The Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU would seem to be leaning towards holding the debate on the situation with regard to the rule of law in Poland in May, rather than on 7 March that appeared to be the preference of European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans (see EUROPE 11731).
The formal request from the Commission has not yet been submitted to the Maltese Presidency but everyone is preparing for having, to discuss sooner or later, violations of the rule of law by the Polish government. The recommendations made by the Commission under the rule of law mechanism have thus far brought no change (see EUROPE 11729). According to a European source, the latest date being mentioned for holding a debate among the member states is 16 May at the meeting of the General Affairs Council meets.
The reason for choosing this date is the desire to strike a balance between the reticence on the part of the Council to have to deal with this matter and the substantial pressure being exerted by Commissioner Timmermans to have the member states support the Commission. The balance could be found by discussing what is happening in Poland within a broader framework, that of the annual dialogue on the rule of law in the EU, that was introduced in December 2014 (see EUROPE 11219). This, however, remains only a possibility: the Maltese Presidency may decide, once the formal request is lodged, to leave the matter to the next Presidency of the Council (Estonia, July-December 2017). (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)