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Polands Senate has approved a controversial measure that would allow the government to replace every member of the nations supreme court with people of its choice. The move puts it on a collision course with the European Union that says the bill threatens the independence of the judiciary and the blocs values.

The EU threatened Poland with the unprecedented step of sanctioning it with Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, a move that would suspend Warsaws voting rights within the bloc. But the threat by the EUs first vice president, Frans Timmermans, notwithstanding, any move to use Article 7 must be unanimousand thats not likely given that Hungary, Polands Visegrad ally, has threatened to veto any such action.

The Senates 55-23 vote came in the early hours of Saturday after 16 hours of contentious debate. The vote came two days after the Sejm, Polands lower house of parliament, approved the measure. President Andzrej Duda, who normally supports the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), must then sign the bill into law. He has 21 days to do so. A spokesman for the president said Duda saw flaws in the measure, but declined to say whether he would sign it or seek the opinion of the countrys constitutional court.

Duda had said hell approve the measure only if an additional amendment is passed. Under that amendment, the number of votes needed to appoint the judges would be raised to a three-fifths parliamentary majoritya move that could make it more difficult for PiS, or any future government, to force judicial changes. The measure does include that amendment, but its critics say it doesnt go far enough to ensure judicial independence. The U.S. State Department said it was concerned by the measure.

The legislation prompted massive protests, including this week after the Sejms vote. It was one of the largest protests in Warsaw since PiS came to power in late 2015. The demonstrations continued into early Friday. Protesters carried both Polish and EU flags, and chanted against the government.

At issue is the composition of Polands supreme court. At present, the courts 83 judges appoint other judges, too, a process that critics say takes too much time and is rife with potential conflicts of interest. The court has the authority to determine the legality of elections and referenda, and to rule on the validity of laws. PiS and its supporters say the courts judges are elitists and the changes are needed to make the court more accountable. Indeed, an overwhelming majority of Poles have in the past supported a judicial overhaul, citing the slow pace of the system and sometimes controversial rulings, but even political parties that support a judicial overhaul in principle say the governments effort goes too far. By stacking the court with it allies, they argue, PiS would destroy the independence of Polands judiciary and, they say, the move is a naked power grab thats in line with the government other recent actions. PiS, which was elected in 2015, has tightened its grip on the state media and NGOs. Critics of the measure say the government could use it to force changes to the courts composition and target individuals, entities, and corporations its views as an opposition. The EU is involved because the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary is enshrined as one of the blocs fundamental principles.

Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who is now president of the European Council, wrote to Duda seeking an urgent meeting. He called the legislation a negation of European values and standards that put our reputation at risk.

Politically, they move us back in time and spacebackward and to the East, Tusk wrote.

Bogusaw Kapon, legal counsel partner at Warsaws Domaski Zakrzewski Palinka, one of the largest law firms in Poland, told The Wall Street Journal that the measure is a clear subordination of the courts by authority.

The supreme court will become a nice place for talking about nothing, and thats enough for the ruling party, Kapon said.

Businesses groups have asked Duda to veto the measure.

Still, the PiS has more than enough support to carry out its actions. It has a small majority in the Sjem, a much larger majority in the Senate, and an approval rating of between 35 and 40 percent (as opposed to 22 to 25 percent for its rivals). The reason for its popularity, Reuters notes, is because of its spending on social programs, coupled with record low unemployment and strong economic growth.

Its brand of patriotic rhetoric infused with Catholic piety resonates strongly with many Poles who feel frustrated by a gap in standards of living with the West, nearly three decades after the collapse of communism, Reuters says.

For the EU, watching Poland go the way of Hungary has been startling. It may begin infringement procedures against Poland as early as next weeka process that could take years. For the EU, the promise of the era following the collapse of the Berlin Wall was fulfilled when Poland and other Eastern bloc countries joined the EU in 2004. More than a decade later, that initial promise is, in the EUs view, imperiled.

