Warsaw was waiting for the green light. The President of the European Commission announced, Friday February 23, the upcoming release of EU funds for Poland, appreciating the efforts of this country and its new pro-European government to rediscover the principles of the rule of law. . “Two decisions will be taken next week concerning European funds,” declared Ursula von der Leyen, referring to the total sum of 137 billion euros, blocked following a long standoff between Brussels and the previous populist-nationalist government.
A way of rewarding the recent efforts of the pro-European coalition which formed its government on December 13. Latest action to date? On February 22, the lower house of the Polish Parliament adopted a law liberalizing access to the “morning after pill” whose use had been limited by the previous conservative populist government. The law, which must still be debated in the Senate and promulgated by the conservative president, was voted by 224 deputies, against 196 votes, and authorizes this pill from the age of 15 without a prescription.
In 2017, the previous government limited access to the morning-after pill, which was only available by prescription. Furthermore, Poland, a country with a strong Catholic tradition, still has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with abortion only being authorized in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
“Restore the rule of law”
The Polish government presented an action plan in Brussels on Tuesday February 20 to put an end to a European procedure launched against Warsaw in reaction to the controversial reforms of the judicial system of the previous nationalist power. “We must do everything in our power to restore the rule of law,” declared Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, after presenting this roadmap to EU European Affairs Ministers meeting in Brussels, as well as the European Commission.
The judicial reforms undertaken from 2017 by the nationalist conservatives of the Law and Justice party (PiS), accused of having undermined the independence of judges, also pushed Brussels to block several tens of billions of euros in European funds intended for Poland. The main points of the action plan unveiled Tuesday to restore the independence of the judiciary concern the statutes of the National Council of the Judiciary, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Tribunal, the common law courts but also the separation of the functions of minister of Justice and head of the national prosecutor’s office.
After years of standoff between Brussels and the previous power, the Commission welcomed the actions of the new pro-European government of Donald Tusk. And the reactions of other European ministers during Tuesday’s meeting were “very positive”, welcomed Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. “Poland is moving from the status of a problem child in terms of the rule of law to that of a champion of democracy,” added German Minister Anna Luehrmann.
“Still work to do”
In December 2017, the European Commission activated Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, provided for in the event of threats to the rule of law. This procedure – which has since also been initiated against Hungary – can in theory go as far as a suspension of a state’s voting rights in the Council of the EU. It is intended as a last resort against a country committing “a serious and persistent violation” of EU values. In the case of Poland, the Commission considered that the judicial system had become subservient to political power. In practice, this procedure only gave rise to regular discussions within the Council (meeting of ministers), without triggering the next phase leading to sanctions.
The new Polish government hopes to convince the EU to end this Article 7 procedure by the European elections, scheduled for June 6-9. “The action plan is a step in a direction which can lead to the end of the Article 7 procedure. But there is still work to be done”, underlined the Vice-President of the Commission, responsible for values and transparency, Vera Jourova. The signature of Poland’s conservative president will be required to ratify new legislation. These proposals “do not benefit from the support of all stakeholders in Poland and blockages are to be expected”, worried Anna Luehrmann.
In November, the EU already authorized the payment of an advance of 5.1 billion euros to this country. This sum was not subject to any conditions, unlike the rest of the funds currently blocked.