The conflict between the EU and Poland is coming to a head: the EU Commission has for the first time given the member state an ultimatum to dissolve the controversial disciplinary body for Polish judges. Otherwise it could be expensive for Warsaw.
The EU Commission gives Poland until August 16: If the government in Warsaw does not suspend the disciplinary chamber by then as requested by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Brussels will apply for a fine to be paid, warned EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova.
“We must insist on the primacy of European law,” explained Jourova, adding: “If we do not intervene, it would be a breach of the basic architecture of the European legal system.”
Criticism of Hungary too
For years, the EU has been arguing with Warsaw over the judicial reforms of the right-wing nationalist ruling party Law and Justice (PiS). Among other things, it is about a controversial disciplinary body at the Supreme Court, newly created in 2018, which oversees all judges, including those at the Supreme Court. Last week Poland stepped up again: the Constitutional Court ruled that the ECJ’s orders against Poland’s judicial reforms were incompatible with the Polish constitution.
Such threats of punishment are rare: the EU Commission can now either apply for a one-off penalty payment or a daily sum to be paid until the state dissolves the disciplinary body; a combination of both is also possible. The one-time payment would have to be at least 3.158 million euros.
In general, the EU Commission sees the rule of law in Poland and neighboring Hungary in danger. The second annual report published yesterday by the Brussels authority on the rule of law in all 27 EU countries once again criticizes developments, especially in these two countries. Accordingly, the governments in Warsaw and Budapest are questioning the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press and are not doing enough to combat corruption.
“In Hungary there are further changes in the direction of lowering existing safeguards” for the independence of the courts, it said. According to the Commission, the media in the two countries are also in bad shape. The Hungarian government “indirectly exerts political influence” on the press by placing advertisements intensively. The state is “the largest advertising medium in the country, and a large part of the revenue goes to media companies that are considered pro-government”.
Criticism of Austria:
The EU Commission also raised several concerns about Austria in its rule of law report.
As an example, she cited political interference in corruption investigations by the public prosecutor’s office. Literally, it says: “The investigations into political corruption at high level have intensified after the recent political scandals.”
The EU authority also criticized the lack of obligation for parliamentarians in Austria to disclose “their assets, interests, debts and liabilities”. The control of party finances is also a problem.
The EU Commission also expressed concerns about the “fairness and transparency” in the allocation of government advertisements to the media, “possible political influence in the process” and the “insufficient consideration of media pluralism”.
