Poland’s handling of European requirements has long been a thorn in the side of the EU Commission. After the country questioned the primacy of EU law last year, the dispute escalated. The Commission is now turning to the Supreme Court with a lawsuit.
In the dispute with Poland over the principles of the rule of law, the EU Commission has filed a complaint with the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). The step was triggered by rulings by the Polish Constitutional Court in July and October last year, which classified provisions of EU treaties as unconstitutional and expressly questioned the primacy of EU law over national law. The EU Commission explained that with these decisions the Polish Constitutional Court violated general principles – such as the principles of the uniform application of Union law and the binding effect of judgments of the ECJ.
The nationalist and Eurosceptic government that has been in power in Poland since 2015 is more at odds with the EU on rule of law issues. The conflict has already led to the Commission launching infringement proceedings against the country and withholding funds. In September, the government in Warsaw rejected the allegations of the EU Commission, which have now led to the lawsuit.
The Polish Constitutional Court itself had underlined at the beginning of October that it had the right not only to review the constitutionality of EU law, but also the judgments of the ECJ. The EU Commission declared that after changes were made to the constitutional tribunal by the ruling party PiS, the body no longer met the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal. This was due to irregularities in the appointment procedures of judges at the end of 2015 and the selection of the Chair at the end of 2016.
Poland has been paying a daily fine of one million euros since November 2021 for failing to implement an earlier judgment by the ECJ on the disciplinary system for judges. With the lawsuit now being filed by the EU Commission, the country is threatened with further fines.
