EU fines Poland €1 million per day over judicial reforms
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay a fine of €1 million ($1.2 million) per day on Wednesday over its decision to ignore an EU ruling on Warsaw's judicial reforms, Deutsche Welle reported.
The top EU court imposed the penalty as Poland has not suspended the disciplinary chamber of its Supreme Court, which critics say allows for the dismissal of judges on political grounds.
The ECJ had ruled in July that the chamber does not guarantee judicial impartiality, and ordered that it be suspended.
The ECJ said in a press release Wednesday that the fine was "necessary in order to avoid serious and irreparable harm to the legal order of the European Union and to the values on which that Union is founded, in particular that of the rule of law."
The European Commission had requested "financial penalties" be levied on September 9 after Poland failed to comply with the July ruling.