EU Commision criticizes Poland for its actions regarding top court

Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission, said that the Polish government would have two months to rewrite proposed amendments to the tribunal, which had allowed Polish President Andrzej Duda to appoint the new head of Constitutional Tribunal.  “We do believe there is a persistent problem with the rule of law,” Timmerans told the press on Wednesday. Although he indicated that the Commission would give Poland's government more time to solve the problem, he confirmed that it would press ahead with the issue until it was solved. No sanctions against Poland have been planned. Judge Julia Przyłębska was appointed as President of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. She will replace former head Andrzej Rzepliński.  Also on Tuesday, the General Assembly selected the candidates for the new president. The appointment had been controversial because eight of the 15 judges had refused to take part in the vote. One of them, Andrzej Wróbel, resigned on Monday. Judge Przyłębska had long been mentioned among the candidates to take over the head role upon Rzepliński's departure. She has been consistently supported by PiS. According to some constitutionalists, a vote with less than half of the composition of the Tribunal is not binding.