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TEHRAN, May 14 - The European Commission on Monday gave Poland until late June to settle a dispute with the EU over the independence of its courts that threatens Warsaw's future access to funding from the bloc.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) – Frans Timmermans, the EU executive's deputy chief, welcomed recent progress in negotiations with Warsaw but said more needed to be done to assuage concerns over democratic checks and balances in the largest ex-communist EU member state.
"I hope the Polish government will see that it has to take a few more steps for us to be able to declare that the systemic threat to the rule of law is no longer there," Timmermans, who oversees the Polish dossier for the EU, told a news conference.
After updating European affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on the protracted dispute, he said the next such meeting, due on June 26, would be the make-or-break moment.
Timmermans said he hoped to be able to announce enough progress then to revoke the unprecedented Article 7 punishment procedure against Poland for flouting the rule of law.
"The main issue remains how much political control can you have to be able to say that the judiciary is independent. We have some concerns there," he said, citing an early end to the terms of Supreme Court judges and other judges under new laws in Poland as one example of outstanding issues.
The Article 7 procedure could theoretically lead to Poland losing its EU voting rights.
Poland's ally Hungary has vowed to block such a move, but the procedure is still embarrassing for Warsaw and harms its ability to push its agenda in the EU.
Brussels is also awaiting the Polish parliament's formal adoption of new amendments to already-enacted judicial reforms.
Source: Reuters
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