EU withdraws criminal proceedings against Poland

NOS News•today, 2:56 PM

The European Commission wants to stop criminal proceedings against Poland after more than six years. Brussels believes that the new government is strengthening the damaged rule of law in the country to such an extent that criminal proceedings are no longer necessary.

The committee gives the EU countries and the European Parliament time to respond to the intention. A final decision will then be made.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulates the government of Prime Minister Tusk on X. “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Poland. This is the result of hard work and determined reform efforts.” If the procedure had gone ahead, Poland could, in the worst case, have lost its voting rights in Europe. European subsidies were also frozen.

2017 was the first time that Europe initiated such a procedure against a country. Since last year, the right-wing nationalist government has been out of power and a pro-EU wind has started to blow under the leadership of Donald Tusk. Since then, efforts have been made to restore the rule of law.

In the proceedings against Poland, the European Commission found that there was “a clear risk of a serious violation of the rule of law.” The country wanted to pass controversial laws. For example, judges had to retire earlier and the Polish House of Representatives and the president were given more influence on the choice of new judges.

In 2020, a law was passed stating that the government can dismiss judges if they make rulings that are harmful to the country. The EU saw this as a danger to democracy, because politics gains influence over the legal system. By doing so, Poland would violate the basic principles of the European Union.

The Polish government’s defense was that the legal system needed to be reformed to prevent corruption and get rid of outdated communist-era laws.

Europe and Poland have regularly been at odds in recent years. In 2021 there was a fuss when a Polish judge ruled that domestic laws were more important than European ones. Last February, with Tusk now at the helm, a plan was presented to eliminate the shortcomings.

The same criminal proceedings are underway against Hungary. The European Commission has not withdrawn this.