EU threatens to withhold funds from Poland, Hungary for ‘rule of law’ breaches

In its 2023 Rule of Law Report, European Union has threatened to withhold the funds for Hungary and Poland for lagging behind in their schedule to implement the proposed judiciary reforms, and "causing concerns" for the bloc. EU Commissioners Vera Jourova and Didier Reynders on July 8, Saturday assessed the values, transparency and justice of the EU's member states, and later presented the findings. Among other states that they mentioned fell behind in meeting their judicial commitments was Spain and Germany. Berlin was pointed out for its comparatively low pay for judges, while other EU nations Luxembourg, Austria and Croatia were discussed by the bloc as "positive examples." 

Poland, Hungary scrutinised under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union

While EU states Hungary and Poland complained of "unfair" treatment by the European Union, the Commissioners argued that they have scrutinized all 27 member states within the bloc under similar criteria. The EU states are subjected to inspection under Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union which involves the suspension of the European Union (EU) membership rights, including the voting rights in the Council of the European Union if a member state seriously breaches the principles on which the EU was founded. In the newly published report, Poland and Hungary were found to be in most breach of the EU rules over the judicial reforms. 

EU insists that Poland must repeal its court reform of December 2019 that has amended the national rules relating to the organisation of the ordinary courts, the administrative courts and the Supreme Court. European Commission called for abolishing the Polish law that infringes EU rules. Commission maintains that the Polish judicial law cripples the Polish Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, whose independence and impartiality are not guaranteed, and its jurisdiction to rule on cases has a direct impact on the status of judges and the performance of their duties. EU does not expect Poland's right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) to comply with the EU's proposed changes ahead of the September elections. 

"Serious concerns persist related to the independence of the Polish judiciary,” the 2023 Rule of Law Report, maintained. 

According to the Polish justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, ECJ "was assuming powers that it didn't even have." "The ruling was not written by judges, but by politicians," Ziobro emphasised. 

Hungary argues that it has introduced legislation to "de-politize" the judiciary in order to bring its courts up to European standards. Hungarian officials stress that the member state is obligated to make changes in accordance with the European Union over its rule-of-law and corruption concerns. EU insists that Hungary must meet all 27 proposed laws to address the concerns around the rule of law and the eroding democratic set-up within the country. European Commission, in July last year, referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU over a Hungarian law which it says discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.