Fair deal or cave in? Brussels' green light of Poland's recovery plan reveals loopholes
Poland is set to receive the first tranches of the EU's recovery fund while national judges remain under the effects of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court, a controversial body that is largely seen as a tool of government encroachment upon the judiciary and that the European Court of Justice has deemed incompatible with EU law.
Poland had requested a total of €35.4 billion – €23.9 billion in grants and €11.5 billion in cheap loans – from the bloc's collective fund, designed back in 2020 to weather the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Polish plan was blocked for more than a year over persisting concerns that judicial independence was under threat by the encroachment of the executive and legislative powers.
But after months of back and forth between Brussels and Warsaw, the European Commission announced on Wednesday the official endorsement of the Polish programme.
During internal deliberations, five EU Commissioners, including Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager, voted against or voiced reservations about the executive's approval, Euronews has learned.
In exchange for this contentious green light, Poland has agreed to carry out two key judicial reforms before any payment of recovery funds is processed:
Regarding the first demand, the Polish government has already tabled a possible replacement: a "Chamber of Professional Responsibility" that would be tasked with vetting magistrates, rather than punishing them.
Brussels has said the new body must comply with EU law standards, but Iustitia, the largest association of judges in Poland, has warned the proposed chamber "will not prevent the Polish executive to exert control over judges [and] thus further undermining their independence."
However,
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