EU Commission deducts another tranche from Poland's funds

In the summer of 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling ordering Poland to immediately suspend applying all regulations organising the work of the contested Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, including those allowing for stripping judges of their immunity.

For not complying with said ruling, the CJEU has imposed a fine on Poland of 1 million euro per day. The penalty of 1 million euro a day has been charged since November 3, 2021. It is being deducted by the European Commission from EU funds earmarked for Poland.

On Tuesday (September 27), TVN24 reporter Michał Tracz informed the EU Commission has deducted another - sixth - tranche of penalty money. This time, the sum is 33 million euro, which translates into more than 157 million zlotys.

"This is the money we should have paid as a penalty the CJEU has imposed on us for the condition of our justice system, because Poland wouldn't dissolve the Disciplinary Chamber, because the judges - suspended by the Chamber - still haven't been reinstated, and because laws which effectively block judges' independence are still binding," Tracz said.

"This is the money that we are actually losing. This the money which should have already been allocated in concrete projects. The money which local governments, businesses, and Poles are waiting for," the reporter stressed. According to his rough calculation, as a result of not complying with the CJEU ruling regarding the judiciary, Poland has already lost around 1.1 billion zlotys (approx. 230 million euro).

Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union imposed daily fines on Poland in relation to two cases: the functioning of Turów coal mine and of the contested Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. The fines for Turów were being deducted from September 20, 2021 until February 3, 2022, and amounted to a total of 68.5 million euro.