On Tuesday 13 October, the ministers responsible for European Affairs held a first “intensive” but “constructive” exchange of views on the Rule of law in the EU Member States, reported German State Secretary for European Affairs Michael Roth.
Ministers held an exchange of views on the four themes in the Commission’s first annual report published on 30 September, namely: - the independence of the judiciary; - media pluralism; - anti-corruption frameworks; - and the balance of power.
The next discussion, scheduled for November, will focus on five Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Denmark, added the Minister, who indicated that these dialogues should serve as a “preventive arm” in the EU to prevent any drift from the Rule of law and to forge “a common understanding” of these principles.
“At the moment, this is a divisive issue, but it is central to the EU” and to the community of values it forms, the Minister added.
Almost all Member States participated in the discussion, and the Commission’s first report received broad support, one source said. The exercise, described as positive, should therefore be sustainable. The upcoming Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies have expressed their wish to organise such a dialogue, the German Minister said.
Several delegations naturally expressed divergent views, such as Hungary, for example, which would have liked an open debate on the report. Poland is also said to have criticised “double standards” and to have expressed reservations about the methodology of the report, which is too subjective.
But the discussions did not go into detail, the source added. Thus, recent developments in Poland concerning the situation of judges and the disciplinary regime were not mentioned.
On Tuesday, the Association of European Judges expressed its support for Beata Morawiec, a judge in Krakow whose immunity was lifted by the Disciplinary Chamber and whose salary was cut by 50% as punishment.
This decision runs counter to the EU Court of Justice’s judgment of 8 April, which ordered the Polish judiciary to halt the activities of this disciplinary chamber pending the final verdict. Christian Wigand, Commission spokesperson responsible for Justice, said that the Commission is aware of this case and recalled that judges must be able to exercise their role with complete independence and impartiality.
It should also be noted that Norway has just granted political asylum to a Polish citizen, who is president of an NGO and who is considered to be in danger in his country, as reported by several media. Contacted by EUROPE, the Commission did not react to this news. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)