Brussels, 13/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - At the end of a debate at the College of Commissioners on Wednesday 13 January, the European Commission decided, for the first time, to activate the mechanism on the rule of law, in an effort to analyse in more detail, the situation in Poland and the recent reforms introduced by the new Conservative government.
At the end of the college of commissioners' meeting, the First Vice President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, explained that the mechanism seeks to analyse the compliance of the reform of the way in which the Polish Constitutional Court operates, on the basis of standards on the rule of law. It was created in 2014. He also sent a letter to the Polish Minister for Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, in which he reiterated some of his concerns (see EUROPE 11460) and called for the Polish government to provide some clear explanations.
Timmermans said: “It appears that the Constitutional Court took decisions that are not being applied by other public institutions. There are also measures that had been taken by the newly elected legislator, which affects the way it functions”. He emphasised that these “measures” pose “a serious question in a country governed by the rule of law”.
The launch of this first stage in the rule of law mechanism is unprecedented in the EU. The Commission did not have this instrument in 2012 during the most serious moment of the crisis with Hungary and at the time depended on its infringement procedures. This decision to activate the mechanism was made in a relatively “consensual” way and no one opposed it at the College, this European source quoted above explained. They both highlighted the importance of not creating the impression of there being double standards between member states and the need to prevent this debate becoming too heated.
During the debate, the Polish Commissioner (Elzbieta Bienkowska, in charge of the Internal Market) and the Hungarian Commissioner,(Tibor Navracsics, in charge of Education and Culture) had their word. They both highlighted the importance of not creating the impression of there being double standards between member states and the need to prevent this debate becoming too heated.
The President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, whom certain media sources had depicted as being rather unenthusiastic about the idea of activating the procedure, supported this decision. Timmermans informed the press that he had had “strong support” from Juncker and the whole of the college of commissioners.
The first stage in the mechanism's procedure consists in launching “structured dialogue” with the Polish authorities and resolving the dispute “objectively”, explained Timmermans. He also said he was prepared to go to Warsaw if the Polish authorities did not begin this dialogue through an exchange of letters.
The second stage consists in sending a recommendation, which is then followed up. In the event of the dialogue failing, there will then be the so-called Article 7 procedure, which is considered as a last resort. The voting rights of the country, accused of a “serious violation” of the values upon which the Union is founded, could then be suspended at the Council.
Although the tone has been ratcheted up between Poland and the EU over recent weeks (see EUROPE 11466), Timmermans was keen to provide assurances that the Commission's approach had “nothing to do with politics” and that this instrument was based on cooperation between the European institution and the authorities of the country concerned. He explained “Our goal is to resolve this problem and not to create any polemic”. Juncker also held discussions on Tuesday evening 12 January, with the Polish Prime Minister, Beata Szydlo, in an effort to dissipate tension.
There will now be a two-month period that the two parties have to conclude this dialogue. The Commission wants the subject to be discussed in the middle of March and will see then if other stages will be required. It is expected to support the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, by then. The Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, so far, does not believe that this question regarding the situation in Poland should be included on the agenda of the General Affairs Council on Monday 18 January.
Timmermans sent a letter at the end of December calling on Poland to provide explanations about the two controversial reforms. The first reform was adopted on 24 December and amends the composition and way in which the Constitutional Court operates. Five new judges have been put in place by the new government, which has created a showdown between the government and the president of this jurisdiction. The second reform was voted on 30 December and immediately terminated the mandates of the members of the Board of Directors and monitoring councils in the area of public television and radio and grants the power to appoint these positions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In the context of the Constitutional Court, the Commission would like further information about the measures adopted by the current and former governments regarding the appointment of the five new judges. The Court made two decisions on 3 and 9 December on the subject. It ruled that the previous government had the right to appoint three judges to the seats that had become vacant during its mandate but that they did not have the right to do so with the other two appointments for the seats left vacant under the new government. On 9 December, the Court decided that the new parliament no longer had the right to quash the appointments for the three posts for the judges approved under the previous government but that it did have the right to appoint two judges whose mandate was expected to begin under the incoming government. The Commission is of the opinion that these rulings have not yet been respected.
The Greens/EFA and ALDE at the EP welcomed this “historic” decision by the Commission. The European Parliament will debate the situation in Poland on Tuesday 19 January. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)