Poland exits Article 7, the EU's special procedure on rule of law
Poland exits Article 7, the EU's special procedure on rule of law
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has promised to restore the rule of law and reset relations between Warsaw and Brussels. #EuropeNews
This is a terrible headline
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The decision, previewed earlier this month and formalised on Wednesday morning, ends a long-running saga that dates back to December 2017 when the European Commission triggered Article 7 — known as the "nuclear option" because it can lead to the suspension of voting rights — over Poland's systematic erosion of judicial independence.
The clash stemmed from the sweeping reforms introduced by the hard-right Law and Justice (PiS) party, which rearranged the structure of courts, cut short the mandate of sitting judges and promoted party-friendly appointees to top positions.
The Commission fought hard against the overhaul, arguing it debased the separation of powers, hindered the correct application of EU law, left investors unprotected and endangered cooperation with other member states.
Undeterred, the PiS-led government pushed through its plans and passed another controversial reform that empowered the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court to punish magistrates according to the content of their rulings.
Hungary, which is still subject to Article 7 and unable to access recovery funds, has taken exception to the Commissin's fast pace, questioning why the decision was based on political commitments rather than waiting for the final result of the "action plan."
"The Commission's assessment seems to be a purely political product that confirms double standards and goes blatantly against its previous position in rule of law-related issues," Bóka János, Hungary's minister for EU affairs, has said.
The original article contains 607 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 63%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
hard-right Law and Justice (PiS) party
I wouldn't consider PiS hard-right. Their economic policy seems to be more left-leaning than current ruling party's
Social-right can be quite attractive if all the “left” has to offer is neoliberal BS…
that's a very american take
You're not entirely wrong but it's a very shallow take. Left is conscious of lower classes because it's rooted in egalitarism. Some right wing parties, especially Christian democrats are socially conscious because it's the right thing to do. Liberals should be treated as a separate thing that boils down to "every man for himself".
PiS was neither, they bought votes by starting social programs right before elections. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so inept at solving actual problems. In the end they were just throwing money at people to solve problems on their own.
Left favors systemic solutions so PiS had more in common with liberals, especially when you consider their tax reform that cut down taxes for nearly everyone. Thankfully their monetary policy was not liberal level of brain dead so regardless of that they reduced debt by a lot.
Thanks for detailed explanation.
pis be like: oh yeah we'll fund local newspapers! we'll spend more on science! we're gonna make a justice fund
oh yeah we'll do things! please ignore that the first one was used to spread party propaganda wherever they could reach and the other two ones for embezzlement
I didn't know being a member of the European Union was an open buffet where you can just decide to skip fundamental principles that binds the countries together on a common set of rules and beliefs.
Edit: yeah I read the article sorry, I understood that Poland quit the article that imposes adhering to the rule of law.
if you only read the article
poland was previously sanctioned under article 7 for undue influence over judiciary, but is not longer so
"We consider there is no longer a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland," said European Commissioner Věra Jourová.
The decision, previewed earlier this month and formalised on Wednesday morning, ends a long-running saga that dates back to December 2017 when the European Commission triggered Article 7 — known as the "nuclear option" because it can lead to the suspension of voting rights — over Poland's systematic erosion of judicial independence.
I mean, the headline is absolute shit, but its in the summary, you don't even have to read more than 3 lines
The article discusses this.
This is the result of the PiS, Law & Justice Party, the previous right wing dickbags that constantly undermined rule of law who was voted out (pretty resoundingly, as I understand it) in 2023.
Tusk, the current PM of Poland, has made promises and provided an action plan to bring Poland back into compliance with Article 7, some of which are currently under way.
The EC has acknowledged this change of circumstances and subsequently ratcheted down its own response, releasing some of the previously withheld funds, for which it was necessary for Poland to be released from Article 7 in the meantime.
Thank you for the explanation!