EU’s Reynders visits Poland to discuss restoring rule of law

WARSAW, Jan 19 (Reuters) – EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders visits Warsaw on Friday to discuss judicial reforms which could allow Poland access to billion of euros of EU funds frozen amid concerns over the rule of law.

The previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) cabinet carried out a deep overhaul of the judiciary, which the EU and international watchdogs said put courts and judges under political influence and damaged democratic checks and balances.

New pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk has vowed to restore the rule of law and get the funds released. But he faces resistance from supporters and allies of the former ruling party, who include President Andrzej Duda and some high-profile judges.

A senior official in the new Polish government told Reuters the cabinet hopes some of the issues can be addressed without passing new laws which could be vetoed by Duda.

“We are completely relaxed that it is all going in the right direction,” the official said. “Politically, we have it agreed with the Commission that some things will be addressed without new laws.”

On Friday, PiS lawmakers said they had asked for a vote of no-confidence in Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, the man leading the judiciary reforms.

Bodnar and Reynders will hold a joint press conference at 1145 GMT.

Tusk met the EU’s chief executive in December and announced that the bloc would transfer a first 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) of aid.

This money comes free of the EU’s usual rule of law conditions and is part of Poland’s 60-billion-euro chunk of the bloc’s COVID recovery stimulus.

Reyders had said in December that Poland needed “some time” to improve the independence of the judiciary so the European Union can disburse more funds.