Commenting on the European Court of Justice ruling to reverse controversial judicial reforms in Poland purging the country’s supreme court judges, the European Green Party co-chairs Reinhard Bütikofer and Monica Frassoni said:
“Good news from Luxembourg! The European Court of Justice has taken a very important decision hindering Poland from purging a third of its supreme court justices. The ECJ decision corroborates the criticism voiced by the European Commission that Poland was in breach of the rule of law.
“The battle over maintaining rule of law as one of the most fundamental common denominators of the EU and a core European value is moving into a new stage. The ECJ lines up with the European Parliament and the European Commission who have already taken active steps to uphold the rule of law vis-à-vis the Hungarian and Polish governments. It is now up to the European Council to follow suit. Considering the contemptuous way in which the Polish Minister of Justice, Mr Ziobro has acted, it is urgent that member state governments clearly and openly communicate their support of the ECJ decision to the Warsaw government. Authoritarian tendencies have been making much too much headway in Europe over the last years. It took a while until democrats began understanding how vital it is not to let that development go unchecked. Democratic institutions have now begun to fight back. It is the duty of all democrats to join this fight. We do hope that all European capitals understand that.”
