Flag of Poland and the European Union. File photoWARSAW, Jul 18Poland is demanding that the European Union stop charging it fines for problems with the rule of law, Piotr Muller, a spokesman for the Polish government, told reporters. Earlier, the European Commission withheld 100 million euros from funds due to Poland due to Warsaw's refusal to comply with the decision of the EU court. Prior to this, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ordered Poland to pay one million euros per day in favor of the European Commission as a fine for not complying with an earlier court decision to terminate the activities of the disciplinary chamber for judges. Warsaw, under pressure from the EC, adopted amendments to the law «On the Supreme Court», liquidating the disciplinary chamber from July 15. by virtue of this law (on the Supreme Court — ed.) to stop accruing these fines, since the reason for their accrual has already become irrelevant,» Muller said. At the same time, he insists that the EU Court was wrong, which imposed a fine on Poland. “From the very beginning, we believe that the EU Court of Justice has gone beyond its competence in this area,” he said. In July 2021, the EU Court of Justice demanded the immediate cessation of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland. According to the EC, the activities of the Disciplinary Chamber, which can decide on the professional activities of judges, threaten their independence and impartiality. In turn, the Constitutional Court of Poland did not consider the decision of the EU Court of Justice to suspend the work of the disciplinary chamber binding. From August 5 to August 16, 33 candidates for work in the new body will be selected in the Supreme Court. Of these, the president will select 11 judges.
