Speech: Opening remarks of First Vice-President Timmermans on the Rule of Law Recommendation to Poland

I will announce that we have decided today to issue a Recommendation to Poland regarding the rule of law.

The rule of law is one of the pillars of our Union, and it has great significance for everyone including individual citizens - to be sure that you are protected by the law and that there are independent courts to look after your interests. It is important for businesses, it is important for citizens.

As you know, since the beginning of 2016 we have been in a dialogue with Polish authorities on this matter. We have launched and carried out this dialogue under our Rule of Law Framework in a cooperative spirit to help find solutions to the concerns raised. On the 1st of June, the Commission issued an opinion in which we set out our concerns. Following this, on 22 July the Polish Parliament adopted a new law on the Constitutional Tribunal.

The College has discussed the situation in light of these developments and our conclusion is that the fundamental concerns are still unresolved.

This new law does not address the threat to the rule of law in Poland. We fully acknowledge that certain changes go in the right direction. In particular, the Polish authorities have dropped the 2/3 majority for the adoption of decisions by the Constitutional Tribunal. However, key issues such as publication and implementation of the judgments and the swearing in of the judges, remain unaddressed. Moreover, new problematic provisions have been introduced in the legislative process on the functioning of the Tribunal, raising concerns on the effectiveness of constitutional review.

The Commission has therefore taken the next step under the Rule of Law framework by addressing a recommendation to Poland.

The effectiveness of the constitutional justice system, in any country where such a system has been established, is a key component of the rule of law. In Poland the Constitutional Tribunal is still prevented from fully ensuring an effective constitutional review. This adversely affects its integrity, stability and proper functioning, which is one of the essential safeguards of the rule of law in Poland.

So we are recommending, first, that the Polish authorities publish and fully implement the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal on the nomination of judges.

The Polish authorities should also publish and fully implement the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 9 March, which ruled that a previous law on the Constitutional Tribunal was unconstitutional, as well as the subsequent judgments. We also recommend that future judgments of the Tribunal are published automatically.

We ask the Polish authorities to ensure that any reform of the Law on the Constitutional Tribunal respects the judgments of the Tribunal and takes the opinion of the Venice Commission into account. There should not be requirements which, whether separately or through their combined effect, undermine the effectiveness of constitutional review by the Tribunal.

As regards the new law adopted on 22 July, we ask the Polish authorities to ensure that the Tribunal can review its compatibility before its entry into force. We also encourage the Polish authorities to seek the views of the Venice Commission on this law.

We now invite the Polish authorities to take action to solve these concerns and inform the Commission of the steps taken within three months.

Of course we stand ready to pursue our constructive dialogue. This has been our attitude from the very beginning. Our Rule of Law Framework plays a preventive role, and we encourage the Polish authorities to address the issues in this context. This means following up on this recommendation. Our hope and our objective is that these concerns are quickly and effectively solved, so that the rule of law is preserved in Poland.

SPEECH/16/2657