On Tuesday 27 February, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said he hoped the dialogue on the rule of law that is being conducted with Poland will soon produce a positive outcome. He also said he noted a change on the Polish side. Timmermans wanted Warsaw's response to the Commission's recommendations of December 2017 (which he said will come very "soon") to go in the direction of the EU's demands.
As part of the General Affairs Council on Tuesday, Timmermans spoke to ministers about the Article 7 procedure, which was triggered by Poland on 20 December (see EUROPE 11944). He said the discussion enabled them to renew their strong support for the Commission's conduct of this political dialogue and to reiterate the capital importance of respect for the rule of law as an essential value of the EU.
Timmermans noted a change in tone from Warsaw since Mateusz Morawiecki became the head of the Polish government in December, even if Warsaw has not yet announced any change of law or step backwards on its projects. When he arrived in Brussels, Germany's Secretary of State Michael Roth also spoke of "positive signs" coming from Warsaw. "This is an important point, but in the end it is not about promises but about concrete actions", he said.
The detailed response to the Commission's fourth recommendation will determine the steps to be taken. Timmermans is expected to come back to the ministers as soon as possible once the Commission's analysis has finished.
On Tuesday, a large number of member states took the floor, a source commented. France and Germany flagged up their concerns in a joint statement. On behalf of both countries, Roth gave assurances that he shared "the concerns raised by the legislation on the judicial system in Poland", and that "with regard to the values on which the European Union is built, and which Poland has accepted, the situation in problematic".
Deeming the Commission to have been right to propose to the Council in December 2017 that a decision be taken under Article 7, paragraph 1 of the TEU, France and Germany also underlined the consequence on the single market of the Polish reforms that are problematic. The two countries hoped this dialogue would lead to results by the end of March.
According to a source from the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, the delegations that spoke on Tuesday underlined the importance of settling the issues as part of this new recommendation, avoiding a worsening of the situation and a return to more extreme measures if possible.
The member states reminded Poland that time was limited for it to review its controversial reforms on its constitutional court and supreme court. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)