Yahoo – AFP,
Cédric SIMON, 20 December 2017
 |
| Thousands of Poles have protested against the controversial court reforms by the rightwing goverment |
The
European Commission launched unprecedented disciplinary proceedings against
Poland on Wednesday over its highly controversial judicial reforms which
Brussels says threaten the rule of law.
The bloc's
executive arm triggered article seven of the EU treaty over what it sees as
"systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from
the right-wing government.
Never
before used, article seven proceedings are seen as a "nuclear option"
against an EU member state as they can lead -- albeit at the end of a complex
process -- to a suspension of voting rights at the European Council.
"It is
with a heavy heart that we have decided to initiate Article 7.1. But the facts
leave us with no choice," Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told
reporters in Brussels.
The Dutch
commissioner said that 13 laws adopted by Poland in the space of two years had
created a situation where the government "can systematically politically
interfere with the composition, powers, the adminstration and the
functioning" of judicial authorities.
But
Timmermans gave Warsaw three months to remedy the situation, saying Brussels
could withdraw the measures if it did.
Poland's
right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government began making changes to the
judiciary after coming to power in late 2015 and says the reforms are needed to
combat corruption and overhaul the judicial system still haunted by the
communist era.
Brussels
has repeatedly warned Warsaw that it views the changes as a threat to the
democratic principles and rule of law Poland signed up to when it joined the
European Union.
 |
| Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said states have a right to reform their judicial systems |
The initial
phase set in motion by the EU's commission, the bloc's executive arm, allows
member states to "determine that there is a clear risk of a serious
breach" of the rule of law. Such a ruling would need the backing of 22
states.
Any
possible sanctions would only come at a second stage and would need unanimous
support of all EU members -- apart from Poland.
Hungary has
already said it would veto such a move, making sanctions unlikely, but Brussels
is hoping the start of proceedings will have significant symbolic power.
Poland
defiant
Poland's
parliament last week adopted new reforms allowing it to choose members of a
body designed to protect judicial independence and reinforce political control
over the Supreme Court.
Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks has said the new reforms
will undermine judicial independence by making judges "subordinate"
to the executive and legislature.
As well as
heavy criticism from Brussels, the reforms have sparked street protests in Poland
and concern from the US State Department.
Warsaw and
the EU have clashed over the reforms for more than a year with little result.
Poland has refused to implement the "recommendations" from Brussels,
defending its right to clean up what it says is a corrupt judicial
"caste".
"I am
firmly convinced that sovereign states -- and Europe must be a Europe of
sovereign states -- have an absolute right to reform their judicial
systems," Poland's new Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last week,
sticking to the line of his eurosceptic predecessor Beata Szydlo.
In the face
of this doggedness, the commission has been threatening to trigger article
seven for months, but given that the threat of sanctions is no more than
theoretical, the EU is trying to come up with other ways of getting Poland to
comply.
One idea is
to link access to European funding for major infrastructure projects to respect
for EU values and rulings.
"A
country that is drifting away from the rule of law cannot at the same time ask
Brussels to be supported by billions (of euros) in funding," France's
Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau said this week.
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