Gov't ally calls on president to veto EU-required reform

A small Eurosceptic ally in Poland's ruling United Right coalition has appealed to the country's president to veto a recently-passed reform that is meant to meet EU requirements for the release of billions of euros in post-pandemic recovery funding for Poland.

Zbigniew Ziobro, leader of Solidary Poland and the justice minister in the conservative government led by Law and Justice (PiS), on Thursday called upon President Andrzej Duda to protect Polish sovereignty and veto a Supreme Court amendment that was okayed by parliament on Wednesday.

The government has promoted the reform in order to meet one of the conditions set by the European Commission (EC) to release the funding. The EC says some of the government's justice reforms have infringed upon European values, but Solidary Poland has opposed any leniency in the conflict with Brussels.

"The policy of concessions towards the European Union that has been pursued over recent years has always produced negative outcomes, has always led to an escalation of demands and an escalation of blackmail," Ziobro said at a press conference.

Ziobro also said that "the president's veto is necessary to reject this logic of blackmail and the policy of leniency."

The EU's objections largely concern Poland's justice system, especially a disciplinary chamber for judges in the Polish Supreme Court, which the European Commission regards as an illegal restriction on judicial independence.

The new legislation could remove some of the EU's misgivings by moving all disciplinary and immunity cases of judges to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Poland is due to receive EUR 23.9 billion in grants and EUR 11.5 billion in inexpensive loans from the EU's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility, a fund that most other EU members are already spending money from.

The bill must now be approved by the president before it becomes law.