Poland and Brussels to kiss and make up

Warsaw and the European Commission are set to present a new “action plan” on Tuesday seeking to restore rule of law in Poland and end the EU’s sanctions against it, as it looks to reclaim a leadership position on the EU stage.

Poland’s new Justice Minister Adam Bodnar will unveil the action plan in Brussels on Tuesday morning alongside European Values and Transparency Commissioner Věra Jourová and Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

“I am deeply determined to restore constitutional order in Poland and solve the rule-of-law crisis,” Bodnar told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook. “Poland will be one of the leading members of the EU again.”

The European Commission launched the so-called Article 7 sanctions procedure, which can see a country lose its voting rights in the European Council, in 2017 against Poland under the previous Law and Justice government. The move came after the government introduced reforms which the EU’s top court found violated rule-of-law standards.

When Prime Minister Donald Tusk took power in December, he vowed to restore rule of law and improve Poland’s relationship with the EU — an effort that appears set to bear fruit.

Poland’s leading role in galvanizing support for Ukraine as it seeks to fend off the Russian invasion has seen the EU’s center of gravity shift, with speculation rife in Brussels that the country could find itself rewarded with a plum Commission post after the June European parliamentary election.

“For six years, we have tried to find the way to address the serious concerns regarding rule of law in Poland,” European Values Commissioner Jourová told Playbook. “Only days after the new government took office,” Bodnar and Jourová met to seek to resolve the dispute. “I very much welcome … the determination of the new Polish government,” the commissioner said.

“I am glad to see this action plan sees a light of day. The Commission will support Poland with the implementation of the action plan,” Jourová said.

Reynders, the EU’s justice commissioner, also noted that since Tusk’s government took office, “it has shown a clear commitment to restore the rule of law in the country.”

Poland’s Bodnar said that it would take time for the EU’s sanctions procedures to be closed.

“The destruction of the rule of law in Poland which caused legal uncertainty, chaos and politicization of the judiciary lasted eight years,” Bodnar told Brussels Playbook. “Fixing that is not something that could be done in one day … But we don’t and won’t waste any time.”

An official said the hope was that Brussels would close the Article 7 procedure against Poland during the current Belgian Council presidency — meaning before July.

Once the file against Poland is officially closed, there will only be one country left with an open procedure against it: Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

This article has been updated with additional information.