Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz meets with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas during his visit in Warsaw March 16, 2018. — Reuters picWARSAW, March 21 — Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz today stressed Poland’s right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

“We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people,” Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland’s foreign diplomacy.

These reforms “do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them.”

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as “systemic threats” to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country’s right-wing government—a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU’s concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz’s remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU’s executive arm will analyse Warsaw’s response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether “steps forward were made or not”.

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure—covering systemic threats to the rule of law—which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland’s ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland’s commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

“The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments,” he said. — AFP </s> WARSAW: Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Wednesday stressed Poland's right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

"We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people," Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland's foreign diplomacy.

These reforms "do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them."

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz's remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction. </s> Poland wants Brussels to withdraw its Article 7 procedure against Warsaw, the Polish foreign minister has said after his country moved to modify disputed legal changes that have triggered a row with the EU.

Jacek Czaputowicz was speaking after the country’s ruling conservatives on Thursday signalled they would accommodate some of the EU executive’s recommendations over sweeping changes to the court system in Poland.

Czaputowicz told public Polish Radio 1 on Friday that a new piece of legislation drafted by MPs from Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party was designed to modify contested laws reforming the judiciary in a way that would “respond to the European Commission’s expectations.”

He also said that Poland was seeking a compromise with the European Commission over sweeping judicial reforms.

“We are working for the Commission to withdraw its proposal [over Article 7] and we would not want it to be put to a vote,” he said.

In a similar statement, Czaputowicz told public broadcaster TVP on Thursday evening that he would like to see an end to Warsaw’s dispute with Brussels over judicial changes and that Poland was doing everything to make that happen.

The European Commission in December took the unprecedented step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, stepping up pressure on Warsaw over the controversial changes to Poland’s justice system.

"We need to meet [the Commission’s] expectations halfway,” Czaputowicz told TVP.

He also said that the authorities in Warsaw were working to bring about a halt to the Commission’s Article 7 proceedings against Poland.

Earlier on Thursday, Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice party came forward with a legislative initiative to modify disputed laws regulating the work of the country's common court system and the Supreme Court.

Under the draft, the justice minister would no longer be able to dismiss court presidents and deputy presidents without consulting judges and the powerful National Council of the Judiciary, PiS MP Marek Ast told reporters.

In a further modification of existing regulations which politicians said was intended to accommodate the European Commission’s recommendations, the retirement age of male and female judges would be set at an equal level of 65 years of age.

And in what appeared to be another step designed to help reach an agreement with Brussels, the country’s ruling conservatives said they were ready to publish three Constitutional Tribunal judgments that the ruling party argues the top court issued in violation of the law in 2016.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, PAP,TVP, Polskie Radio </s> Warsaw (AFP) - Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Wednesday stressed Poland's right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

"We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people," Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland's foreign diplomacy.

These reforms "do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them."

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz's remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland's commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

"The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments," he said. </s> Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on Wednesday stressed Poland's right to reform its judiciary however it likes, adding he regrets that the European Union launched unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

"We defend our right to reform our justice system in accordance with the expectations of Polish people," Czaputowicz told parliament during an annual overview of Poland's foreign diplomacy.

These reforms "do not violate the principles of the democratic rule of law... instead they reinforce them."

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns and on Tuesday the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

Judging from Czaputowicz's remarks to parliament however, it does not appear that Poland offered to make any concessions in its letter to the EU.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Tuesday that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.

Czaputowicz reaffirmed Poland's commitment to the European Union, recalling that 87 percent of Poles are pro-EU. He struck a few eurosceptic notes however.

"The European Commission is not an uber-government nor is the European Parliament an uber-parliament. They are not empowered to give instructions to national governments and parliaments," he said. </s> Warsaw (AFP) - A top European Commission official on Monday urged Poland to step up efforts at finding a solution to a high-pitched dispute over its controversial judicial reforms, denounced by Brussels as violating the rule of law.

"This is not something that we want to drag out for months and months; we need now to try to come to solutions as quickly as possible," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters in Warsaw.

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's rightwing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland's government, rejecting claims that its reforms dismantle the separation of powers enshrined in EU treaties, has argued the changes are necessary to remove the last vestiges of communism from its justice system.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns. The foreign ministry said in March that it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

A lawmaker from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Marek Ast, however, announced that a draft law would be introduced to slightly modify the reforms.

The opposition denounced the changes as merely cosmetic.

"I have sensed a strong will on the side of the Polish government to come to solutions; there is a strong will also on the side of the commission," said Timmermans at a joint press conference with Poland's foreign minister after a day of talks with senior officials.

"But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating and the pudding is not the table yet," he added.

For his part, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz warned that "there is the danger that we will propose solutions and that the European Commission will remain unsatisfied".

Czaputowicz added that "it's too soon today to say for sure whether a compromise will be found and what it will look like."

