Poland yields: Disciplinary Chamber to be dissolved
Poland has missed out on billions of euros in EU funds because of its controversial judicial reform. The Disciplinary Chamber, established in 2019 at the Polish Supreme Court to punish unruly judges, was at the centre of the dispute. Poland's parliament has now voted to dissolve the body and replace it with a new one. But this doesn't mean the controversy is over, commentators stress.
All is not well yet
The Polish reform of the reform can only be a partial remedy for the ailing judiciary, Deutschlandfunk stresses:
“The abolition of the Disciplinary Chamber at least offers the chance to prevent the gagging of judges in the future. However, many other aspects of the judicial reform - including the appointments of PiS accomplices to the Constitutional Court - remain intact, and much of the chaos persists. Nevertheless, Brussels should now realease a first tranche of the Covid funds to Warsaw. Poland and its people need it, for example to provide for the Ukrainian refugees. Further disbursements should be made contingent on the consistent restoration of the rule of law in Poland.”
Long wait for money from Brussels still ahead
Rzeczpospolita dampens hopes of an immediate payout from the EU:
“Everything points to our national reconstruction plan finally being approved by Brussels before June 2, when EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Poland. That will enable us to access around 36 billion euros from the EU reconstruction fund. This is good news for businesses and the economy. ... But the question is when the recovery plan will actually begin and when the EU will start transferring the funds to us. Because the fact is that various formal steps still need to be completed, and that will probably take several months.”