Timmermans: Poland needs to resolve all the issues; not only the Supreme Court

"We must keep up the dialogue and find solutions for all these issues. This was the Commission’s standpoint from the very beginning. The question of the Supreme Court and retirement age of judges is only one problem and we should closely watch all the others that fell within the scope of Article 7," Timmermans told Polish journalists in Brussels.

In the recommendations for Poland pertaining to the rule of law, adopted on 20th December 2017, the EU Commission demands changes not only in the law on the Supreme Court, but also on the common courts, National Council of the Judiciary, as well as "reinstating the independence" of the Constitutional Tribunal.

"Clearly, we still have lots of work to to. It was clearly indicated by the representatives of the member-states who have directed lots of questions to Mr Szymański (Konrad Szymański - Poland’s EU Affairs Minister) and his team," said the deputy chief of the EC referring to Tuesday’s hearing at the General Affairs Council.

He noted, the EC sees progress as Polish authorities are on a path to compliance with the temporary measures imposed by the Court of Justice of the EU regarding bringing back the situation in the Supreme Court from before Law and Justice’s reforms.

"We’re still waiting for the new law to enter into effect. It still needs to be ratified by the president (Andrzej Duda) and then implemented. I hope it will happen soon because it’s been already two months since the ECJ ruled that it must be done," said Timmermans.

He added that he found it funny that the Polish government is rushing the Commission to withdraw its complaint from the ECJ and yet two months after the EU court’s ruling, it still haven’t been implemented.

He underscored that in regard to the remaining issues connected to the Article 7, nothing has changed and that this was the reason for which the Commission wants to continue the dialogue and expects the implementation of changes.

"The Commission’s wish is to see guarantees that Poland’s judicial system is independent," said Timmermans. He stressed the issues regarding the National Council of the Judiciary and its independence, as well as the newly formed Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.

"There are numerous examples showing that the disciplinary measures were being used to summon judges just to hear them explaining why have they been speaking publicly about judiciary independence. This has a chilling effect on judges," the EC chief said.

Timmermans also dismissed suggestions that he should not run his campaign and take part in Article 7 procedure against Poland at the same time. "It’s nonsense, my standpoint over this matter hasn’t changed in the last three years," he reassured.

Allegations against Timmermans regarding potential conflict of interests appeared right after December 8 in Lisbon, when he was officially chosen as the Party of European Socialists’ candidate for the new head of the EU Commission.

"The fact that I’m one of the top candidates in the European elections does not influence my standpoint," said Timmermans. He emphasised that not a single minister from member-states’ cabinets resigned from office of duties during campaigns.

The first vice president of the EC said in Lisbon that the socialist party’s priority campaign manifest would be fight against nationalism in Europe. Among his main plans, according to media, Timmermans was reported to have mentioned struggle to remove current Polish and Hungarian governments from power.

However, Timmermans denied ever uttering such words. "I don’t know who made this up but I’m really fed up with journalists who are changing my words. I have never said that I wanted to change governments in Warsaw or Budapest. I repeat once more that it’s up to the people. Governments in Europe are elected through democratic voting and the EC respects every cabinet chosen in a democratic vote," announced Frans Timmermans.

Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, Reuters