The European Union Threatens Poland with Sanctions Over 'Judicial Reforms'

In an unprecedented move against a member state, the European Commission has urged its members to prepare for sanctions against Poland if it does not revoke its judicial reforms. According to Reuters, the European Commission believes these changes to Poland's judiciary pose a danger to democracy and has given the ruling Law and Justice Party three months to reverse these changes after nearly two years of fruitless requests from the right-wing government. However, the Polish government quickly reacted strongly to this warning, stating that its allies in the Hungarian government would veto any EU sanctions aimed at stripping Poland of its voting rights. The Hungarian government stated on Tuesday that the European Commission's decision violates Poland's independence. Germany and other Western powers have supported the European Commission's position, which claims that the actions of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling party in Poland, aimed at controlling judicial appointments, represent a 'vital' threat to democracy in Europe. This is the first instance of the potential application of Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty and indicates rising tensions between the EU and the current Polish government, which is controlled by a party that opposes the EU. On Wednesday, December 20, the European Commission stated: 'This Commission has concluded that there is a serious risk of rule of law violations in Poland.' The statement further noted: 'Recent judicial reforms in Poland mean that the judiciary will be under the political control of the ruling majority. In the absence of judicial independence, serious questions and doubts arise regarding the enforcement of EU laws.' The Law and Justice Party, which governs Poland with a nationalist agenda, responded that these changes are necessary and accused the European Commission of having political motivations that are not based on reality. A spokesperson for the ruling party in Poland told reporters: 'This may be the result of misinformation being transmitted from Poland to the EU, and it may also be because we do not want to accept refugees and migrants. We do not want to accept Muslim migrants because the security of Poles is important to us.' Since coming to power in 2015, the Law and Justice Party has had severe disagreements with the EU over increased control over the judiciary and media, as well as immigration issues. Critics of the Polish government in Brussels have stated that the policies of the Law and Justice Party lean towards establishing an autocratic system and particularly that changes in the judiciary undermine the values and standards of the EU.