Brussels and Warsaw in new tussle over recovery fund as Poland threatens 'an eye for an eye'

euronews.com:

Poland has not yet fulfilled the requirements it agreed upon in order to unlock some €35 billion in EU recovery funds, the European Commission reiterated on Tuesday after the country's most powerful politician Jarosław Kaczyński accused Brussels of not respecting their deal and threatened to no longer adhere to its "obligations". 

Asked about Kaczyński's comments during a regular press briefing on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Commission stressed that although EU leaders approved Poland's Resilience and Recovery Plan (RRP) at their last Council summit in June, there were some strings attached in order for the funds to be disbursed.

The Commission demanded that Warsaw amend its legislation regarding a new disciplinary regime for judges deemed not compatible with EU law by the European Court of Justice before it proceeds with the payments of post-COVID recovery funds.

This is because it leaves Polish judges vulnerable to punishment on the basis of their rulings, which would undermine their independence and leave them vulnerable to political control.

Arianna Podestà, a Commission spokesperson, said that while the new law presented by the government "is an important step", their "preliminary assessment is that it does not ensure for the judges to question the status of another judge without risking being subject to disciplinary offence."

"We have already shared these observations with Poland in the context of the RRP implementation. It's of course, not a formal assessment of compliance with the milestones, as we are not at that stage of the procedure," she said, adding: "We have no payment request that has been made by Poland in the RRP."

Kaczyński, who was deputy prime minister until he resigned in June but remains leader of