Commission closes Poland’s rule of law inquiry

6 months ago 18

The European Commission announced on Monday (5 May) its decision to close Article 7 against Poland, arguing commitments from the new Donald Tusk government have now addressed previously identified risks to the country’s rule of law.

The Commission does not identify any serious risk against the country’s rule of law due to ongoing reforms within the judiciary and pledges made by the country’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who shares the same political family with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the European People’s Party (EPP).

“Today marks a new chapter for Poland, after more than six years we believe the Article 7 procedure can now be closed. I congratulate Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his government on this important breakthrough,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

Article 7 stipulates that the Commission can launch a special scrutiny procedure of a country’s rule of law if it finds a “clear risk of serious breach” of EU values and the rule of law. The country under scrutiny then needs to answer to the other EU countries.

In February, Poland’s Justice Minister Adam Bodnar presented an action plan to restore the country’s rule of law, which includes nine bills to readdress democratic backsliding that took place during the previous government of the Law and Justice (PiS, ECR) party or eight years, headed by former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The promises made under this action plan and the nine laws, which are being negotiated in the Polish parliament, have brought the Commission to “consider Article 7 to no longer be necessary.” Article 7 is believed to be the “nuclear option” when it comes to the rule of law monitoring and there are now “other procedures that can apply” instead, an EU official said.

Among others, the Commission argues that the Polish government has now committed to the primacy of EU law, and to implement the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The action plan includes the intention to reform the controversial appointment of members of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, as well as their retirement schemes, which were previously found to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

“The overall assessment is that this clear risk of a serious breach is no longer there because the orientation has changed, and the situation is evolving favourably in Poland,” the EU official noted, adding: “That doesn’t mean the work is over, it just means that the level of threat to the rule of law has severely decreased.”

EU affairs ministers from member states will debate the topic during the next General Affairs Council meeting scheduled for 21 May, where they will have the chance to raise observations.

The Commission launched Article 7 in December 2017 against the then-ruling party Law and Justice, which passed a series of reforms undermining the independence of the judiciary.

So far, only Poland and Hungary have been subject to an Article 7 procedure, which ultimately can lead to the suspension of the country’s voting rights in the EU Council.

The Commission determined that there was a clear risk of breach of the rule of law in Poland on 20 December 2017.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]