EU court confirms €320M fine against Poland over judicial reforms
The EU General Court upheld a substantial financial penalty against Poland on Wednesday, amounting to around €320 million, for non-compliance with EU laws related to its judicial reforms implemented in 2019.
The European Commission argued that legislative changes to Poland’s judicial system, specifically those adopted in December 2019, contravened foundational EU principles, prompting legal proceedings, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Poland was initially penalized with a daily fine of €1 million in November 2021 due to non-compliance with a prior court order to suspend certain national judicial provisions. Following partial adjustments made by Poland in June 2022, which aimed to align its laws with EU directives, the daily fine was reduced to €500,000.
Despite these legislative efforts, Poland’s inconsistent payment of the penalties led to the European Commission recovering the owed amounts by offsetting them against various claims held by Poland within the EU. This method of recovery totaled approximately €320 million for penalties accrued from July 2022 to June 2023. Poland’s subsequent legal challenge to annul the Commission’s offset decisions was dismissed by the General Court, which confirmed that the offsets did not breach EU law and justified compliance enforcement.
This ruling aligns with efforts by the Polish new government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has been proactive in reversing the controversial reforms to restore the rule of law, a move that convinced Brussels to unfreeze significant funds previously withheld due to the judicial overhaul.
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