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The latest confrontation between Warsaw and Brussels is more than a judicial disagreement: it marks a key moment in the fight between the rule of law and autocracy that threatens to very essence of the European project.

Last week, Polands constitutional tribunal ruled that decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding Polish courts violate the Polish constitution. Two days later, the CJEU declared that a chamber of the Polish Supreme Court does not fulfill EU criteria of an independent court and has to cease operations. The Polish authorities, in turn, said that they are not bound to follow the ruling and simply ignored it.

Questioning the supremacy of the EU law and verdicts of the blocs highest judicial body is not a minor offence. The EU is in its very essence a system of rules which requires respect and needs an ultimate arbiter when their application is disputed.

However, the EU institutions are not omnipotent. The boundary between what they are allowed to do and what is reserved for the authorities of the member states is often a matter of controversy. National tribunals and governments tend to complain about the power grab by the European institutions and even question decisions taken by the CJEU.

The current conflict between Warsaw and Brussels/Luxembourg is of a different magnitude, and framing it as a defense of Polish sovereignty against a EU overreach is nonsense.

The subjugation of the judiciary is a key part of the anti-democratic project of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS). And the intention of the Polish authorities is nothing less than to deny the EU the power to ensure that the courts in its member states remain independent and are not subject to political pressure.

Article 19 of the EU treaty guarantees "effective legal protection" for all EU citizens and companies. The Polish government says that this fundamental provision violates the Polish constitution because it grants the CJEU competence to assess if the national courts including those in Poland meet standards of judicial independence, standards which are internationally recognised and consolidated.

Should the EU the Commission, CJEU and the member states tolerate this defiance, it would pave the way for the destruction of the union. It would give member states a free hand to decide not just the structure of their judicial systems which is the sovereign right of all countries but also the principles they are based on. The EU is a union based upon a common market and common citizenship, but an independent judiciary is also a common good. Allowing member states to subvert it would be suicidal.

In Poland, judges have been harassed for standing up for the separation of power, for submitting questions to the CJEU and for implementing its rulings. The disciplinary system for judges is fully controlled by the minister of justice who nominates both prosecutors and judges and can personally go after each and every judge in the country.

This system, unsurprisingly condemned last week by the CJEU as violating EU principles, is used to intimidate judges, persecute those who criticise the demolition of the rule of law and ultimately to silence any form of resistance to these practices. And it is in the defense of this system as a pillar of the ongoing autocratic transformation that the Polish government and its subservient constitutional tribunal risk the future of the country and that of the EU.

All this is reflected in a report published this week by the European Commission in the framework of its yearly monitoring of the rule of law. In spite of an unemotional language, the report reads like a desperate cry or even an indictment.

"There are risks as regards the effectiveness of the fight against high-level corruption, including a risk of undue influence on corruption prosecutions for political purposes," the paper notes about Poland, proving it wasn't the lack of knowledge but political resolve that failed to prevent the current showdown. Now the stakes for both the EU and Poland could not be higher.

The Commission has already given Warsaw until 16 August to comply with the CJEU verdict. Otherwise, Brussels will request the court to impose daily financial penalties.

But the Commission must go further than issuing an ultimatum: it needs to clearly say that, as long the constitutional barriers for the application of the EU law are in place in Poland, payments from the Recovery Fund will be withheld. Moreover, the executive should trigger the newly established conditionality mechanism which is supposed to protect the EU financial interests against the risks related to deficiencies of the rule of law. Obviously, all of this will not work without the public backing from the member states.

In short, the EU needs to let the money its most powerful argument speak, since all more diplomatic ways have failed.

The recent escalation in Warsaws conflict with the EU could be the swan song of Kaczynskis waning power. His parliamentary majority is crumbling and the return of Donald Tusk his old political enemy to Poland revives unpleasant memories. For Kaczynski, this is a race against time. By tightening autocratic screws, he wants to secure the power before it slips away. But yet another, after Hungary, autocracy beefed up by huge EU funds would open the way for self-destruction of the European project.

This is the moment of truth when both the EU and Poland need a very powerful political signal that crossing indisputable red lines the binding nature of the rule of law can and will not be tolerated.

--

Piotr Buras is the head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations and co-author of the report "Defending the EU against grand corruption. The rule of law mechanism and Poland".

