EU “pleased new Polish government determined to restore rule of law”, says visiting commissioner

European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has expressed satisfaction during a visit to Warsaw that Poland’s new government is seeking to reverse the rule-of-law violations that saw its Law and Justice (PiS) predecessor repeatedly clash with Brussels.

“We see that the new government is fully determined to restore the rule of law in Poland and we are very happy about it,” said Reynders following a meeting with justice minister Adam Bodnar.

“For a number of years, the European Commission has recognised that there is a serious threat of violating the rule of law in Poland,” he added, quoted by broadcaster Polsat. “But I am convinced that Poland can fully restore its position as a state respecting rule-of-law standards.”

In a symbolic moment, Bodnar handed Reynders a framed photograph of modern Warsaw. That was a nod to the fact that Zbigniew Ziobro, the justice minister in the PiS government, in 2021, gave Reynders framed pictures of the destruction caused in Warsaw by Germany during the Second World War.

“Commissioner, this is a photograph of Warsaw rebuilt, beautiful and wonderful, thanks, among other things, to EU funds,” said Bodnar.

One of Ziobro’s former deputy ministers, Sebastian Kaleta, however, criticised Bodnar for “disgusting grovelling in front of” the European Commission.

“It’s clear who is who in this relationship,” wrote Kaleta, now an MP in the PiS parliamentary caucus that makes up the main opposition. “Bodnar is offering another tribute to the EU.”

During his remarks, Reynders made clear that Poland still has much to do if it wants to unlock billions of euros in EU funds that were frozen by Brussels due to rule-of-law concerns under the PiS government.

“I hope that we will soon be able to present a positive assessment of the first payment application,” said the commissioner. “I look forward to continuing talks in this context.”

One of the most important tasks, he added, would be to restore the independence of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), the body responsible for nominating judges.

The KRS was reformed under PiS to give politicians more control over it, and that has, in turn, resulted in a number of Polish and European court rulings finding that it is no longer a legitimate body.

Reynders also made reference to the issue of public media, which has caused controversy in recent weeks. The new government last month quickly moved to remove and replace PiS-appointed managers from state broadcasters without going through the normal process.

It argued that this was necessary to “depoliticise” entitles that had been turned into PiS propaganda mouthpieces. But PiS and many legal experts argued the changes were made unlawfully, and a court ruling last week confirmed that.

“We are monitoring the situation very closely, also in the context of the media,” said Reynders. “We want to see a normal legislative process.”

“I hope that all institutions in Poland will participate in the process of restoring the rule of law and stabilizing the situation – in order to have a truly independent judicial system, pluralism in the media, as well as freedom of expression for journalists,” he added.

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Main image credit: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości  (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.