EU warns Poland over potential sanctions if Warsaw fails to accept European court ruling

Brussels, Jul 20 (Bureau) Poland could be hit with a range of financial sanctions if it fails to comply with a European Court of Justice ruling covering the country’s judicial reforms, Vera Jourova, the bloc’s commissioner for values and transparency, said on Tuesday. At a press briefing, Jourova announced that the European Commission has empowered justice commissioner Didier Reynders to “adopt measures to induce the Republic of Poland” to comply with an order and judgment of the Court of Justice.”

In the judgment, which was issued earlier in July, the European Court of Justice ruled that Poland’s judicial reforms were not compatible with EU law. Jourova warned Warsaw that the bloc could levy financial sanctions should it fail to ensure compliance with the ruling by August 16. “In this case, we will ask for financial sanctions if Poland does not remedy the situation by August 16,” she said. The European Commission will also look to impose financial penalties on Poland should the government fail to respond to the bloc’s written requests for information on this matter, Jourova remarked.

The European Court of Justice’s ruling concerns a new disciplinary regime for Polish judges that was introduced in 2017. The bloc has said that the new disciplinary regime could allow the ruling Law and Justice party to exert political influence over judges.