This article is part of The Briefing, Euronews' weekly political newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

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Poland's legal defiance is the EUs moment of truth | View - Euronews

Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, first unveiled the Canada-EU partnership at a summit in June. Courtesy of the European Commission.

Canadas Minister of Natural Resources, Seamus ORegan, and the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, released a joint statement on July 19 on the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials. The statement is a follow-up on the framework for the partnership, which was released on June 15.

At that time, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, said that the agreement was intended to encourage market diversification from Chinas raw materials supply chain. We as Europeans want to diversify our imports away from producers like China because we want more sustainability, less environmental damage and we want transparency on raw materials. Justin Trudeau, at the time, underscored the potential climate and employment benefits of the partnership, saying that, in order to continue creating good, green jobs for the middle class, we must secure supply chains for critical minerals and metals that are essential for things like electric car batteries, indicating the centrality of materials crucial to the development of green tech to the partnership.

Related: Funding will go to phasing out the use of coal at the Sault Ste. Marie steelmaker

The partnership is designed with the intention of solidifying supply chains for raw materials between Canada and the EU, with the stated goals of creating jobs and combatting climate change.

In Mondays joint statement, the two parties announced some of the key initial deliverables for the project: securing European and Canadian financial support for critical mineral projects in both Canada and the EU; setting up prize-based innovation challenges; and advancing best practices on mapping and classifying critical minerals. A joint event is also planned on Tracing Net-Zero Battery Minerals in order to support research and innovation.

The joint statement also re-emphasized some of the goals of the partnership: Through this strategic partnership, we are joining forces to tackle strategic dependencies, build critical minerals and metals value chains, boost our competitiveness in global markets and develop the clean technologies needed [to accomplish those goals].

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Canada and European Union outline critical minerals partnershipSome of the key initial deliverables of the partnership are intended to diversify and...

Anyone watching the news the last few days has to marvel about the wonders of highly achieving people hitting that once shocking age of 80.

Theres the new heroine astronaut Wally Funk, who at 82 years old on Tuesday morning, July 20, became the oldest person ever to fly in space the fulfillment of a lifelong dream in her long career as a pilot and four times NASA astronaut nominee.

And then there is Georgetowner Nancy Pelosi, who at 81 is the only woman to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a feisty one at that, who continually challenges long traditions of Congress.

But Pelosi is not the oldest member of Congress. In fact, there are five senators and 11 Congressional representatives over the age of 80 in the 117th Congress; three are 87: Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Dan Young (R-Alaska), Dean of the House.

Another longtime Georgetown resident Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is 82.

Reaching 80 years old is both a humbling and awesome as the kids say life event. I know. I dont usually write about myself, but please allow an exception this time to share my experience in early July celebrating this milestone 80th birthday with my identical twin in our hometown of Santa Barbara California, whereI lived for 55 years and she still lives. It was a day filled with unexpected joy, wonder and utter gratitude.

My twin and I had been planning our pending birthday for almost a year via email with some trepidation and disbelief! HOW could we be 80 years old? Should we host a garden tea party with 20 or so of our oldest gal friends, many of whom were just beginning to emerge from isolated homes, masks and fears of COVID? Would they come with canes and wheelchairs, gray and aged and sad from all the struggles and losses of the past year? Would they even eat the luscious cakes (chocolate for me, vanilla for my twin; that was our tradition) and sandwiches that we were preparing for the tea? My sister, a graphic artist, designed beautiful invitations on paper! These we sent by mail for the few friends who didnt do email well.

Now, I am still glowing from the party.The ladies came in hats and dresses, looking good with some fancy walking sticks. All arrived with big smiles, hugs, kisses and utter joy to be there.

Isnt it incredible! they all said. Here we are!We made it! To 80! Still recognizable, full of lessons learned, blocks gone round many times, interested in life and love and eager to see what is next.Arent we lucky! Isnt it amazing to be together again.To remember our long lives still going on.Looking ahead to what life brings next whatever it may be. To be joyful in our friendships and long connections.

And they happily gobbled up all the cakes and sandwiches.

The overall attitude was gratitude!Our mantra for troubled times:This too shall pass.Everything changes. Be flexible in mind and as much as possible in body.

Its no wonder that we 80-somethings fully understand the exuberance and also criticism of Wally Funk after she landed from her 11-minute flight into space this week.

