Last week, the European Commission gave Timmermans a mandate to deliver a formal diplomatic note, the so-called Opinion, to Warsaw in case Poland fails to make substantial progress in addressing Brussels’ concerns over democratic rights in the eastern European country.
“Travelling to Poland this morning. Meeting with the Prime Minister this afternoon,” Timmermans said on Twitter.
Travelling to Poland this morning. Meeting with the Prime Minister this afternoon.
— Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) 24 мая 2016 г.
In late 2015, the Polish authorities adopted a set of controversial media and constitutional court laws, including amendments to the law on the Constitutional Tribunal influencing the independence of its judges, that have been widely criticized both in Poland and abroad. The Constitutional Tribunal recognized the unconstitutionality of new legislation in its March ruling, which the Polish government refused to publish to prevent it from being considered legally binding.
In March, the Council of Europe’s advisory panel, known as the Venice Commission, argued in its report that the law, in combination with other amendments, endangered the rule of law and the democratic system in Poland.
