EC will judge on new Polish court laws once they're in force says EC head
The European Commission (EC) will assess the effectiveness of Poland's new Supreme Court law after it has been implemented, Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EC, said on Friday.
The law, passed by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, earlier on Friday, is designed to get Poland access to over EUR 35 billion in EU post-pandemic funding by meeting conditions set by the EC on the rule of law.
Brussels is blocking Poland's access to the funding until the Polish government has met the conditions, known as milestones, by reversing or altering changes to the Polish judicial system the EC says undermine the independence of the judiciary.
Speaking on Friday in Sweden, Von der Leyen said that the alterations to Poland's judicial system "had to be implemented" if Poland was to receive the post-pandemic funding.
She said the Commission will be able to say whether the new law is sufficient to unblock the funds after it has been implemented.
Recent talks between the Polish government and the European Commission indicated that the Supreme Court law could be crucial for the release of the funds.
