Waszczykowski: dispute over rule of law closed

Polish Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski said in an interview with Polish Radio, that the dispute with the European Commission regarding changes being made to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal is over. “I expect that the matter will be closed,” he said. “We explained comprehensively what happened in Poland, how the reforms relating to the Constitutional Tribunal have been implemented,” he said explaining that the government has send its official response on Monday. “The disputed changes it’s made to the Constitutional Tribunal had strengthened rule of law. If the commission deems Poland’s answers as unsatisfactory, it has the right to use Article 7 of the bloc’s treaty to potentially seek sanctions including the suspension of voting rights,” the letter to the Commission said. European Council spokesman Panos Kakawiatos said that the Venice Commission opinion is “still binding,” and that the Polish government should implement its recommendations. He also added that the Commission said it had received the Polish response and would study it.