Would Poland be determined to get closer to its European partners on a lasting basis?

This is what the meeting, Tuesday, February 8, between the Polish President, Andrzej Duda, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, suggests.

Faced with the threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine, the three leaders met in Berlin where they displayed their unity to preserve peace in Europe "through diplomacy and through clear messages, as well as the common will to act together", said Olaf Scholz, the host of this working dinner. 

A rapprochement that does not convince Dorota Dakowska, professor of political science at Sciences Po Aix, interviewed by France 24. "The photo was beautiful", comments this specialist in Poland and the European Union (EU), who sees it before a whole "reconciliation of circumstance sounding like a beautiful communication operation".

The meeting of the three heads of state on Tuesday resuscitated, at least in appearance, the famous triangle of Weimar.

This body of trilateral cooperation between Paris, Berlin and Warsaw was invented in 1991 after the reunification of Germany. 

The return of the Weimar triangle

But for several years, this triangle had taken the dust, according to the Eurosceptic positions of Poland, closer to the Hungary of the nationalist Viktor Orban than to the European hard core.  

But the "Putin effect" has been there, and Andrzej Duda is worried about the Russian military presence on the borders of its Ukrainian neighbor, but also about the increasingly important militarization of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located between Poland and Lithuania.

So the Polish leader advocates a hard line towards Moscow.

A position that he defends tooth and nail on all fronts, with NATO, the Americans, including with the EU, even if it means watering down his wine.

"Appearances are deceiving", underlines however Dorota Dakowska: "The current Polish government is still not considered a reliable partner of the EU, in particular because of its failure to respect the rule of law." 

However, efforts have been made by Poland in recent weeks to settle several disputes between it and its EU partners.

Firstly, the Polish President announced on February 3 the abolition of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court.  

Removal of a body deemed not to comply with European democratic standards 

This body, responsible for supervising judges, has the power in Poland to lift their immunity to expose them to criminal prosecution or to reduce their salaries.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) considered in July that this chamber was "not immune to direct or indirect influence from the legislative and executive powers".

In October, the CJEU had therefore imposed on Poland a daily fine of one million euros for its refusal to abolish this body which does not comply with European democratic standards. 

A fine that Warsaw has still not paid.

Faced with this refusal, the European Commission demanded the payment of nearly 70 million euros in accumulated penalties, even threatening to deduct them directly from European funds intended for Poland. 

For some commentators, the announcement of the bill to abolish the judicial body suspected of bias, is only an attempt to obtain EU money.

They point out that the disciplinary transformation of the Supreme Court into a “chamber of professional responsibility” could be only a change of facade. 

Dorota Dakowska agrees.

"It's a very timid step forward," she explains, recalling that there are still many differences on the question of judicial independence in Poland.

The EU indeed continues to look into other problematic cases, such as the Polish Constitutional Court, where the EÉat appointed parliamentarians from the ultra-conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, making this other body a new institution "at the boot of power". 

An agreement on a coal mine polluting European neighbors 

Another point of friction with its European allies: the giant Turow coal mine operated by the Poles since 1904 on the border with the Czech Republic and Germany. 

Prague had been complaining for several years about the consequences (noise, dust, depletion of underground water reserves) of the exploitation of this deposit.

Seized by the Czech Republic, the CJEU ordered in May 2021 the "immediate" cessation of the operation of Turow due to harmful effects for the environment, imposing a penalty payment of 500,000 euros per day until shutdown of the mine.  

>> To read also on france24.com: Turow mine in Poland: the coal of anger

But Warsaw has so far refused to pay, castigating an "illegal sanction" and deeming Turow essential to the country's energy security.

Andrzej Duda suddenly put an end to the litigation, signing an agreement with his Czech neighbor on February 3, 2022.

Coincidence of the calendar?

This amicable settlement comes on the same day as the announcement of the abolition of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court. 

A new gesture perceived as a desire to settle accounts with the EU, at a time when the Ukrainian crisis is pushing Warsaw towards a rapprochement. 

But once again, Poland is acting because a record fine is hanging in its face.

And again, Warsaw may have to pay.

Brussels sent a signal of firmness on February 8, deciding to deduct from European funds intended for Poland the days of on-call duty due, before the amicable agreement with the Czech Republic.

A penalty estimated at around 15 million euros that Poland intends to contest by "all legal means". 

For Dorota Dakowska the Polish government may well have no choice but to be more and more "pragmatic" as Russia pursues its aggressive policy.

Especially since Andrzej Duda is sorely lacking in allies in Europe since his friend Viktor Orban "left Poland" to get closer to Vladimir Putin by going to negotiate a gas agreement in Moscow at the beginning of February.  

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