Article 7

Poland ignores EU sanction risk by sealing controversial reforms

Poland's President Andrzej Duda signs law forcing two-fifths of Supreme Court Justices to retire, gives politicians sway over court appointments

bloomberg

21.12.2017

Poland defied the European Union’s unprecedented call for member states to punish it for failing to uphold the bloc’s values, signing into law a judicial overhaul that puts the country at risk of economic sanctions and losing its voting rights.

President Andrzej Duda announced the decision on Wednesday, hours after the European Commission said the government in Warsaw posed a threat to the rule of law by putting courts under political control and recommended triggering Article 7 of the EU treaty.