On Monday 6 May, the European Commission announced its intention to close the so-called ‘Article 7 TEU’ procedure on respect for the Rule of law in Poland, which was opened in December of 2017 (see EUROPE 11930/1).
“Today marks a new chapter for Poland. After more than six years, we believe that the Article 7(1) procedure can be closed”, stated the President of the European Union institution, Ursula von der Leyen, in a press release. She praised the “hard work” of the Tusk government in restoring the Rule of law in Poland since it came to power in autumn 2023, which “is a testament to the resilience of the Rule of law and democracy in Europe”.
The Commission has forwarded to the Council of the EU its analysis that the Polish authorities have recognised the shortcomings in the Rule of law inherited from the actions of previous sovereignist governments, have reaffirmed the primacy of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and have made a clear commitment to remedy these shortcomings through a detailed action plan, the implementation of which has begun with the adoption of a number of concrete actions.
Among the reforms underway or already completed, a European official mentioned the bill currently being debated in the Polish Senate on the independence of the judiciary, as well as the finalised reform of the Supreme Court (judges’ pension schemes, disciplinary system for judges). The official also noted “the change in attitude” of the Polish authorities in the context of cases still pending before the CJEU and the ECHR. This does not mean that our work will stop once the ‘Article 7’ procedure has been completed, because we will continue to monitor compliance with the Rule of law, stressed this European official.
On this basis, the Commission is of the opinion that there is no longer a sufficiently serious risk of the Rule of law being undermined in Poland and has announced its intention to close the Article 7 procedure. It will present its analysis to the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council on Tuesday 21 May, during which the Member States will have the opportunity to comment. It will then be able to close the procedure definitively.
The European Parliament has also been informed of the Commission’s intention.
The EU institution’s announcement has no immediate impact on the release of European funds that are still frozen. At the end of February, the Commission said it was ready to release €137 billion of European funds for Poland, including €76.5 billion under the Cohesion Policy, taking the view that Warsaw had implemented some of the reforms required, in particular by the Court of Justice of the EU (see EUROPE 13361/1). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)