ADVERTISEMENT

Poland Has Made ‘Little Progress’ on Rule-of-Law Issues, EU Says

Poland Has Made ‘Little Progress’ on Rule-of-Law Issues, EU Says

(Bloomberg) -- The European Commission said Poland has made “very little progress” in addressing concerns about the rule of the law in the nation.

“In a nutshell, there has been very little progress since the last hearing in December,” Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Union executive, told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday. “There are also a number of new, worrying developments, especially in the field of disciplinary procedures against judges who make public statements about the rule of law in Poland or who have asked preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice,” he said.

“We still have worries about the situation of the constitutional tribunal. We also want to clarify the situation on the ordinary courts,” Timmermans said. “There’s ample stuff to discuss with the Polish authorities and I do hope we can have a constructive dialog on all these,” he said.

“Sadly between December and now we have seen no progress, and in some areas even increasing worries,” Timmermans said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jones Hayden in Brussels at jhayden1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Jones Hayden

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.