Ahead of talks focusing on Poland among the bloc's European affairs ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Věra Jourová said she wanted to continue dialogue with the Polish government, state news agency PAP reported.
Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, who, alongside Jourová, is in charge of policing the rule of law in Europe, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying: "Unfortunately, we have seen negative evolutions in the last weeks and months since the last discussions on Poland and Hungary."
Jourová’s and Reynders’ comments came amid concerns over disciplinary measures for Polish judges that took effect last year as part of sweeping changes to the country’s judicial system by the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The new European Commission team was unveiled in September by its new chief, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, in December 2017 took the unprecedented step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, stepping up pressure on Warsaw over judicial reforms.
The Polish government has since moved to modify disputed legal changes.
Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which came to power in late 2015, has argued that sweeping changes are needed to reform an inefficient and sometimes corrupt judicial system marred by communist holdovers.
(jh/pk)
Source: PAP/Reuters