Poland to Pull Fast One on EU in Push to ‘Purge’ Top Court
- Law & Justice to fast-track bill to replace Supreme Court boss
- Poland risks billions of euros in EU funds with judicial row
Photographer: Jaap Arriens/Getty Images
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Poland’s ruling party will start the fast-track approval of a draft law meant to pre-empt potential punishment from the European Union and complete the most dramatic judicial revamp in the bloc’s former communist east.
Racing against EU efforts to stop the overhaul, parliament will begin debating rules on Thursday that ease the replacement of the Supreme Court’s chief justice and ratchet up pressure on other judges. While the government says the changes are needed to restore a sense of judicial fairness to ordinary Poles, the EU and pro-democracy watchdogs say the moves not only break the bloc’s rule-of-law standards but may also lead to a spike in corruption.