Debate: Media freedom and further deterioration of the Rule of law in Poland
Date: WEDNESDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2021
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

I was myself in Poland two weeks ago on the occasion of the commemoration of the events of August 1980 and I reminded the Polish people and the Polish authorities that we need a strong Poland at the core of the EU, shaping it on the basis of our common values and mutual trust. Allow me to start now this introduction with media-related aspects. When media freedom and pluralism are under threat, democracy itself is under threat. The 2021 rule-of-law report found several aspects of concern regarding media freedom and pluralism, be it as regards the media market, the role of national authorities, as well as the environment for journalists’ work and their safety. We fear that the so-called strategy of re-polonisation of the media goes against our values – media freedom and pluralism – and also against our internal market. This is why we covered the new draft media law, also known as Lex TVN, and the situation of Polska Press in our 2021 report, and I have heard many concerns from many sides on this draft law. I also note that the Polish Senate rejected the bill last week on Thursday, 9 September. If this law is ultimately adopted, we would need to assess its compliance with EU law and in particular the right to freedom of establishment. More generally, when it comes to the media environment, there should be no political pressure, and journalists should have the right conditions to do their job. We all gain respect through our actions, accepting a diversity of opinions and allowing citizens to be duly informed. Commissioner Breton and I are working to design a European Media Freedom Act that was mentioned by President von der Leyen in her speech this morning. The aim is to protect the media as key actors in our democracies and stop those who threaten media freedom. This means having an EU law for the first time ever, with safeguards to promote the independence and pluralism of the media. Honourable Members, let me now refer to some other rule-of-law developments in Poland concerning the judiciary. The latest developments in Poland are particularly worrying. You will remember that in April this year, the Commission referred Poland to the Court of Justice regarding the new law on the judiciary of December 2019 and the continued activities of the disciplinary chamber of the Polish Supreme Court. The Commission considers that the law on the judiciary undermines the independence of Polish judges and is incompatible with the primacy of EU law. Besides referring the infringement case to the Court of Justice, the Commission also asked the Court to order interim measures. The objective was to prevent the aggravation of serious and irreparable harm to judicial independence in the EU legal order. On 14 July the Court granted all the interim measures requested by the Commission. Furthermore, in the context of another infringement procedure, which the Commission referred to the Court of Justice in October 2019, the Court found on 15 July that the disciplinary regime for judges in Poland is not compatible with EU law. Among other things, the Court of Justice found that the disciplinary chamber of the Polish Supreme Court does not provide all the guarantees of impartiality and independence and is not protected from the direct or indirect influence of the Polish legislature and executive. As a follow-up, on 20 July Commissioner Reynders sent Poland a letter asking for information as regards compliance with these rulings. We received the reply from Poland on 16 August. Unfortunately, the reply of Poland was not satisfactory, and these two European Court of Justice rulings regarding the independence of Polish judges have not been fully implemented in Poland. The developments on the ground are particularly worrying. The disciplinary chamber continues to schedule and examine cases concerning judicial immunities and disciplinary liability of judges. Also, there have been no measures to suspend the effects of the decisions already taken to lift the immunity of judges by the disciplinary chamber, as required by the interim order of the Court of Justice. Furthermore, on 26 August the disciplinary officer appointed by the Polish Minister of Justice informed about disciplinary investigations launched against a judge who applied the interim measures order of the Court of Justice. On 9 September the Minister of Justice decided to suspend the judge concerned for one month. Given that the actions of the Polish authorities continue to undermine the functioning of the Polish justice system, the Commission thus took two separate decisions last week to ensure the implementation of the decisions of the Court of Justice. First, the Commission decided to request that the Court of Justice impose financial penalties on Poland to ensure compliance with the Court’s interim measures order of 14 July. The Commission is asking the Court to impose a daily penalty payment on Poland for as long as the measures imposed by the court’s order are not fully implemented. Second, the Commission also decided to send a letter of formal notice to Poland for not taking the necessary measures to comply fully with the judgment of the Court of Justice of 15 July, finding that Polish law on the disciplinary regime against judges is not compatible with EU law. Further concerns have emerged, in particular as regards the questioning of the primacy of EU law by the Polish authorities. In that respect, on 14 July the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issued a decision finding interim measures orders of the Court of Justice in the area of justice to be  Commissioner Reynders also has addressed a letter to the Polish authorities regarding this case and underlined the concerns that this motion raises in relation to the principle of sincere cooperation and the rule of law. As stated by President von der Leyen in her speech this morning, I quote: ‘Our values are guaranteed by our legal order and safeguarded by the judgments of the European Court of Justice. These judgments are binding. We make sure that they are respected, and we do so in every Member State of our Union.’ End of quote. Honourable Members, I can assure you that the Commission will continue to act with determination to defend the need to have independent courts and effective judicial review everywhere in the EU. I thank you for your attention and look forward to your interventions.