View post:
Poland: The EU's Next Big Test - The Atlantic

Germanys foreign minister penned a memo to Turks defending his governments actions, the latest move in a diplomatic feud between the countries that also saw Germany getting support from the European Union.

Sigmar Gabriel published an open letter to German Turks in both languages in Saturdays edition of the popular Bild newspaper, saying the government cant just sit idly by and has to protect its citizens after Turkeys jailing of German human rights activists and two journalists. Meanwhile, European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn said Ankara is on a destructive course and backed Germany in an interview with the newspaper Die Welt.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Your home is in Germany -- but for many of you also in Turkey, Gabriel wrote in his letter. Friendship between the Germans and Turks is a great treasure, he said. But now, respectable German citizens are being thrown in jail.

We are going to review the cooperation and especially the economic support for Turkey, said Gabriel. What you should know is: none of this is aimed at the people in Turkey and our fellow citizens with Turkish roots in Germany.

The dispute between the countries governments escalated Friday after a Turkish judge ordered the re-arrest of four human-rights campaigners from Germany. Journalists are also being held. German companies including Daimler AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Siemens AG and Volkswagen AG have exposure to Turkey with operations or manufacturing there, and the German government depends on the country to help stem the flow of migrants into Europe.

Backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, Gabriel announced a re-orientation of Germanys Turkey policy on Thursday and issued travel warnings to Germans. EU Commissioner Hahn said Turkey is moving farther and farther away from European standards and called Germanys reaction understandable amid Turkeys arrest of human-rights activists, journalists and others under dubious pretensions.

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Munichs Sueddeutsche Zeitung reportedon Saturday that Germanys desire to halt 4.45 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in payments to Turkey under an EU program for countries aiming to join the union poses a legal challenge, in part because the transfers through 2020 are tied to negotiations about Turkeys entry into the bloc. While talks have stalled, the country is officially still a candidate for membership.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported onSaturday that the German government is reviewing arms deals with Turkey, citing an Economy Ministry spokeswoman as saying that orders were being put up for review.

View post:
German Minister Addresses Turks as EU Reacts to Diplomatic Spat - Bloomberg

Britain

Hey politico it is my body and i dont care what you say!

Posted on 7/21/17 | 7:33 AM CEST

10 hell freezes over 11 when politico starts reporting properly 12 when the EU is run for its citizens and not the elite 2%.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 7:45 AM CEST

But who says that the other party in the divorce proceedings wants him/her back? Faith and trust, both cornerstones of any successful union, are damaged considerably. Who in the EU wants further dealings with someone like BJ who changes his mind, not after careful thought, but because he just feels like it or NF whose spiteful tirades as a MEP doesnt prevent him sitting there and getting his remuneration poor chap would be on the dole otherwise. We talk about the EU vs UK as if there are two parties but one party has 27 members who all have to voice their say and if it comes to a vote a democratic majority may find that they just dont want the UK anymore.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 7:50 AM CEST

How many times does the government have to say we are leaving EVERYTHING!

Lanacaster House Speech Oct2016:were leaving everything. Article 50 letter March 2017: were leaving. Start of June 2017 negotiation Davis to Barnier: were leaving everything.

Get it in your skulls! The confusion is in the Eu and left wing press. UK cant be leaving everything. Im confused DUH!

Were leaving.

We mean it. Treat us a third country please, it will stop your confusion!

If you think the EU and for instance Canada or Saudi Arabia (a third country) would have a press conference where EU says, we will have our courts over Saudia Arabia, and you would expect the Saudis to stand there and go OH OK THEN DUH!. No a Third country would think the EU were a bunch of nutty weirdos for suggested this to them. GET IT IN YOUR HEADS! We are behaving like a third country with full sovereignty because THAT IS WHAT WE NOW ARE, which makes the EU look ridiculous to us.

You are all in denial. It is confusing you and the EU and their negotiators. But it is not the UKs fault. We cannot say it any more clearly!

Posted on 7/21/17 | 10:07 AM CEST

usual politico games

one never was (Vince cable) and one has been (tony Blair) are not representative. The Leave vote was the largest ever democratic mandate ever given by the British people. What difficulty do the remainers have in understanding that?

