EU with ‘wait and see’ approach regarding Polish judicial reforms

The European Commission did not comment on President’s Andrzej Duda decision to veto two bills aimed at overhauling Polish Supreme Court and the National Council of Judiciary (KRS). “The Commission is following the events and the situation in Poland very closely. All developments and all the changes that are going on will be addressed by the Commission on Wednesday,” the Commission’s spokesman Margaritis Schinas said. “This is a political commission, this is up to the political masters to discuss,” he added, but declined to call Duda’s veto a positive development. Last week, Brussels said that it would open legal cases against Poland this Wednesday if the three new laws are enacted, and threatened to launch the EU’s Article 7 procedure against Poland — a move that can lead to the suspension of a member country’s voting rights, however this would require unanimous approval of all 27 member states (Poland would be excluded from the vote). Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated that he would veto any attempt to sanction Poland. The Commission last year launched an unprecedented review of the rule of law in Poland over concerns that more direct government control over the judiciary and the media were undermining democratic checks and balances.