A large majority of the European Parliament has called on the European Commission to withhold money from the corona recovery fund to Poland. At the initiative of the Greens, five group leaders have requested that no payments be made as long as the independence of the Polish judiciary is not guaranteed.
The call from the five groups is signed by the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens, and United Left. They want the European Commission not to be placated by empty Polish promises without assurance that rulings from the European Court are actually implemented by Warsaw.
The ruling on Polish versus European law is, according to experts, ‘a bomb under European law.’ Green MEP Tineke Strik pointed out that the primacy of European law is the foundation on which the European Union was built.
Green MEP Bas Eickhout stated that Commission President Von der Leyen earlier set conditions that were too vague. The European Parliament is now making it clear that it will not accept a half-hearted compromise on something as fundamental as judicial independence.”
The billions from the recovery fund are one of the EU’s last tools to remind rule-of-law violators of their obligations. According to many critics, a reconciliation strategy has failed with Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán: the Commission must not make that mistake again.”
Poland has already threatened to withhold contribution payments if the millions from the recovery fund are not paid out. But in that case, Brussels will also suspend all other regular payments, such as cohesion funds or agricultural subsidies.
Warsaw is also looking at Agriculture Commissioner Wojciechowski, who oversees the strategic plans of the Common Agricultural Policy of all 27 countries, which must be approved to disburse agricultural funding. This is an important issue for farmers across the entire bloc.
Direct payments from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are crucial in the Polish countryside. About one-third of Polish farmers’ income comes from direct payments. Poland is the largest net recipient of EU funds.