The over paid, over bearing, undemocratic elite who have made the EU to suit their own pockets and beliefs have tried their best to reverse the decision. The aim is to offer the worst deal possible and then try to get a vote on it, hence the initial dithering by the Govt.

Leave means Leave. We were all made fully aware of the consequences during the very long referendum campaign when the govt and the establishment tried to scare us all silly. The leaflet sent to every voter explained the consequences. We are not children.

The initial path will be rocky but it will be worth it to send out a message that the EU does not work as had been hoped, it is heading in a different direction to one we would like and that it is the ordinary people who count, not the elite who have made a very good living out of the organisation.

Cooperation? Friendship? Allies? Yes of course, but why can no one get it through their heads that our sovereignty is important to us?

Posted on 7/21/17 | 10:08 AM CEST

Milton your probably right the eu27 may not want the uk in the eu however given the choice they would still be over joyed if uk decided to revoke article 50 as it would allow the greedy spongers to get their mits on more uk hard earned money. But in reality its highly unlikely unless the eu were to cease its political and economic meddling and revert to nothing more than a free trade cooperative which wouldnt be compatible with germanic imperialism

Posted on 7/21/17 | 10:48 AM CEST

What is it about the EU that wants people to keep voting until they give the right answer?

Posted on 7/21/17 | 10:59 AM CEST

Not British here. Hope not, hot Britain will leave and stay out of the EU. Every day i pray for a hard brexit. Hope especially England stay out for a long long time. Dont wont to see the likes of Farrage on the EP. It never amused me, hope he takes his Circus to the British Parliament or to the British Embassy on the US. I did hope that britain voted leave.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 11:03 AM CEST

Ok, now take a couple of steps back from this article put a wet towel on your head and think through whats been written.

Sorry, but, all nine points added together make me think that some form of Brexit will happen this was effectively a Bremainers hope list as the old saying goes, hope, is not a strategy . Id go further, hope to somehow reverse Brexit is for losers. Far better to ,now, take off the rose-tinted spectacles and view Brexit as a positive outcome that will happen.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 11:05 AM CEST

@juan

One third of all MEPs in the European Parliament are Euroskepitic from all countries. If the EU reformed, this would not be so, so dont blame UK for EU failings.

The European Parliament has elections soon. What will majority be then? Euroskeptic? Anti-EU in the EU Parliament! Please remember the UK never voted in UKIP to OUR parliament in Westminster London, but they (I dont vote UKIP I am left-wing actually) voted them into Brussels. Do you think all those Le Pen voters have gone away because they made the sensible decision to not put her party in power in their own country. Voting in Europe Parliament is a different matter isnt it

You are just shooting the UK messanger. It is not our fault. We just tried to warn you. On your head be it. We do not want nutty far righters in this country thank you. We are not extreme. We have a normal ordinary Conservative in power and it is staying that way. The referndum stopped UKIP forever and they have now practically disbanded. The referendum got rid of them. Denying people a vote on something will always cause extremes such as the far right. Giving them the vote means we dont have to deal with the far-right anymore. EU countries will battle this until they lose.

Dont shoot the messnger. We warned you and you ignored us and dont want to listen at all. Like you said you want us to go and shut up. You do not want to hear it; but it is a FRIEND who warns you. An enemy would not warn you of dnager ahead would they? UK is your friend whether you believe it or not.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 11:16 AM CEST

@Wow: As a so-called friend, you dont seem to be willing to acknowledge the fact that the EU is made of various MS with different realities: it is not for one of them to impose its views on other partners. Certainly not through supposedly well-intended warnings and threats. I personally would welcome back the 48% who feel European. As to euro-sceptics, I see no problem with them campaigning for exiting the EU but they shouldnt be allowed to profit from the financial advantages offered by such a position if their sole purpose is to sink the boat. As I see it, a referendum delivering such a poor majority doesnt make any sense as it excludes half of the population. So long, my friend

Posted on 7/21/17 | 11:43 AM CEST

@Vishnou

You are in denial. This paper says things in other articles today like:

Ohhh the IMF is bailing out Greece isnt that GOOD news!