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which has never been used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction. </s> European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans will visit Warsaw on April 9, the Polish government said Thursday, amid conflict over Poland's controversial court reforms.

"His visit is a continuation of the ongoing impartial and fact-based dialogue between Poland's government and the European Commission," government spokeswoman Joanna Kopcinska told AFP.

She added that Timmermans had been invited to the Polish capital by Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.

According to the Polish news agency PAP, the talks will mainly revolve around the court reforms that led the European Union to launch unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns. Last week the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

A lawmaker from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Marek Ast, however announced that a draft law would be introduced to slightly modify the reforms.

The opposition denounced the changes as merely cosmetic.

Timmermans said last week that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction. </s> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union executive on Tuesday dismissed Poland’s latest defense of court reforms that critics say weaken democracy, potentially paving the way for more clashes with Warsaw after weeks of some rapprochement.

Poland, the biggest ex-communist EU state, stands accused of subjecting its courts to more government control since the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won power in late 2015.

The bloc has threatened unprecedented punishment, including of suspending Warsaw’s vote, if Poland does not restore the democratic checks and balances.

The European Commission’s deputy head, Frans Timmermans, debated the matter with EU ministers meeting in Brussels after Poland published a “white paper” defending the judicial changes.

The Commission has given Poland until Tuesday to restore the rule of law, or risk proceedings under the so-called Article 7 punishment mechanism.

“There was agreement across the table that this white paper is not the answer to the Commission’s recommendations,” Timmermans told a news conference after the meeting, adding that EU ministers would discuss the matter again next month.

“If this idea that you have the right to reform the judiciary... is understood as the right to put it under political control, then we have a problem.”

Warsaw says it was led by the need to improve efficiency and accountability by removing judges who served in the post-World War Two communist government, which collapsed in 1989.

Speaking to reporters after the ministerial session in Brussels, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski reiterated the reforms posed no risk to the rule of law.

Warsaw has until the end of the day to come up with a formal answer to the Commission.

Poland’s state news agency PAP quoted the response as saying Warsaw rejects the criticism and refuses to retract the laws, but is ready to assess jointly with the Commission the results of the changes.

After a two-year feud between Warsaw and the more liberal, western EU states, Poland’s new Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has reopened dialogue with the Brussels-based European Commission on the matter.

But Germany’s EU minister Michael Roth on Tuesday said Poland, which may risk losing billions of euros in EU handouts as an indirect consequence of the dispute, must not just play for time.

“Talking for talking’s sake is not enough and I hope that today... will give a clear signal that EU members support the European Commission in this essential matter,” Roth said.

The top sanction of stripping Poland of its voting rights is all but certain not to materialize as Warsaw’s ally Hungary - where the eurosceptic Prime Minister Viktor Orban has plenty of his own clashes with the EU - has vowed to block it.

But the sole fact that the EU has been debating it, albeit reluctantly, for months now causes damage to Poland’s reputation and highlights its growing isolation in the EU.

The bloc lacks hard tools to force Warsaw back into line on the courts specifically.

But, as ties between Poland and the wealthier net payers to the EU’s joint coffers sour, it raises the risk that they would retaliate by stripping Warsaw of some funding in bloc’s the next, long-term budget from 2021.

Speaking in Warsaw on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hoped Poland’s ruling nationalists would satisfy Europe’s concerns. Morawiecki responded that he hoped for a deal over the coming two months. </s> The Polish government announced that European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans is set to visit Warsaw, Poland on April 9

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans will visit Warsaw on April 9, the Polish government said Thursday, amid conflict over Poland's controversial court reforms.

"His visit is a continuation of the ongoing impartial and fact-based dialogue between Poland's government and the European Commission," government spokeswoman Joanna Kopcinska told AFP.

She added that Timmermans had been invited to the Polish capital by Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.

According to the Polish news agency PAP, the talks will mainly revolve around the court reforms that led the European Union to launch unprecedented legal action against Warsaw.

Brussels in December triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the country's right-wing government -- a move that could lead to never-before-used sanctions.

Poland had three months to reply to the EU's concerns. Last week the foreign ministry said it had met the deadline, without specifying the contents of its response.

A lawmaker from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Marek Ast, however announced that a draft law would be introduced to slightly modify the reforms.

The opposition denounced the changes as merely cosmetic.

Timmermans said last week that the EU's executive arm will analyse Warsaw's response before ministers meet again next month to assess whether "steps forward were made or not".

The stakes are high if Warsaw fails to satisfy Brussels.

It could be stripped of voting rights in the bloc under the Article 7 procedure -- covering systemic threats to the rule of law -- which had never been previously used against an EU state.

However, Poland's ally Hungary, which has also clashed with Brussels over democracy issues, has vowed to veto any sanction.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz asks the European Commission to halt its use of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union against the nation in exchange for modifications to controversial proposed judicial reforms.