"The European Court of Justice will have to face a very difficult task; its ruling will be of great significance for the EU political system as it will mark the boundaries within which the European law may interfere with member states' autonomy to organize their own judiciary," said Polish Minister for European Affairs, Konrad Szymański on Monday.
With these words, the Minister for European Affairs, has commented on the legal procedure launched by the European Commission against Poland over the Supreme Court bill. The procedure consists of three stages in accordance with EU treaties: the European Commission first calls upon the government of a member state to eliminate any law violations, in the next step it sets up a period for the implementation of changes, and in the final stage the EC may take a country to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Polish government has been given a month to address the Commission's concerns.
Giving his view on the matter, Minister Szymański has indicated that at the moment we're dealing with the first stage, pre-trial stage of the procedure. "We will issue a written standpoint on the European's Commission's interpretation within the designated 30-day period," he reassured.
"This is an unprecenedent solution," said the Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland. "The process will be closely watched by all EU member states as we are all entering uncharted waters," he added.
The European Commission opened a fresh legal case against Poland on Monday over changes to the Supreme Court that it fears will further undermine judicial independence in the largest ex-communist member of the bloc.
The European Union's executive arm gave Poland a month to respond, which means it will not stop changes entering into force on Tuesday under which one-third of Supreme Court judges will retire unless granted an extension by President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
"The Commission is of the opinion that these measures undermine the principle of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges," it said in a statement.
The Commission has challenged several changes to Poland's judiciary since the nationalist PiS won power in late 2015, saying they weaken democratic checks and balances. The government says they are needed to reform a system which dates back to communist times.
"This law is currently binding and we will not be changing anything here ... For the time being our stance is that we are right," Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said said on public television on Monday.
He added that Poland would argue in the European Court of Justice that changes to the judiciary are the responsibility of national governments.
"We are waiting for the decision. Until today Poland has always observed the court's ruling, including the one on logging in the Bialowieza forest," Czaputowicz said, referring to another dispute that has soured relations between Brussels and Warsaw.
In April the European Union's highest court said that Poland broke environmental laws with large-scale logging in the ancient forest.
The EU has opened an investigation into the rule of law in Poland which could, in theory, lead to sanctions. But that is unlikely to happen as any such actions would be vetoed by Poland's eurosceptic ally, Hungary.
But the latest legal move highlights Poland's growing isolation in the EU under the PiS and weakens its hand as the bloc is negotiating its next seven-year budget from 2021.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24, Reuters, PAP