Good news!!! Good News??

Its a DISASTER!!!

Imagine if the UK had just got an IMF bailout!!!

Good NEWS!?!?!?!?!

You just want to shoot the messenger because you are in denial.

Complete denial. YOu come here and pick apart the UK which MIGHT lose a bit of growth ie it will still grow but not as quickly and the EU cannot afford to bail out Greece it has ahd to ask for AN IMF BAILOUT!!

Read the words and WAKE UP will you?

Stop blaming the UK, we did not cause the problems, we told you if you do not reform and deal with all these MASSIVE problems you have, we will have to protect ourselves from all this silliness, but we are still your firends and do not want to see you go under. You need to WAKE UP!!

You are all in complete and utter denial.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 11:52 AM CEST

@vishnou

The recent UK elections showed that the only party which wanted the EU to fail (UKIP) does not have much support in the UK. However, there is much support to the view that the UK will be much better off outside the EU. The majority of the people in the UK want the EU to be successful, however, not with the UK as a member. The problem seems to be that the EU does not want an independent UK to be successful. If only they would stop being so childish about this, then both parties could prosper.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:07 PM CEST

I doubt very much that the EU27 would accept for the UK to stay in the EU now that the UK has handed over the article 50 notification. Some member states might hold that view, but not enough of them to sway the decision.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:16 PM CEST

Francois P Are you familiar with Oliver Twist Please Sir can I have more?? Thats the Eu so of course they would want the uk to stay and continue topping up their bowls it is the uk that doesnt want to stay

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:31 PM CEST

@Francois P

You may hes a dreamer, but hes not the only one.

Poor Tusk singing the Beatles. I like him actually, he seems ok.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:34 PM CEST

No means NO.

Politico has consent issues.

Heres an explanation for you using Tea:

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:36 PM CEST

@Wow: I have a dream It would be nice, Dear Friend, if you would reflect on your discriminating comments for a change rather than accuse others of denial. Question yourself in the first place You may discover how your argumentation is voluntarily biaised and generated by bitterness. Identify where it stems from. You may perhaps have a chance to cure it. Good luck!!!

Posted on 7/21/17 | 12:55 PM CEST

@Chris: It is obvious the UK only joined the EU for what it could gain from it: the single market. Its successive governments never shared common views. Basically, you should never have joined: de Gaulle was right: the UK doesnt belong in the EU. Having said that your leaders signed the Treaties and therefore have to respect the clauses thereof, whether they enjoy it or not. The EU doesnt mind a trouble-maker leaving the club, on the contrary but it will have to be done according to the rules which all parties have acknowledge. There are no reasons why the UK should be treated with undue solicitude and allowed not to respect basic commitments.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:04 PM CEST

@Wow: you should calm down, my Friend. Getting so exciting is bad for your blood pressure

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:07 PM CEST

@Vishnou

Yes I agree. The EU was never a good fit for the UK. The UK should respect its basic commitments until March 2019. Obviously after 2019 there will be no further commitments that the UK will have against its will.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:32 PM CEST

@Vishnou.

You claim (and resent) the UK for joining the EU for its own self-interest. Fair pointBUT Do please tell me one of the other EU members that did NOT join for its own self-interest???

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:44 PM CEST

@Vishnou over-emotional subjective nonsense a s usual Vishnou.

I have merely stated facts as reported in this paper today.

Have some Tea. HAVE IT! Its a good consent video.

The Brits are too level-headed for all this EU nonsense. You should have reformed while you had the chance. We have been left with no option but to completely sever all ties, take an economic hit and get as far away from the EU as possible. Why is the IMF bailout of a Eurozone country good news? Because it is less of a disaster than the disaster that would happen without it. The complete collapse of the Euro would happen as admitted by this paper, ig Greece does not get an IMF bailout.

