Merkel: We cannot hold our tongues on breaking the rule of law in Poland

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she’s taking the issue of potential breach of rule of law in Poland “very seriously” and plans to discuss it with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker. “This is a serious issue because the requirements for cooperation within the European Union are the principles of the rule of law. I take what the Commission says on this very seriously. We cannot simply hold our tongues and not say anything for the sake of peace and quiet,” Merkel said. “I’m convinced that Polish government will be executing its targets despite political emotions that appear in politicians’ statements,” Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro responded. Adding that “Every country which is independent within the EU has its own laws and should settle its problems within democratic mechanisms.” On Monday, Polish government sent a response to the European Commission’s concerns saying that Poland’s judiciary reforms are “in line with European standards,” adding that the judiciary was the competence of national governments, not the Commission. “We have received the reply from the Polish government. Regarding the point that we have no competence in this sphere, this is something that we would actually quite powerfully refute,” a Commission spokeswoman said. “The rule of law framework sets out how the Commission should react should clear indications of a threat to the rule of law emerge in a member state. The Commission believes that there is such a threat to the rule of law in Poland,” she added. Last month, President Andrzej Duda signed into a law a bill giving the justice minister the power to replace heads of ordinary courts, but after mass protests blocked two other bills which would allow the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) to replace Supreme Court Judges as well as overhaul the National Council of Judiciary (KRS) which would terminate its members' terms with new ones picked by the parliament. The Council has powers to nominate judges, while the Supreme Court confirms the validity of elections, among other tasks. In July, The European Commission launched legal action against what it sees as Polish government attempts to undermine the independence of judges, giving Warsaw a month to respond.