Poland cleared further hurdles on the way to unlock more than €35 billion ($38 billion) of the European Union’s post-pandemic aid, putting fresh financing within the ruling party’s reach just eight months before a general election.
(Bloomberg) — Poland cleared further hurdles on the way to unlock more than €35 billion ($38 billion) of the European Union’s post-pandemic aid, putting fresh financing within the ruling party’s reach just eight months before a general election.
The parliament in Warsaw on Wednesday passed legislation to reverse some of the contested changes in the judiciary following a bitter dispute with the EU over the erosion of democratic standards. The bill now awaits approval from President Andrzej Duda, who has left open the question of whether he’ll sign it into law.
Separately, the lawmakers also voted to ease the limits on the construction of onshore wind farms, another of the conditions to obtain the financing and a major point of tension that had for months divided the ruling alliance.
The nationalist coalition has been under pressure to put its conflict with the EU to rest as the highest inflation in decades eats into voter support. The government, led by the Law & Justice party, is also facing constraints in boosting spending, which has proved winning formula in the last two elections.
The fresh round of financing from Brussels, whose payout has effectively been frozen since June, may arrive as early as the summer, European Affairs Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said this week.
Yet the government’s climbdown will only partially resolve the conflict over its sweeping changes in the justice system. Poland continues to accrue a daily fine of €1 million from the EU’s top court for its failure to dismantle a disciplinary regime for judges. The government in December filed a complaint to halt the penalty.
Coalition lawmakers on Wednesday rejected amendments to the bill added by the opposition, which would go even further in reversing judiciary changes. Several legal scholars as well as the chief justice of the Supreme Court called the bill unconstitutional. The government has said any changes might scupper the agreement with the Commission, the EU’s executive arm.
The legislation shifts the contested regime of disciplining judges to a court that has largely escaped the government’s alleged attempts at political meddling. It also allows for some questioning of the status of judges, long a sticking point between Warsaw and Brussels.
–With assistance from Piotr Bujnicki and Piotr Skolimowski.
(Adds details on a separate bill in the third paragraph.)
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