The European Commission has taken note, on Tuesday 18 December, of the order published the day before by the EU Court of Justice confirming the validity of its request made in early October to urgently suspend the Polish Supreme Court Act (see EUROPE 12261).
The institution's spokesperson, Mina Andreeva, also said on Tuesday that President Andrzej Duda had finally signed, on Monday 17 December, the law implementing the return of judges who had left early to retirement, as required by the Court of Justice.
The Commission is "satisfied with these changes, which are in the right direction", even though the law "still needs to be published". The Commission will analyse and monitor the implementation of these legislative amendments. The first Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, will inform the College of Commissioners on Wednesday 19 about the situation with Poland, which, in addition to infringement proceedings, is also concerned by an Article 7 procedure.
The Ministers for European Affairs discussed this procedure again on 11 December at a third hearing of the Polish Government on its various judicial reforms (see EUROPE 12158). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)