EU’s Timmermans to visit Poland to talk rule of law

Trip comes after Warsaw adopts softer tone in dispute with Brussels.

European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans will visit Poland on Monday for talks with senior officials about the dispute between Brussels and Warsaw over the rule of law.

The visit is a sign of increased dialogue after two years of tense relations, which culminated last December when Timmermans announced that the Commission would for the first time trigger the so-called Article 7 process, which can ultimately result in a member country’s right to vote on EU affairs being suspended.

A Commission spokesperson said Timmermans would meet Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, as well as Julia Przyłębska, the president of the Constitutional Court, and Małgorzata Gersdorf, the Supreme Court First President.

The announcement comes after Poland’s ruling PiS party appeared ready to back down on some of the laws at the heart of its battle with Brussels and softened its tone against the Commission. But diplomats in Brussels say they remain cautious about the prospect of an end to the dispute as the Polish parliament has not discussed the proposed changes yet and Warsaw, a major beneficiary of EU funds, has a strong interest in soft-pedaling with Brussels as discussions are about to start on the bloc’s next long-term budget.

The Commission has said the Polish government’s legal reforms undermine the independence of the judiciary and violate the country’s own constitution. Warsaw has insisted the measures are meant to modernize a system that still has elements dating back to communist rule.

Last month, PiS presented amendments to laws criticized by Brussels. The proposed changes include equalizing the retirement age of male and female judges and reducing the role of Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro in the process of removing court presidents and vice presidents.

Earlier this week, Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling PiS party, told the right-wing news magazine Gazeta Polska that there’s an “80 percent” chance that Poland will soon end its dispute with the Commission.

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