On Wednesday 28 November, Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) approved the European Commission's request to hold a new hearing on the rule of law in Poland under the so-called Article 7 procedure of the Treaty (see EUROPE 12118).
“The majority of Member States want this hearing," said a source from the Austrian Presidency of the Council. The hearing will take place on Tuesday 11 December at a General Affairs Council similar to the two previous hearings. The Commission and Poland will be invited to explain the situation and Member States will be able to ask questions.
It is too early to say whether this hearing will be the last one and whether we are moving towards a closure of the procedure. The Polish government has recently shown signs of appeasement on the Polish Supreme Court Act (see EUROPE 12142).
Ministers for European Affairs will also have an exchange of views on the rule of law situation in Hungary, based on the positions of Budapest and the Commission, which were presented to the General Affairs Council on 12 November (see EUROPE 12135). (SP)