EU top court says that Poland’s justice reform infringes EU law

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has stepped up its rule-of-law fight with member state Poland on Monday after the bloc’s highest court confirmed that Warsaw refuses to comply with the EU rules on judicial independence for which it has already lost over half a billion euros in fines. The European Court of Justice ruled that Poland’s 2019 justice reform infringes EU law after the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, claimed that the Polish Supreme Court lacked the necessary independence and impartiality. The EU institutions have insisted that Poland under the populist Law and Justice party has been on a slippery slope away from the EU’s rule of law principles.