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Pro-EU demonstrators in front of the Constitutional Court in Warsaw
Photo: Czarek Sokolowski / AP
The judicial dispute between Poland and the European Union (EU) is entering the next round with a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court.
The judges had come to the conclusion that parts of the EU treaties in Poland can be classified as unconstitutional - the EU Commission is now reacting to the judgment with "concern".
Brussels will use "all means" to ensure that EU law is respected in Poland, said EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. The principle that EU law takes precedence over national law, as well as the binding character of decisions by the EU judiciary, are central to the confederation of states.
The Polish Constitutional Court declared parts of the EU treaties unconstitutional.
The presiding judge, Julia Przylebska, listed a number of articles that were not "compatible" with the Polish constitution.
EU law does not always take precedence over national law, and with their crackdown on Warsaw the EU institutions are exceeding their competences, said Przylebska.
"The attempt by the European Court of Justice to interfere in the Polish judicial system violates (...) the rule of the primacy of the constitution and the rule that sovereignty is preserved in the process of European integration," judged the judges.
New dispute with Brussels
The decision is likely to exacerbate the dispute with Brussels. The EU Commission had asked the Polish government to withdraw the application to the Constitutional Court and to recognize the priority of European over national law. Otherwise Warsaw faces infringement proceedings. There are also fines and the withholding of the payment of EU funds to Poland.
Specifically, the proceedings concerned whether provisions from the EU treaties, with which the EU Commission justifies its right to have a say in questions of the rule of law, are compatible with the Polish constitution.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had asked the Polish Constitutional Court to review a judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of March 2, 2021.
In the ruling, the top EU judges found that EU law can force member states to disregard individual provisions in national law, even if it is constitutional law.
According to the ECJ, the procedure for filling the Supreme Court in Poland could violate EU law.
This would mean that the ECJ could force Poland to repeal parts of the controversial judicial reform of the national-conservative PiS government.
mrc / dpa / AFP
