Surprised by the European Commission’s recent approval of the Polish recovery plan as part of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan (see EUROPE 12964/23), on Tuesday 7 June in Strasbourg, MEPs warned the President, Ursula von der Leyen, that they will be extremely vigilant in ensuring that all of the preconditions set out in the Polish plan are met before any money is paid out to Warsaw. However, this is not the moment – at this stage – to trigger an institutional crisis that would weaken the European Union given the troubled times following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On behalf of the EPP group, Siegfried Mureșan (Romania) gave assurances that the Christian Democrats would not tolerate any European financial aid being paid until Polish legislation – remedying the shortcomings identified by the EU Court of Justice regarding the independence of the Polish judiciary – is adopted and implemented.
The Chair of the S&D group, Iratxe García Pérez (Spain), made similar comments. The reforms agreed in the Polish plan must not merely be “window dressing”, she said. In her opinion, reviewing the judgments of an illegal disciplinary chamber that removed Polish judges from office, means allowing their reinstatement to their roles.
Stéphane Séjourné (Renew Europe, France) said that approving the Polish plan as it stands is “a political mistake” and he hopes that the EU Council, which still has a month to make a decision, will reject the Polish plan. In his opinion, the milestones linked to the reforms included in this plan are “insufficient, in fact one might say, cosmetic”. He urged the European Commission to fully implement the preconditions for approving the plan, otherwise the European Parliament will have “no choice but to make further appeals” to the Court. He also invited Ms von der Leyen to reflect on the option of the European Commission directly managing European funds that derive from the Polish plan.
On behalf of the Greens/EFA group, German MEP Damian Boeselager criticised Ms von der Leyen for “giving in to Polish pressure”. “What you have negotiated will not prevent the Polish government from dismissing judges”, he criticised, while adding that he hoped the EU Council would not approve the Polish plan until the Court’s rulings were implemented. Otherwise, he said, “we will ask the Commission to resign”. Earlier in the day, the co-Chair of the Green group, Philippe Lamberts (Belgium), called the European Commission’s green light “a serious mistake”, noting that two Vice-Presidents of the EU institution – Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager – had voted against approving the Polish plan (see EUROPE 12963/3).
Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left, Denmark) said that if the Commission decides to ignore European Parliament resolutions and EU Court judgments on respect of the Rule of law in Poland, MEPs will have to “take necessary measures” against the European Commission.
Some political groups, on the contrary, welcomed the decision of the European Commission. Nicolaus Fest (Identity and Democracy, Germany) congratulated Poland for “not giving up”; he said that approving the Polish recovery plan was a “ victory” for the Morawiecki government. Similarly, Ryszard Legutko (ECR, Poland) challenged the sceptical MEPs, accusing them of knowing nothing about the disciplinary regime of Polish judges.
Sitting among the non-attached MEPs, Hungarian MEP Balázs Hidvéghi said that accusations about the Rule of law in Poland were “political hysteria” against the conservative government.
In the Chamber, Ms von der Leyen gave further reasons for the decision to approve the Polish recovery plan, explaining that the approval does not interrupt any of the other Rule of law procedures in Poland. She added: “We will continue with the infringement proceeding that is underway and we will not hesitate to initiate new ones if necessary. The decisions of the Court of Justice pertaining to the disciplinary regime remain binding on Poland. The European Commission will continue to enforce the Court’s order and shall apply daily penalty payments until Poland complies with the decision. The milestones in our plan are a guarantee of legal proceedings”.
On Tuesday morning, an EU source inside the Commission argued that the recovery plan was a “safety net” to set a process in motion to enforce the Rule of law in Poland, in line with country-specific recommendations for Warsaw. The source admitted that there was a “misunderstanding” as to whether or not the measures Poland had to take to comply with EU case law, had to be taken prior to the Polish recovery plan being approved.
Little appetite to withdraw confidence from the European Commission
However, the main political groups in the European Parliament do not want to see a major institutional crisis brought about by the European Parliament stating that they have no confidence in the European Commission as a result of their failure to fulfil their role as guardian of the treaties.
Earlier in the day, the Chair of the EPP group, Manfred Weber (Germany), saw no need for a vote of no confidence in the Commission. He called for “unity” of EU institutions to strengthen the Rule of law, while also asking the European Commission to better prepare and communicate their decisions in the future, so that they have the necessary support.
In a press conference, Ms García Pérez was also of the opinion that a motion of no confidence was “totally inappropriate at this time”. “This is not the time for individual initiatives. We need to be less populist and more responsible”, she said.
On Monday, three members of the Renew Europe group – Belgium’s Guy Verhofstadt, Spain’s Luis Garicano and the Netherlands’ Sophia in ‘t Veld – tabled a motion of no confidence whereupon they accused the European Commission of approving the Polish recovery plan in contradiction with several European Parliament resolutions and European case law, while also being aware that the reform put forward by the Polish authorities was “purely cosmetic”.
In particular, they criticised the Polish reform providing for the review, by a new judicial body of judges removed from office by the disciplinary chamber, which the EU Court of Justice has ruled to be illegal. They were also critical of the fact that the Commission thereby demonstrates it has given up its leverage over the renewed respect for the Rule of law in Poland.
See the motion of no confidence: https://aeur.eu/f/1yt
According to Mr Séjourné, “this individual initiative” has been discussed within the centre-right group, but “there is no majority at this stage to bring a motion of no confidence”. However, he said he shared some of the points raised by the three Renew Europe MEPs over “the objective of being tough with the Polish government when it comes to the Rule of law and EU funds”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with the editorial staff)