Polish gov't should respect Constitutional Tribunal decision: EU Commissioner

Publishing and implementing the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal should be a starting point to exit the Tribunal crisis, Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said on Tuesday.

Timmermans made the statement during an official visit to Warsaw amid a probe launched by the European Commission into the rule of law in Poland.

After holding talks with Polish authorities, including Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, and the head of Constitutional Tribunal Andrzej Rzeplinski, Timmermans told reporters: "The starting position for political dialogue should be full recognition of the constitutional order as it is, which requires publication of the Constitutional Tribunal rulings and also application of those rulings."

He added: "The European Commission will do its best to facilitate dialogue, to stimulate works on the solution for this crisis." However, he said, the results of the talks were up to parties in Poland.

Timmermans announced a possible trip to Poland in two weeks, saying he was "encouraged by the dialogue with both Polish government, and the Constitutional Tribunal itself."

On Monday, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjoern Jagland also arrived in Warsaw for a series of meetings with Polish politicians revolving around the Constitutional Tribunal.

The Constitutional Tribunal crisis began in October 2015 with the appointment of five Constitutional Tribunal judges by the Civic Platform government, including replacement of two judges whose terms had not yet expired.

After the Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in 2015, it made its own appointments to the court and changed the tribunal's decision-making power. Two-third majority vote and mandatory participation of at least 13 of the 15 judges on the Constitutional Tribunal were made mandatory.

The appointments and amendments caused domestic protests and, together with the new public media law, were criticized by representatives of the European Union, including the Venice Commission. The Constitutional Tribunal rejected the controversial changes on March 9. However, this ruling has not been officially published by Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, who claims the decision is invalid. Endit