Political infighting in Poland is delaying the payment of European funds

A few days ago, everything seemed to be going as well in Brussels as it was in Warsaw. Szymon Szynkowski Wiel Sek, Poland’s Minister for European Affairs, returned optimistically on Tuesday, December 13, from the last flight between the two capitals. All indications were that the European Commission would soon make the first payment to Poland as part of its €750 billion recovery plan for Europe. Hoping to receive €23.9 billion in grants and €11.5 billion in post-Covid-19 loans, Warsaw has indeed launched several justice reform projects that have been favorably assessed by the European executive. It was an infighting that undermined Poland’s governing coalition.

On Thursday, the draft law, which was supposed to meet the latest expectations of Brussels, was removed from the agenda, causing confusion in the ranks of the Diet. While the radical faction of the Minister of Justice has already announced that they would vote against it and refused “Capitulation with Brussels”Polish President Andrzej Duda also came there with his warning, annoyed “consulted”. “This topic really needs further analysis”Elzbieta Vitek, the president of the assembly, finally agreed to postpone the first reading of the text until January 2023.

However, this new bill was introduced with great fanfare and was brought to the table a few days earlier, specifically to address the issue.‘Impartiality of judges A. promises “Independence Test” Judges. The text also provides that the Supreme Administrative Court will be responsible for disciplinary proceedings against magistrates in the future, which some lawyers believe is against Poland’s fundamental law.

In June, the European Commission and member states approved the reforms and investment projects that Warsaw undertook to implement in exchange for recovery funds. But they recalled that the payments were the fulfillment of those obligations, first of all, regarding the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. The Polish executive’s first attempt to abolish the Supreme Court’s disciplinary chamber was deemed insufficient in Brussels. “The proposed reforms did not go far enough”– told the online news site contextOn September 20, Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, who then thought it could be unblocked. “by the end of the year”.