Jourová’s disapproval of Polish judicial reform ‘staggering’, says president

Polish President Andrzej Duda admitted he was surprised by European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová’s remark that his judicial reform project was insufficient to unblock Poland’s Recovery Fund money.

Asked last week in the European Parliament whether the bill proposed by Duda and adopted by the Polish parliament fulfilled the milestones agreed by the Polish government and the Commission, Jourová said “it did not,” so Poland can not receive the money for now.

“It is staggering. When the draft bill was processed, I consulted Commission President Ursula von der Leyen numerous times and never had such doubts raised. It is a new thing for me,” Duda told Polsat News TV station.

He stressed that von der Leyen deemed his proposal “acceptable” for the Commission. “We have implemented what we have agreed with the Commission,” the Polish president said.

Duda’s proposal concerned, among other things, dismantling the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court that the EU Court of Justice ruled to be illegal and politicised. Dissolving it was one of the Commission’s milestones for the first tranche of the recovery money for Poland to be released.

The Commission has withheld the approval of the Polish recovery plan due to concerns over judicial independence in the country. The plan was finally accepted in May, but on the condition that Warsaw fulfils all the milestones agreed with the Commission, referring mainly to judicial reforms.

When all the conditions are met, Poland will receive the money from the EU Recovery Fund, von der Leyen said.

The issue of the recovery money has deepened the divisions within the Polish government. While Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently said: “it would be a suicide” for Poland to give up on the Recovery Fund resources, eurosceptic Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro thinks Poland should forgo the EU money if the European Commission restrict Poland’s freedom in adopting laws.