whether the constitution itself should be leading in the legality of decisions. In short, Poland does not want the European Union to interfere in the legality of Polish decisions.
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Poland in particular has often been reprimanded by the European Court in recent years, says Michiel Luining, researcher at the University of Antwerp.
Political smell
In March, the European Union stated that the appointment of judges in Poland had a political smell. The independence of the judges was at stake. The Polish prime minister wants European law to say nothing about it, that it can be seen as legitimate on the basis of the Polish constitution.”
After the ruling on the Polish judges, the Polish justice minister stated that the EU is ‘trying to destroy the sovereignty of member states’.
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According to Luining, the Poles do not have a ‘Pol exit’, the wish to leave the EU. “Poland is now trying to legally cut off the EU, but would like to stay with the EU. They benefit from EU subsidies and are protected by the EU from Russia.”
It’s basically a poker game, says Luining, with Poland pushing the boundaries. “They want to determine their own constitutional state and to belong to the EU.”
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There seems to be no doubt that the Polish Court will conclude that the constitution should have supreme authority. The judges in the court were placed there by the government itself.
Same rules for everyone
This represents a fundamental turning point in the European Union, says Luining. “Collaborations will become impossible if one of the EU member states uses different legal standards. Can the Netherlands still extradite suspects to Poland, for example? And what do other countries do when they see that the same rules do not apply to everyone?
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Germany also critical
It is not only Poland that is at loggerheads with the European Union on this point. Germany has also recently caused anger at the EU. The German constitutional Court recently ruled that the European Central Bank’s debt-buying program was not functioning properly.
According to the EU, this would place Germany’s national law above EU law. The Poles are taking advantage of the quarrel between Germany and the EU on this point to show that they too should be able to judge according to their own right.
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The European Union has already launched Article 7 proceedings against Poland. This means that the EU believes that the rule of law is under threat in Poland. Luining: “Poland’s voting rights can be taken away, but what matters are the financial sanctions.”
Action against Poland
For a long time these punitive measures could not be imposed. All member states had to be unanimous for such a decision, but Hungary blocked the sanctions. Because Hungary is also arguing with the EU about the interpretation of its own constitutional state. The EU is now looking at whether Member States can also be sanctioned in other ways.
The Dutch parliament, among others, has called on the EU to take action against Poland.
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