The first Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, reiterated on Tuesday 16 October in Luxembourg that the situation in Poland with regard to the rule of law had not improved and had even "deteriorated" since the previous General Affairs Council on 18 September.
On that occasion, the ministers heard the Polish authorities on the various judicial reforms that had warranted the Commission's opening of an Article 7 procedure on the rule of law in December 2017.
Mr Timmermans even found it even more sad and disappointing that Poland did not take into account the referral by the Commission of the Court of Justice on 24 September to temporarily stop the implementation of the Supreme Court act. The Polish authorities have indeed "accelerated the process" to appoint other judges, he deplored, while the Commission has asked the Court of Justice to issue temporary suspension measures until a judgement is delivered.
The Vice-President of the Commission also expressed concern about certain developments in the country, such as the intimidation of judges, and guaranteed that his new status as a contender for top candidate for his European Social Democratic family had nothing to do with this speech, which he has held "for a long time". Since "I started this dialogue [on the rule of law, editor's note], Warsaw has been told that I am a socialist”, he said ironically.
The Austrian Minister for European Affairs, Gernot Blümel, for his part, simply said at the end of the meeting that the EU Council would return to this issue in preparation for the next meeting, scheduled for 12 November.
The Commission wants another hearing
Frans Timmermans reiterated his wish that a solution could finally be found with Warsaw and stated that he was "available day and night" to work on this solution.
At this meeting of ministers, the Commission asked in particular for a new hearing to be held in December. The ambassadors will discuss the subject again next week, with a view to preparing the agenda for the General Affairs Council on 12 November. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)