this European Commission lifted the veto this Wednesday recovery plan offered by Poland will receive 35,400 million euros from the European crisis response fund about a year ago. Refused to confirm Warsaw’s anti-democratic drift He continues to vote eventually against his two vice presidents, liberal Margrethe Vestager and socialist Frans Timmermans, and community sources told Europa Press.
Three other members of the Board of Directors, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, “written objections” that they cannot vote because they were not present at the meeting: Vera Jourova, Vice President of the Rule of Law, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johanson.
Negotiation and subsequent voting is not a requirement for the acceptance of positive opinion from Brussels, Several commissioners who denied that the commitments of the Polish Government were “sufficient guarantees” will turn into measures that truly guarantee the independence of the judiciary in the country.
Von der Leyen will travel to Warsaw this Thursday to present details of Poland’s plan, along with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the country’s President Andrzej Duda. It can receive direct payments of up to 23.9 billion euros and loans of up to 11.5 billion euros.
But Brussels’ positive view is not the final step towards definitive approval of the plan. He also needs Twenty-Seven’s approval -Ministers of Economy and Finance (Ecofin) have to declare themselves within a month-.
DDifferent payments foreseen in the plan in any case, they are conditioned on reforms and definite milestones whose appropriateness must be evaluated before the payment of these tranches is unblocked.
Brussels Plan
Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for the Economy, argued at a press conference after the Board of Commissioners that they would “scrutinize the fulfillment of every commitment very, very tightly” and avoided responding to doubts about the rule of law. The allegation that Von der Leyen will be the one to announce the decision from Warsaw on Thursday.
The Italian Commissioner also underlined that adoption is coming. After examining the criteria determined by the regulation and “not based on other evaluations”, He attempted to separate this decision from the other cases that Brussels kept open against Warsaw.
Community Manager, your plan”Important aspects of judicial independence that are particularly important to improve the investment climate‘ and that the country ‘must demonstrate that these milestones have been met before any payments are made’.
During months of negotiations, the Community Manager warned Warsaw that for the plan to be approved, all established criteria must be met, including anti-corruption measures. guarantee of respect for the rule of law, What happened in the Polish case, for example, by dissolving the disciplinary board imposed on the country’s Supreme Court and reinstating judges suspended by the disputed body.
The anti-democratic drift of the ultra-conservative Polish government complicated the government’s negotiations. plan with Brussels, Poland has several open cases for reforms that violate fundamental rights and put the independence of the country’s judicial system at risk.
In fact, the Community Manager took the final official step last March. enable the conditionality mechanism that allows you to freeze the payment of certain funds Europeans go to Poland because they fear they will be used to undermine citizens’ rights.
Source: Informacion
