The judges’ groups argue that the Council approved the Warsaw Recovery and Resilience Plan in a way that ignores EU Court of Justice rulings and harms both Polish judges and the European justice system.
In June, the Council signed off on a plan that could allow Poland to access billions in coronavirus recovery funds if it achieves a series of “milestones”, including reforming a controversial disciplinary regime for judges. And while Warsaw has yet to receive funds under the plan, the plan itself is now being questioned.
The four organizations suing the Council — the European Union of Judges, the Union of European Administrative Judges, Judges for Judges and MEDEL, an association representing European judges and prosecutors — said the plan’s goals were problematic.
“These milestones fall short of what is required to ensure effective protection of the independence of judges and the judiciary and ignore ECJ rulings on the matter,” the groups wrote in a statement.
The Court, the organizations note, “decided that Polish judges affected by illegal disciplinary proceedings should be reinstated immediately, without delay or procedure, while the third milestone will usher in a process of more than a year with an uncertain outcome.”
The lawsuit aims in part to prevent Poland from accessing funds until it complies with court orders.
“The reason for seeking the annulment of the EU Council’s decision is to make clear the principle that CJEU decisions on the issue of judicial independence must be implemented without delay and in full,” the judges said. “The Council’s decision violates this principle because there is no full — that is, unconditional — enforcement of CJEU decisions,” they added.
Good Lobby Profs, an academic initiative that provided support for the legal action, said in its statement that the European Commission and the Council of the EU breached their duties regarding the Polish plan. The Commission and the Council have a duty, the group said, “not to treat the Court’s decisions as bargaining chips and adjustment variables for the sake of political convenience.”
