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Vice-President of the European Commission Viera Jourova announced on Tuesday that the proceedings under Article 7 against Poland will be closed in the coming days. Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar emphasized that this does not exempt Poland from the obligation to continue reforms.
The Ministers of European Affairs of the member countries in the EU Council addressed the issue of closing the proceedings under Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland in Brussels on Tuesday. Jourova, who presented the European Commission’s position, informed journalists after the meeting that in the coming days she will propose that the Commission withdraw its request from the EU Council, which was sent there in 2017, starting the proceedings against Poland.
“The situation currently looks like this: we are not dealing with a clear violation of the rule of law in Poland,” Jourova said. “What has changed? For eight years I heard from Polish (authorities) representatives that everything was in perfect order. So, this is the big change, that now I hear from the Polish government that not everything is fine and that reforms need to be carried out,” she said. She added that trust between Brussels and Warsaw has increased.
Minister for EU Affairs Adam Szlapka said that the proceedings under Article 7 cast a shadow over Poland’s position in the EU and made it difficult for the country to pursue its interests in the Community.
“We can say that it was 26 to one, because the only doubts that arose were on the Hungarian side, and from the other member states (there was) great joy that Poland is returning to the main table,” he emphasized, describing Tuesday’s deliberations.
Jourova informed that she responded to the doubts of Hungary both in writing (in response to a letter from the Hungarian government) and during the meeting. “In particular, I responded to the issue of transferring funds to Poland. We did the same with Hungary – when they met the conditions, we paid them the funds, because the assessment procedure is transparent (…) and we adhere to it. We are always accused of being politically motivated, but I try to counter such claims by showing that we have objective criteria,” she said.
Bodnar, who reported on the implementation of his nine-point reform plan in the judiciary during the meeting, said that other countries showed understanding for Poland’s judiciary repair and the difficulties associated with it. They appreciated, among others, Poland’s cooperation with the Venice Commission, which issued an opinion on the act concerning the National Council of the Judiciary.
He stressed that the procedure under Article 7 damaged Poland’s reputation, so ending it had to be a priority. “The fact that we do not have or – hopefully – will not have proceedings under Article 7 does not exempt us from the obligation to respect and enforce EU law,” he emphasized.
“We will continue to be analyzed in terms of compliance with the rule of law principles,” added the Minister of Justice, referring to the annual rule of law review in EU countries. In this context, Bodnar intends to submit reports on the implementation of his plan, on the basis of which the EC decided to end the proceedings under Article 7. “We will simply have to explain ourselves,” he noted.
The plan presented by Bodnar includes, among others, changes in the National Council of the Judiciary and the Constitutional Tribunal, separating the position of the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General, and regulating the status of so-called neo-judges.
The Minister added that from the perspective of rebuilding the rule of law in Poland, the cases pending before the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will also be significant. He announced that in this matter, he will also remain in contact with the European Commission. (21.05.2024)