Brussels approves Poland's €35-billion recovery plan despite lingering rule of law concerns
The European Commission has given its assent to the Polish recovery plan, a key step to the country unlocking €23.9 billion in grants and €11.5 billion in low-interest loans.
The announcement represents a truce in a protracted stand-off between Brussels and Warsaw over controversial judicial reforms, which blocked the plan for more than a year and raised fears of a legal 'Polexit'.
In a bid to break the impasse and comply with the Commission's demands, Warsaw has agreed to make partial changes to the reforms, including by replacing the disciplinary regime of judges, deemed illegal by the European Court of Justice, with a new "Chamber of Professional Responsibility."
The revision was introduced by President Andrzej Duda earlier this year and passed the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, in late May. "We don’t need this dispute," Duda said, adding the disciplinary regime was working in an "absolutely irregular way."
But critics say the tweaks are cosmetic and fail to match EU standards.
"The new disciplinary body as proposed in the draft bill falls short of complying with the decisions of the European Courts, and will not prevent the Polish executive to exert control over judges, thus further undermining their independence," Iustitia, the largest association of judges in Poland, said in a written address to the Commission and the European Parliament.
For now, Brussels seems to be satisfied with the Polish commitments and has moved to endorse the €35.4 billion plan, based on the expectation the government will carry through the reforms.
"The plan contains several measures to improve the country's investment climate, including a comprehensive reform of the judiciary aimed at strengthening judges' independence,"
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