On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) imposed a fine of EUR 1 million per day on Poland for not complying with the court’s verdict in July 2021. The EU judges ordered the Polish government to immediately suspend the activity of its Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber.
The fine will be counted starting with the day the CJEU verdict was delivered to Poland and will end once the government fulfills the obligations imposed upon it, or (in the case of the government not complying with the verdict) until the final ruling is released.
The decision of the CJEU to impose yet another fine on Poland (in September 2021, the court fined Poland EUR 500,000 per day for not suspending activity at the Turów coal mine) has caused a wave of comments.
Professor Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski believes that Poland must oppose the actions of EU officials, as he has no doubt that EU institutions are attempting to expand their influence at the cost of member state governments.
Prof. Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski:
This is a test of character, will and psychological endurance.
“This is a test of character, will and psychological endurance. Due to not being able to expand their competencies via legal means such as treaties, most likely because citizens reject that, EU institutions are trying to expand themselves by way of a fait accompli. Poland is a medium-sized country and is being treated differently than Germany, for example,” he said.
The professor emphasized that the CJEU is operating outside of EU treaties and that Poland must not back down but instead reject this usurpation attempt.
Żurawski vel Grajewski stated that the battle for dominating Central and Eastern European states has begun, but Poland has a high chance of winning the struggle.
A vote in the European Council, in accordance with Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, could resolve this conflict, he explained. The article underlines that only an EU summit (the European Council) has the power to decide whether a particular state is violating the rule of law and this decision must be reached unanimously. The professor believes that Poland would be supported by Hungary and Slovenia in this matter.
