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President of the European Commission von der Leyen
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
The dispute between the EU Commission and the Polish government about dismantling the rule of law in Poland is continuing for the time being.
In a letter to the heads of the parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen contradicts statements by the Polish government that the previously blocked Corona aid funds are about to be paid out.
"The commission will not approve a reconstruction plan if it is not convinced that all assessment criteria have been met," says the letter sent on Tuesday, which is available to SPIEGEL.
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said last Friday that an agreement had been reached with the Commission on the so-called milestones that Poland must meet in order to receive money from the EU's Corona Aid Fund.
The Commission could therefore formally approve the Polish reconstruction plan, which envisages the payment of almost 24 billion euros in grants and 12 billion euros in loans, "in the next few days".
This caused irritation in Brussels, as the Commission had previously insisted that the funds that had been withheld for months would not be paid out until Poland corrected several measures to weaken the rule of law.
In the letter to Parliament, von der Leyen now reiterates this line.
According to the head of the commission, the commission is negotiating with “full determination” to enforce the legal requirements for the payment of the Corona funds.
This includes an independent judicial system that can monitor the lawful use of funds.
The Commission places three conditions on the Polish government:
the controversial Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, which continues to function to this day despite a ruling by the European Court of Justice, must be abolished,
the disciplinary system for judges needs to be reformed,
unfairly dismissed judges must be reinstated.
Von der Leyen writes that Poland must prove that these milestones have been reached before there can be “any payment” from the Corona fund.
In doing so, she also dismissed reports in the Polish media that the money could possibly flow before the three conditions were finally met, into the realm of fables.
»Announced bogus reforms«?
Whether and in what form the Polish government led by the national-conservative PiS party will give in is an open question.
According to Polish media reports, Warsaw is now ready to dissolve the disciplinary body and make changes to the disciplinary system.
A draft law on the Disciplinary Chamber introduced by Polish President Andrzej Duda is currently being discussed in Parliament and could be passed at the end of May.
The disciplinary chamber is to be replaced by a "chamber for professional responsibility".
The conflict between the EU and Warsaw over dismantling the rule of law has been smoldering for years.
The Polish government has largely placed the judiciary and public media under political control and has been harassing minorities.
Most recently, she disregarded several judgments of the ECJ and refused to pay the fines imposed as a result.
The Commission has therefore already reduced Poland's funding in the hundreds of millions.
Green MEP Daniel Freund welcomed von der Leyen's actions.
"It's important that Ursula von der Leyen doesn't let herself be blindsided by the pseudo-reforms that have been announced," said Freund.
"The Corona aid may only be paid out if Poland's courts function independently."
