12/01/2023 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission is continuing its discussions with the Polish authorities to ensure that the judicial reform bill currently being debated “is in full compliance [...] with the [...] commitments made [...] within the framework of the [European] Recovery and Resilience Plan”, indicated Christian Wigand, a spokesperson, on Thursday, 12 January. Nevertheless, he explained that this bill represents “an important step” towards issuing the first instalment of aid under the Polish recovery plan and considered it “important for the final law [...] to improve the standards on judicial protection and judicial independence”. The bill, which passed the first stage in the Polish parliament on 11 January, transfers judicial disciplinary matters from the Supreme Court to the Supreme Administrative Court, which is regarded as more independent. It also ends sanctions against judges who raise questions about the status of their colleagues. (SP)