ZBetween the EU and Poland, the next dispute over judicial issues is looming. The head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Laura Codruta Kövesi, told the Polish newspaper “Rzeczpospolita” that Poland is refusing to answer inquiries from her institution. Poland is one of the five EU members that have not joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has only been in operation for a year. However, it is obliged to support them in cross-border investigations. “We made 23 requests for cooperation, all of which were rejected,” said Kövesi. You have therefore turned to the EU Commission in Brussels. The result could be a lawsuit against Poland at the European Court of Justice.
The task of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is to investigate criminal offenses in which EU funds have been misappropriated or embezzled. The question of cooperation with Kövesi’s authority can be important for triggering the so-called rule of law conditionality; this mechanism, adopted in 2020, allows the Commission to reduce the payment of funds to a member state if there are indications that a possible misuse of the money is not being pursued by an independent judiciary. The Commission has announced proceedings against Hungary.
In the case of Poland, the EU has so far seen no indications of the misuse of EU funds. However, because of the dispute over the politicization of the Polish judiciary, she withheld the funds from the Corona reconstruction fund to which Poland was entitled – a total of around 36 billion euros. An agreement was reached in this dispute last week when the Polish parliament decided to dissolve the so-called Disciplinary Chamber. On Wednesday, the EU Commission agreed with Poland on a plan for the payment of the Corona aid. This was announced by EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. However, the money is only paid out when the agreed “milestones” have been met. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled to travel to Warsaw this Thursday.