Senate amendments threaten compromise with EC says European minister

Possible amendments to a Supreme Court bill introduced by the Polish Senate could jeopardise a compromise reached with the European Commission (EC), Poland's European minister has said.

According to Law and Justice, the ruling party, the bill, which was passed by the Sejm, the lower house on January 13, meets a key condition agreed upon with the EC which is needed to unlock billions of euros in the EU's post-pandemic recovery funding.

Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki told reporters on Friday that amendments would be made to the bill. The upper house is dominated by the opposition, whereas the ruling camp holds a majority in the lower house.

But Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek, the minister for EU affairs, told the state-owned Radio One on Monday morning that the amendments proposed by the Senate were identical to what the opposition had suggested earlier in the Sejm, but were voted down by the ruling camp.

"Some of the amendments are absurd and some exceed the (European - PAP) Commission's expectations, while others could undermine the compromise reached with the European Commission," Szynkowski vel Sek said.

Under the amendment, disciplinary and immunity cases of judges would fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Administrative Court, not the Chamber of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court, which is the case now and has been contested by the EC.