Is the Pound collapsing? NO. Is UK needing an IMF bailout? NO. Are these things even in the worse Brexit scenerio predicted to happen to the UK? NO! Worst prediction is a slowing of growth, so that we still grow but not as quick.

It is best we get away from the EU and its constant disasters as the EU nor it citizens are willing to face reality and indeed they shoot the UK messenger. None of these things are our fault. We are literally just the messenger.

You need to wake up from your sleep you are in deep deep denial.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:44 PM CEST

* It is a FRIEND who points out when you are heading for disaster. It is an enemy who stays quiet and watches you fall.

Dont forget this please.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 1:46 PM CEST

@ Wow : @Vishnou over-emotional subjective nonsense a s usual Vishnou.

Thank you, Wow, for this wonderful opportunity to encourage a dialogue. I admit it is not possible in view of your limitations, indeed.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 3:37 PM CEST

@Alan the 2nd: most of them did indeed, especially countries from the former Eastern block. But initial members respect their obligations and dont question the rules of the Treaties, which were agreed and signed by all. I honestly think the EU should reduce its membership and exclude all those members who joined for false reasons. We were much better off in 1995. when Austria, Finland and Sweden joined: that was enough. And the UK shouldnt have been accpeted in 1973.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 3:44 PM CEST

I do love Ms Millers vacuous populist will of the people statement clearly she believes that the only will that counts is the financiers in the City . . . to which class, oddly, she belongs.

The EU wants to move, however slowly, toward fiscal, monetary, political, and judicial unity. That means that all other considerations aside, Britain would inevitably, down the line, come under relentless pressure to go on the euro, surrender its current opt outs, submit to whatever migration pressures Brussles dictates, etc., etc. In short: somewhere in the future, if Britain stays in, it will be colluding in the true aim of the EU: the destruction of European nation states as such including itself. It will become nothing more than a cog in the EU wheel. Ms Miller, of course, sees nothing wrong with that as long as she and the City keep raking in money while the rest of Britain turns into a second-class shadow of what was once a great country.

The British is public is being lied to by both pro-EU (as opposed to pro-European) partisans and BREXIT partisans. The difference is, if the former win the war, Britain will see the end of itself as Britain within 25 years. From my view, any amount of uncertainty, economic included, for a decade is worth avoiding that, and having Brussels screaming at us that we must do more as half of Africa gatecrashes Europe and slowly replaces the former population that made Europe the success it became.

Posted on 7/21/17 | 4:06 PM CEST

@Vishnou Thats the point, you didn;t start a dialogue. Go and read your comment again. You jumped in and replied to me with emotional nonsense.

Link:
9 ways Britain could stay in the European Union - POLITICO.eu

The bill, sponsored by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), was passed by parliament's lower house earlier in the day after tumultuous debate. It saw one of the biggest protests since the PiS came to power in late 2015.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish centrist prime minister and arch-adversary of PiS, said he had asked President Andrzej Duda for an urgent meeting about the "political crisis" in the country.

Mr Tusk said in a statement that PiS moves on courts were backward, went "against European standards and values", harmed Poland's reputation and risked marginalising the country.

He said: It falls to us, together, to avert bleak outcomes which could ultimately lead to the marginalization of Poland in Europe The situation, including at international level, is really serious. And that is why I am asking for serious measures and serious partners. Please let us try, Mr. President.

GETTY

The vote came a day after the EU gave its largest formerly communist member state a week to shelve judicial reforms that Brussels says would put courts under direct government control.

If Warsaw's nationalist-minded PiS does not back down, the government could face fines and even a suspension of voting rights, although other eurosceptics in the EU, notably Hungary, will likely veto strict punishment.

In the best-case scenario, Poland will see its clout in Brussels wane further, damaged by mounting frustration among its EU peers arising from bitter disputes over issues such as migrant quotas and nature conservation.

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), told a crowd in Warsaw: We will ... not allow them to trample European values. We will not allow ourselves to be pushed out of the European Union."

