Poland will not voluntarily leave the EU due to a dispute with the European Court of Justice, but there is a mechanism of forced exclusion, Nikolai Topornin, associate professor of the Department of European Law at MGIMO of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told RIA Novosti.
On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the European Union imposed a fine on Poland of one million euros per day pending the liquidation of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court.
“Yes, there is such a possibility that if the state systematically violates democratic standards, it renounces the famous European values, then, of course, the exclusion procedure (of a country from the EU – ed.) Can be used, already compulsory exclusion,” the expert replied to the question of the likelihood of Poland being expelled from the EU for persistent failure to comply with the requirements of the European Union.
According to him, if the EU is not satisfied with Poland’s position, it will seek to “freeze” its membership in the EU. Topornin, however, believes that Brussels will use a “financial whip” in the beginning.
“In practice, this means first using a financial whip so that the Poles understand what it threatens them with, the loss of billions of euros,” the expert noted.
As for Poland’s voluntary exit from the EU, Topornin assesses this probability as insignificant, noting that the country’s leadership does not consider such a possibility, it is “satisfied with the economic system, they are satisfied with the fact that every year they receive very serious subsidies for the development of certain industries.”
In July, the EU Court demanded the immediate termination of the work of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland. According to the EC, the activities of the disciplinary chamber, which can make decisions on the professional activities of judges, threaten their independence and impartiality. In turn, the Polish Constitutional Court did not consider the decision of the EU court to suspend the work of the disciplinary chamber binding for execution. Nevertheless, Poland, in response to the EC’s claims on the rule of law, agreed to suspend the work of the disciplinary chamber of the Constitutional Court. However, the European Commission believes that Poland did not fully comply with the court’s decision and continued actions that could threaten the independence of the judiciary. The European Commission has applied to the European Court of Justice for financial sanctions against Warsaw.