The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said, on Friday 1 July, that the recent reform of the disciplinary system for Polish judges was insufficient to unlock the first payment under the Polish recovery plan in the framework of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
“We are still analysing the new Polish law , so we cannot provide a final assessment today”, said Ms von der Leyen after the meeting between the Czech government and the College of Commissioners at the start of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council (see separate news item).
She added: “The new law does not ensure that judges are able to question the status of another judge without risking being subject to disciplinary offense. That is a requirement that is needed, so this issue still has to be addressed to respect the commitments and unlock the first payment”.
Poland had until the end of June to complete a reform of the disciplinary system for Polish judges in order to comply with the commitments made at the time of the adoption of its recovery plan and thus unlock the first payment (see EUROPE 12974/6). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)