GETTY

A crowd in front of the Presidential Palace, carrying Polish and EU flags responded with chants, "Free Poland, European!" "Free Poland, European!"

Sources close to the Presidential Palace told Reuters that President Duda was on vacation on the Baltic seacoast.

Warsaw City Hall estimated the crowd at more than 50,000, while police put it at 14,000. Tens of thousands demonstrated in other Polish cities.

Piotr, 48, who came to the protests in Warsaw with his five-year-old son, said: I wanted to be here on this historic day when our freedoms for which we fought for more than 25 years are being taken away.

The government says the changes are needed to make courts accountable and to ensure state institutions serve all Poles, not just the "elites" it says are the support base for the centrist opposition.

EPA

1 of 5

Demonstrators affiliated to leftist groups scuffle with riot policemen

PiS has offered no concessions, instead presenting the criticism as unacceptable foreign meddling in the domestic affairs of the country, which overthrew communism in 1989 and joined the EU in 2004.

"We will not give into pressure," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Thursday evening in a special state television address defending the bill. "We will not be intimidated by Polish and foreign defenders of the interests of the elite."

The bill will go to parliament's upper house today, where PiS has absolute majority. Duda, a PiS ally, will have to sign it before it can become law.

Critics at home and abroad say the legislation is part of a drift towards authoritarianism by the government, which espouses nationalist rhetoric coupled with left-leaning economic policy.

Since being elected in 2015, PiS has tightened government control over courts and prosecutors, as well as state media, and introduced restrictions on public gatherings and the activity of non-governmental organisations.

Last week, parliament passed another bill that ends the terms of current members of the National Council of the Judiciary, one of the main judicial bodies, and gives parliament powers to choose 15 of its 25 members.

Political opponents, rights groups and the EU say the changes undermine the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, a fundamental democratic principle.

While PiS remains broadly popular among many Poles, particularly poorer and older voters from the countryside, there have been widespread protests against the plans.

A senior aide to President Duda, Krzysztof Szczerski, said Tusk should instead focus on explaining Poland's stance in Brussels.

"The president is surprised that there has been such increased engagement in this matter by European institutions because everything is in accordance with the Polish legal order.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another nationalist critic of Brussels, wrote a letter to his Polish counterpart to express Budapest's support.

"We stand by Poland, and we call on the European Commission not to overstep its authority," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

The bill passed on Thursday calls for replacing all Supreme Court judges except those elected by a judicial panel that is to be chosen by the parliament. The Supreme Court's tasks include validating elections.

Follow this link:
'Poland will be marginalised in Europe' Tusk in astonishing ATTACK as Warsaw defies EU - Express.co.uk

Citigroup, which has its European headquarters in London, said this week that it would open a second trading hub in Frankfurt, where it has had operations for many years. Citigroup also has a large banking operation in Dublin.

Britain has started the clock on leaving the European Union, and will be out of the bloc by March 2019. Here is how Brexit has affected business so far.

Brian T. Moynihan, the Bank of America chairman and chief executive, said in a news release that Dublin was the home of more of the lenders employees than any other European city outside of Britain.

We already have a fully licensed and operational Irish-domiciled bank, which, combined with Irelands strong commitment to business and economic growth, makes Dublin the natural location to consolidate our legal entities as we transition, the statement said.

Bank of America, which has operated in Ireland since 1968, plans to move jobs not only to Dublin, but also to other locations where it operates in Europe, depending on the outcome of the negotiations on Britains withdrawal. The bank currently has about 700 employees in Ireland.

Although Bank of America would be consolidating its legal entities for the European Union in Dublin, London would remain the lenders headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Dublin has been locked in competition with Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Paris to lure financial firms making contingency plans.

While Frankfurt and Paris in particular have made aggressive sales pitches to business leaders, hoping to attract tens of thousands of workers, Ireland has made some inroads: The British lender Barclays said last week that it was in talks with regulators there to expand the license of its Irish subsidiary.

See the article here:
Bank of America Chooses Dublin as Post-'Brexit' European Hub - New York Times