On Tuesday 17 April in Luxembourg, the First European Commission Vice President, Frans Timmermans, expressed hopes that the next European Affairs Ministers meeting at the General Affairs Council planned for 14 May would help close the procedure on the rule of law triggered against Poland as part of “Art.7” on 20 December 2017.
Timmermans called on the Polish authorities to make a final effort in this regard. The commissioner had laid the ground work for this possible closure of the procedure last week, following a meeting of the College of Commissioners during which he said that the authorities in Warsaw were now demonstrating a real determination to reach a solution. On Tuesday, he called for the final concrete steps to be taken in this sense.
On 13 April, the Polish Parliament subsequently adopted the amendments presented by the PiS in response to the concerns expressed by the Commission.
The Bulgarian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ekaterina Zaharieva, confirmed this “change to a positive tone” after a meeting on Tuesday with the First Vice President. The Minister, however, said that “it is promising but a lot still needs to be done" and expressed hope that the meeting on 14 May would allow for a “positive evaluation of the dossier”. Frans Timmermans emphasised that Poland, should, nonetheless, implement some final concrete acts in an effort to resolve the dispute.
On Tuesday the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Konrad Szymański, presented his counterparts with the amendments to the legal reforms involving the retirement age of judges. According to elements provided by the Polish Representation in Brussels, the Polish Minister said, “a detailed assessment of these changes will only be possible when the legislative process in Poland is finished. It will also be at this time that will be able to fully assess how these changes affect the whole reform”. The minister added “it will be up to EU decision-makers to decide whether the agreement is possible. The Polish Parliament cannot act under international pressure. Everything is possible. The problem has not been resolved and the results (of the dialogue) will depend on the attitude displayed by all the different parties”. He did not rule out that that the dispute could not be resolved. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)