ECJ ruling on Poland: Von der Leyen must finally act

The new ECJ ruling on Poland shows once again that the Polish judicial system and EU values ​​are incompatible. The EU Commission must therefore finally cut financial aid.

It is easy to lose track of the numerous judgments that the European Court of Justice has made in the dispute over the Polish judicial system since 2015. But what they all have in common: Poland has always suffered a setback, even today. From the point of view of the ECJ, it is simply not possible for the Polish Minister of Justice, who is also the Public Prosecutor General, to promote judges to a higher court and to withdraw this delegation at any time at his own discretion. Because with this regulation it is not guaranteed that judges in Poland really decide independently.

It should come as no surprise that the government in Warsaw is sharply rejecting this judgment from Luxembourg. It has been in a dispute with the EU for too long. Again and again she stamps decisions of the ECJ as “interference in internal affairs”.

The European Court of Justice recently ordered Warsaw to pay one million euros a day. Because the disciplinary body, which can dismiss judges, is still working contrary to the orders of the ECJ. But Poland doesn’t even care about such a high penalty. Well, that’s not surprising either, as the Polish Constitutional Court ruled in a sensational judgment that parts of the EU treaties are not compatible with the Polish constitution.

Von der Leyen has to stay tough

Even if the decision of the ECJ of today is of less importance compared to the dispute over the disciplinary chamber – it proves once again that the Polish judicial system and European rules and values ​​do not go together.

And for the EU Commission and President Ursula von der Leyen, the judgment is another reason not to transfer billions from the Corona reconstruction fund to Warsaw. You have to stay tough and finally not only talk about cutting money from the funding pots, but also do it. How can you explain to other countries that it flows into a state that tramples on the independence of the judiciary?

Do not mix the border crisis and the legal dispute

It is uncertain whether Poland will give in in the end. It doesn’t look like it at the moment. The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has recently tightened his rhetoric even further, even warning of a third world war. At the same time, his country is under considerable pressure because of the situation of migrants on the border with Belarus. Just yesterday, many EU foreign ministers expressed their solidarity with Poland in this difficult situation.

Yes, in this case Warsaw cannot be left alone. The EU-27 should solve this crisis together. But that must not lead to the dispute over the rule of law giving way. One should not mix one with the other.