FM says EU court fine goes beyond remit of treaties

Poland's foreign minister has said a fine imposed on the country by the European Court of Justice (CJEU) two years ago is beyond the bloc's authority as defined in its treaties.

Zbigniew Rau was referring to a fine of EUR 1 million a day, to be paid to the European Commission (EC) under a ruling by the CJEU over judicial reforms carried out by Warsaw. The fine was imposed in October 2021 for the Polish government's failure to suspend a contested Disciplinary Chamber at the Supreme Court.

In November last year, Warsaw applied for the fine to be lifted on the grounds that the Disciplinary Chamber had been liquidated. EC spokesperson Christian Wigand said in Brussels on Thursday that the Commission had thoroughly analysed Poland's motion but had decided that Warsaw had still not implemented the court's ruling and that Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders had informed Poland of the decision last week.

Asked about the EC's decision on Thursday, Rau said that, "what we are seeing in the European Union is a far-reaching activism of its bodies, that are acting beyond the authority of the treaties."

The minister went on to say that Warsaw and Brussels were locked in a "conceptual and legal dispute" and that both parties had set out their positions.

"That's all that can be said at the moment," he concluded.