Warsaw has been in conflict with Brussels for several years on the judicial reforms committed by the Nationalist Conservative Party in power, accused of undermining the independence of judges.
Le Monde with AFP
The iron arm between the European Union and Warsaw, on the independence of Polish justice and the primacy of EU law, has established itself to the agenda of the Summit of the leaders of the twenty-seven, which meet Thursday 21 and Friday, October 22 in Brussels.
Even before the opening of this meeting, the leader of the Polish government Mopeusz Morawiecki met with the French president Emmanuel Macron, and had to talk to the Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We will not act under the pressure of blackmail [but] we are ready for dialogue (…). We will of course discuss how to resolve current disputes,” said Mortusz Morawiecki after an interview with the president.
During his interview with Mr. Morawiecki, the French Head of State “expressed his concerns about the situation created by the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court,” said the Elysee. “He called his counterpart to engage with the Commission to find a solution compatible with our common principles and rules”, according to the same source.
years of tensions between Brussels and Warsaw
Poland has been in conflict with the European Union for several years on the judicial reforms committed by the Conservative Party nationalist in power, law and justice (EADD). They are accused of undermining the independence of judges.
The tensions have increased since a decision on 7 October of the Constitutional Court – close to the ECD and seized by Morset Morawiecki – which has decreed certain articles of the European treaties incompatible with the national constitution. The decision was denounced by Brussels as an unprecedented attack on the primacy of European law and the jurisdiction of the EU Court of Justice, but also as the ultimate illustration of the lack of independence of Polish justice. government.
It caused trades tense Tuesday to the European Parliament between the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who promised to crack down against Warsaw, and Prime Minister Polish, who hammered the supremacy of the National Constitution.
“The EU is at a crucial moment when it has to choose either to continue the language of force and blackmail, which will in my opinion lead to an atrophy of the organization, or to return to its roots, to the sovereignty Member States “said Thursday morning the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Szymon Szynkowski Vel Sek, the Polish media. After his meeting with Angela Merkel, the Polish leader will have a meeting with his counterparts from the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia).
The EU has other tools to enforce the rule of law, but they are for some heavy to implement, and member countries are opposed to any precipitation. MEPs, they put pressure on the Commission – by threatening it from a legal action – to trigger a new mechanism to suspend European funds from the countries where violations of the State are noted. law undermining the Community budget.
The procedure could target Poland and Hungary, other countries regularly pinned by Brussels. But Member States advocate to wait for the opinion of the EU Court of Justice on this Regulation before using it.