Poland summons director of EU office in Warsaw

The Polish foreign ministry has summoned Marek Prawda, director of the European Commission Representation in Poland, in connection with the analysis of the rule of law in Poland sent to the Commission, the ministry said Thursday in a statement.

The ministry summoned Prawda to provide explanations regarding the document he signed, which was sent to the European Commission.

"First, system changes regarding the Judiciary Council have been presented ... in a cursory way without a proper presentation of the opinion expressed in public by the justice minister.

"Secondly, in the opinion of the foreign ministry, the part of the document regarding 'the alleged persecution of judges protesting against the planned reform' is calumnious," the ministry said in a statement.

On Monday, the Polish ministry of foreign affairs made another statement on the Polish government's response to the Commission's complementary recommendation of Dec. 21, 2016, which pointed out reservations about changes to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland.

The Commission was especially concerned about amendments to the law taken between November and December 2016, arguing they might be a possible threat to the rule of law in the country.

"We have stressed that consolidating a democratic rule of law in Poland, including establishing stable grounds for the operation of the Constitutional Tribunal, is the overriding goal of Polish authorities.

"Any suggestion that improves the operation of the constitutional court is openly welcomed," the statement read.

On Wednesday, first vice president of the European Commission Franz Timmermans said Poland's response would be scrutinized and afterwards the Commission would decide on further actions. Endit