Poland has told the European Union it will shut down a chamber at its supreme court devoted to disciplining judges, an issue that has been at the heart of a dispute between Warsaw and Brussels. In announcing that it would disband the chamber, the Polish government insisted that it needed to have ways to punish judges who broke the law or otherwise abused their positions. The government also insisted that Polish law had primacy over EU law, another question that has been aggravating tensions between the 27-member bloc and Poland, its fifth most populous member state. A European Commission spokesperson, Christian Wigand, said Poland’s letter had been received and was being analysed, and he could not comment further at this point. The European Commission had given Poland until Monday to heed the injunction or face financial sanctions.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2021 11:08 UTC