Poland must fulfill milestones for recovery plan says EC president
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, has said that Poland must meet its commitments regarding judicial reform before it can receive money from the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Von der Leyen made the statement while addressing a press conference in Litomysl, where she attended the start of the Czech Republic's six-month presidency of the European Union.
Poland has recently adopted new legislation abolishing a disciplinary chamber for judges at the Polish Supreme Court, which has been at the heart of a dispute between Brussels and Warsaw.
According to von der Leyen, the new law failed to remove clauses forbidding judges from questioning the independence and legal appointment of other judges. She added that this condition had to be met as it is one of Poland's milestones, and that this would make it possible for the EC to unblock the first payment from the Recovery Fund.
The official admitted that the entire law regarding the disciplinary system had not yet been evaluated by the EC but repeated that it lacked this part.
Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova said on Thursday that Poland's newly amended law on the Supreme Court did not meet the milestones set out by the EU executive that would allow Poland to receive money from the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
On June 1, the EC approved Poland's National Recovery Plan (KPO), which outlines how it will spend money from a post-pandemic recovery fund. The approval was a step towards granting Poland access to EUR 35.4 billion from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Subsequently, finance ministers of all EU member states approved Poland's KPO on June 17.
