Is this the start of Pexit?
The European Commission has launched unprecedented disciplinary proceedings against Poland over its highly controversial judicial reforms, which Brussels says threaten the rule of law.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to initiate Article 7.1. But the facts leave us with no choice," Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters in Brussels.
The commission, the EU's executive arm, is activating article seven of the bloc's treaty, a never-before-used disciplinary procedure that could ultimately lead to Poland losing its voting rights in the EU.
Mr Timmermans said that 13 laws adopted by Poland in the space of two years had created a situation where the government "can systematically politically interfere with the composition, powers, the adminstration and the functioning" of judicial authorities.
Poland's right-wing government began making changes to the judiciary after coming to power in late 2015, and have said the reforms are needed to combat corruption and overhaul the judicial system still haunted by the communist era.
Mr Timmermans said Warsaw had ignored three recommendations by the commission, and Brussels had a duty to act - even if it would be presented by some as an attack on Poland.
"At the end of the day it is only the law that can protect us against naked political power, at the end of the day it is the law that keeps the European Union together," he said.
Poland has denounced the decision.
"Poland deplores the European Commission's launch of the procedure foreseen in Article 7, which is essentially political, not legal" in nature, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it risks undermining "mutual trust".
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter that "Poland is as devoted to the rule of law as the rest of the EU."
He said that the "current judiciary reform is deeply needed", echoing the country's governing Law and Justice party (PiS), which says the reforms are needed to banish the last traces of communism from public life nearly three decades after its collapse.
"The dialogue between the Commission and Warsaw needs to be both open and honest. I believe that Poland's sovereignty and the idea of United Europe can be reconciled," Mr Morawiecki said.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker invited Mr Morawiecki back to Brussels "to continue the discussion" begun at a summit last week.
A Polish government spokesperson said that Mr Morawiecki and Mr Juncker were expected to meet on 9 January.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/1220/92...ission-poland/