The European Commission on Wednesday announced it was starting an infringement procedure against Poland over rulings by the country's constitutional tribunal in July and October that challenged the primacy of EU law over national law, the Reuters news agency reported.
The move marked the latest step in a prolonged row between Brussels and Warsaw over judicial independence and the rule of law.
The EU Commission said it had "serious doubts on the independence and impartiality" of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.
The Warsaw-based Constitutional Tribunal ruled in October that some articles of the European Union treaties were against the country's constitution.
Amid a long-standing dispute over whether national law takes precedence over EU law, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in July ruled that interim measures imposed by the EU’s top court on Poland's justice system were against the national constitution.
The Warsaw headquarters of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
"The Commission considers that these rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are in breach of the general principles of autonomy, primacy, effectiveness and uniform application of Union law and the binding effect of rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union," the EU Commission said in a statement.
Polish Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta wrote in a tweet that the European Commission "is initiating proceedings and wants to subordinate the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland to EU law."
"This is an attack on the Polish constitution and our sovereignty," he said.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters he did not agree with "the opinion of the European Commission concerning the Polish Constitutional Tribunal" and rejected accusations it had been politicised, news agencies reported.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Photo: PAP/Hanna Bardo
(gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, TVP Info, ec.europa.eu