WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar was set to present an action plan in Brussels on Tuesday “to restore the rule of law” after eight years of rule by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party that led to the freezing of billions of euros in EU funds.
The PiS cabinet carried out a deep overhaul of the judiciary, which the European Union and international watchdogs said had brought the courts and judges under political influence and damaged democratic checks and balances.
As a result, the European Commission held back billions in funds earmarked for Poland due to concerns over the judiciary. New pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk has vowed to restore judicial independence and get the funds released.
But Tusk faces resistance from PiS supporters and allies, who include President Andrzej Duda and some high-profile judges.
“I will do everything in my power to convince (the EU) that we are on the right path to restore the rule of law,” Bodnar told reporters before a meeting of the General Affairs Council, where he was to present his plans to exit the Article 7 procedure.
Article 7 of the EU treaties includes a procedure under which rights of member states – including the right to vote on EU decisions – can be suspended because they have breached core values of the bloc.
“It is up to the government to adopt bills and negotiate them. We will try to convince Mr. President that those bills should be signed,” Bodnar added.
Bodnar said his action plan includes several bills rolling back PiS reforms, including changes to the National Council of the Judiciary, which appoints judges, or the Constitutional Tribunal, which decides on the constitutionality of laws.
Critics say the Tribunal has been politicised under PiS. At least three of its judges are deemed to have been appointed illegally.
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reyders, speaking to reporters alongside Bodnar, said: “I am convinced that the restoration of the rule of law in Poland will soon become a fact.”
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Gareth Jones)
