The European Commission confirmed on Thursday 20 January that it had sent a letter the day before to the Polish government requesting immediate payment of the penalty payments decided in October by the EU Court of Justice concerning the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court (see EUROPE 12821/1).
“The Commission has concluded that Poland failed to provide evidence that it complied with the July judgment”, summarised spokesman Christian Wigand, while Warsaw had until 10 January to explain how the government intended to comply with the Court of Justice’s order.
The fine amounts to €70 million, covering the period from 3 November to 10 January, and Warsaw will have 45 days to pay it. The Commission will then issue payment reminders on a monthly basis.cUltimately, the Commission can recover this sum through the European budget.
Last July, the Court of Justice ordered the Polish government to suspend the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court (see EUROPE 12762/23) and its decision was immediately challenged by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. The PiS government claims an ongoing reform of this disciplinary chamber.
“Poland must now urgently comply” with the EU Court of Justice’s ruling, the spokesman said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)