With an application for financial sanctions against Poland, the EU Commission is tightening its action against the country's judicial reforms.
The concrete background is the continued activity of the disciplinary body to punish judges, as the Brussels authority announced on Tuesday.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) now has to decide on the application.
The commission had previously given Poland an ultimatum until mid-August.
In mid-July, the ECJ ruled that Poland's disciplinary body was in violation of European law.
The highest European judges found that the chamber at the country's highest court, established in 2018, does not offer all guarantees of independence and impartiality.
In addition, the ECJ had already shortly before requested Poland to suspend the provisions with which the disciplinary body is empowered to rule on applications for the waiver of judicial immunity as well as on questions relating to the employment and retirement of judges.
The decision also affected other provisions of Polish law that concern the independence of judges.
Poland then announced that the controversial disciplinary body in its current form would be abolished.
She is currently still working on old cases.
Theoretically, the amount of the financial sanctions could amount to a six-figure daily fine.
In another case, the ECJ threatened Poland in 2017 with a fine of at least 100,000 euros per day.
At that time, the court ordered Poland to stop the deforestation of the protected Bialowieza jungle.