Poland’s opposition expressed readiness to work with the ruling party on legislation to roll back a contested overhaul of the judiciary to access more than €35 billion ($37 billion) in European Union aid.
(Bloomberg) — Poland’s opposition expressed readiness to work with the ruling party on legislation to roll back a contested overhaul of the judiciary to access more than €35 billion ($37 billion) in European Union aid.
The draft that emerged hours after the government reached a preliminary deal with the European Commission on Tuesday had divided the ruling alliance and will most likely need the opposition’s support to pass in parliament. It marks a remarkable turn after years of disputes between Poland and the EU, which accused Warsaw of eroding independent institutions and the rule of law.
“We agreed to proceed with the bill at the next parliamentary sitting,” Borys Budka, the deputy head of Poland’s largest opposition party, told reporters in Warsaw after a meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “As you can see, the government isn’t sure it has the majority — so it’s begun talking to the opposition.”
The changes proposed by the ruling Law & Justice party lawmakers overnight would entail altering the mechanism for disciplining judges and questioning their status, which have been among the key stumbling blocks in talks with the EU, according to the draft post on the parliament’s website.
While the commission made an initial positive assessment of Poland’s draft legislation, any resolution will depend on parliamentary approval of the agreed text, according to an EU official who declined to be identified because the talks aren’t public.
The push reflects a new sense of urgency from the government to secure the funds, as the nation of 38 million grapples with a cost-of-living crisis and surging inflation spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Opinion polls suggest the ruling party may lose its grip on power in the election scheduled for October next year. Rising borrowing costs will likely limit its scope for spending during the campaign.
A group of lawmakers around Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro have repeatedly attacked the prime minister for what they described as sacrificing Poland’s sovereignty in deal-making with the EU. Without their votes, Law & Justice lacks a majority.
The opposition said it’s not going to be pressured into adopt the bill swiftly — and expects the work to spill over into next week. The parties have consistently criticized Law & Justice for its confrontational approach to the EU.
“We have time to proceed, to prepare a good law — one that we won’t be ashamed of in Brussels,” Krzysztof Gawkowski, a lawmaker for the opposition Left, told reporters. He referred to attempts to force a quick vote as “blackmail.”
–With assistance from Jorge Valero and Stephanie Bodoni.
(Updates with comments from the opposition from first paragraph.)
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