The EU has launched fresh legal action against Poland over controversial reforms to its legal system which it said represent a serious setback for legal freedoms.
The European Commission said Wednesday that it had issued a letter of formal notice — the first step in legal action — to Poland over new disciplinary measures that can be taken against judges.
Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the system of oversight, introduced in 2017, appeared to “systematically subject judges to the political control of the executive.” Timmermans said Warsaw had a chance to explain or change its mind about the law.
The commission said it was acting to safeguard the rule of law in the country and that it wanted a reply to its concerns within two months.
Polish judges who have engaged in public debates or made comments about the reforms have been targeted by disciplinary officers from the government-appointed National Council of Judiciary, Timmermans said.
Judges who asked for rulings from the European Court of Justice had also had investigations launched against them.
The move is the latest in an ongoing dispute between the EU’s executive commission and the government in Warsaw, who have been at odds since 2015 over reforms introduced by Poland’s national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Via DW
