German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann stressed the importance of restoring the rule of law during a visit to Warsaw on Tuesday as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk faced backlash in his efforts to reform the country’s legal system, Euractiv reported.
After taking power in December, Tusk began reversing controversial judicial reforms implemented by the previous government, led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), which the EU believes undermined the rule of law.
Democracy and freedom are only possible if there are fundamental rights and an independent judiciary to keep power in check.
Buschmann also warned that upholding the rule of law requires “a willingness to de-escalate on the part of all [actors].” He noted that defending the right to challenge the current government would also benefit the opposition.
Before his speech, Buschmann met for the first time with his Polish counterpart Adam Bodnar, who is leading Tusk’s efforts to reform Poland’s judiciary. While Germany’s relations with Poland have been strained in recent years during the previous PiS government, it is hoped that this will change with Tusk’s arrival.
Meanwhile, Tusk’s government expects to soon receive €20bn from EU recovery funds as the European Commission has frozen disbursements due to concerns over the rule of law. The country hopes to receive up to €18.5bn by the end of the year as part of the National Recovery Plan (KPO), which includes €10.5bn in loans and €8bn in grants, according to the cabinet plan.
Poland is expected to receive an additional €12.7bn in the first half of 2025, which together with the 2024 figure amounts to €31.2bn, or about half of the €59.8bn that Warsaw is expected to receive under the National Recovery Plan.
However, in order for the European Commission to unfreeze the payments, Poland has to fulfil several steps previously agreed with the Commission and mainly focused on the judicial system.
Although the Commission rejected the previous government’s judicial reform bill, PiS believed that Brussels’ decision to freeze the funds was due to a preference for the Tusk government. PiS MEP Ryszard Legutko declared:
The Commission is openly supporting the Tusk government. (…) It is an extremely partisan institution.
When visiting Warsaw last week, EU Commissioner Didier Reynders voiced hope that the Commission would soon be able to assess favourably Poland’s request for the first tranche of funds submitted last month.
Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar stated that the government’s primary goal was to “restore the rule of law for Polish citizens.”
