The highest Polish court declared in particular that certain articles of the EU treaty were “incompatible” with the country’s Constitution.
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This is a historic decision that could threaten the financing of the country by the European Union, or even its membership of the EU. The Constitutional Court, the highest Polish court, ruled against the absolute supremacy of European community law on Thursday, October 7.
The court said that certain articles of the EU treaty were “incompatible” with the Polish Constitution. She urged the European institutions not to “act beyond the scope of their skills” by interfering with the Polish judicial system, which constitutes a major bone of contention with Brussels.
The European Commission is “concerned “ by the decision of the Polish court, said the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, who declared that the EU “will use all tools” at its disposal to protect the primacy of European law which is “at the heart of the Union”.
Poland and the European Union disagree on judicial reforms introduced by the ruling nationalist conservative party, Droit et Justice (PiS). According to Brussels, these texts threaten democracy and the rule of law in this country.
Last month, the European Commission asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to impose daily fines on Poland, until it suspends its judicial reforms.
The dispute with Brussels focused in particular on a new disciplinary system for judges which, according to the EU, seriously threatens the independence of the judiciary in Poland. There are other points of disagreement, including the appointment of judges and their transfer without their consent between different courts or divisions of the same court.