The European Commission has reaffirmed that Poland’s parliament should have the power to appoint new judges, giving political support to Prime Minister Donald Tusk in an escalating dispute over the country’s Constitutional Tribunal.
Commissioner Michael McGrath told POLITICO that appointing the judges falls within the authority of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament.
The confrontation involves Tusk’s government and President Karol Nawrocki, who was elected in 2025 with backing from the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. The government is seeking to reverse judicial changes introduced by PiS between 2015 and 2023. Those reforms were criticised by European courts over concerns about judicial independence.
Nawrocki has refused to swear in some judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. At the same time, the Tribunal’s PiS-linked leadership has prevented those judges from taking up their duties, deepening the institutional standoff.
Sources: Politico Europe.