Last week, the European Commission (EC) positively assessed Poland's Recovery and Resilience Plan, spending 23.9 billion euros in subsidies and 11.5 billion euros under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Because of politics, Poland was one of the last countries to receive such an assessment. Most of the other EU member countries have already received those funds while Poland was held hostage over the "rule of law," where an attempt was made to reform the judicial system, which allows former communist regime judges to still sit on the bench.
The positive assessment of Poland's plan of spending the recovery money means that left-wing politicians inside and outside the country can no longer attempt to bring down the center-right government over this issue. Therefore, there is a strong opposition to it in the European Parliament voiced by Guy Verhofstadt, a Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament.
Here is what Guy Verhofstadt said in a letter to MEPs requesting a vote of no confidence in the European Commission:
"Dear colleagues,
Last week, the European Commission positively assessed Poland's Recovery and Resilience Plan, spending 23.9 billion euros in subsidies and 11.5 billion euros under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), even though Poland does not comply with the CJEU rulings on the rule of law and its authorities do not recognize the primacy of EU law.
The Commission decided to give a positive assessment, blatantly disregarding several Parliament resolutions, several CJEU rulings and opposition inside the College, as five key commissioners publicly doubt whether the so-called milestones are sufficient to implement the judgments of the CJEU. Moreover, these commissioners are concerned that the Commission will not rigorously verify implementation. '
The Commission is fully aware that the remedies announced by the Polish authorities are purely cosmetic. This is particularly evident in the fate of the dismissed judges, who, instead of being reappointed, will only have the possibility of their case being reconsidered by the newly created chamber. By calling these and other cosmetic changes "milestones" that must be met before money flows to Poland, the Commission shows that it has no intention of upholding the CJEU rulings and has relinquished any leverage to restore the rule of law in Poland.
The Commission is the guardian of the treaties, responsible for the application of EU law under the control of the European Court of Justice. EU values are a fundamental cornerstone of the Union and are not for sale. If the Von der Leyen's Commission ceases to fulfill its role as guardian of the treaties, Parliament should withdraw its trust.
Therefore, we hereby call for the signing of a motion of no confidence in the European Commission pursuant to Art. 127 of our Regulations. It will be submitted when the Commission transfers NextGen funds to Poland, before all CJEU rulings are fully implemented, before dismissed judges are reinstated and without Poland recognizing the primacy of EU law. Of course, this does not affect solidarity with Poland in terms of EU funds for the admission of refugees, which we wholeheartedly support.
If you wish to sign the application, please inform our offices before the end of the first session of June."