I loved every minute of it, Funk said.I just wish it could have been longer in zero gravity to do a lot more rolls and twists and so forth.I want to go again.Fast!

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The Wonder of an 80th Birthday - Georgetowner

The next high-profile elections arent until next year. And when the first few fellows from a brand-new voting group called the New Pennsylvania Project started knocking on doors in places like Norristown or lower Bucks County this summer, they werent pushing a candidate merely asking unregistered or infrequent voters whats on their mind. No wonder executive director Kadida Kenner says the main reaction so far has been surprise.

We can talk about [federal COVID-19] funding not being used [by Pennsylvania], or economic justice and raising the minimum wage, or education justice and the large spending gaps between schools, Kenner said of the groups early door-knocking efforts. These are the ideas and issues that engage low-participation voters, or those who have not registered to engage in the political process. We have to overcome all these barriers to entice certain folks to go out and register.

Only in existence since early May, the for-now Harrisburg-based New Pennsylvania Project if the name sounds familiar, its a riff on the wildly successful New Georgia Project launched by Stacey Abrams in the 2010s is on the cutting edge of whats emerging as the Democrats main strategy for 2022 and beyond to fight GOP intransigence on voting rights and outright suppression laws enacted in some Republican-controlled states.

The Republican plan for the next batch of elections hinges heavily on a blueprint of making it more difficult for people, but especially young voters and Black and brown folks, to cast ballots rolling back mail-in voting that flourished in the 2020 pandemic or making it harder, eliminating drop boxes, or curtailing early voting hours. The Democratic response inspired by the Georgia success of Abrams and other voting advocates behind shock victories there for President Biden and two Democratic Senate candidates is to get more Black and brown and young voters jacked up about elections, then get them to the polls despite these obstacles.

Youre not asking them for a vote thats really important, Kenner said of the method. What she means is that the New Pennsylvania Project aims to have door-knockers working in underserved communities year round, with a more issues-oriented approach, as opposed to traditional method of a politician showing up a few weeks before Election Day.

Kenner, whod been director of campaigns for the left-leaning Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, said the new effort came together amid the frustration of among top Democrats about the 2020 election results, when statewide success for Biden didnt translate into gains in legislative races, and the party endured surprising defeats for state treasurer and auditor general. Not surprisingly, Kenner and the ideas chief backers including the former auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, as well as Bucks County donor and defeated 2018 congressional candidate Scott Wallace and Karl Hausker, husband of failed 2016 Senate hopeful Katie McGinty looked south to the Peach State for inspiration.

After Republicans gained total power over Georgia politics in the Tea Party era and enacted some of the nations most regressive voting restrictions, amid large-scale purges of voter rolls, Abrams then a Democratic legislative leader hatched a plan for fighting back. Founded in 2013, her New Georgia Project went door-to-door talking about that states failure to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The idea was that many people dont need to be sold on the Democratic Party or a specific candidate, but the more fundamental case that voting even makes a difference.

Progress from the New Georgia Project, a second group later founded by Abrams, called Fair Fight Georgia, and a wave of related efforts mostly led by Black women was slow at first, but the drives signed up 200,000 new voters in 2018 (when Abrams ran for governor and fell just short) and a whopping 800,000 in 2020-21, when Biden became the first Democrat to win the states electoral votes since 1992 and January run-off wins by Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock gave the party control of the U.S. Senate. One of Kenners first acts in leading the New Pennsylvania Project was to travel to Atlanta and meet with Abrams lieutenants, to learn what she called the secret sauce.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats have held a registration edge, but in 2020 Republicans closed their deficit from 800,000 to just 600,000 voters partly because of Donald Trumps ability to woo working-class former Democrats, and partly because the GOP didnt suspend its door-to-door efforts as Democrats did in the worst of the pandemic. Kenner believes the key to reversing the statewide trends can be found in some key urban and suburb areas greater Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, northeastern Pennsylvania, parts of Bucks County and urbanized Philadelphia suburbs like Norristown or Chester and among under-40 voters, especially non-whites.

Kenner said one of her first challenges is selling some big-ticket donors on the New Pennsylvania Projects unconventional mission. Were asking that you give it to a group thats not going to knock on your door with a D or an R on its chest, she said. Theyre going to knock on the door and talk about issues there people care about, and organically these folks will understand and vote their values, and realize they need to come out in every election, twice a year here in the commonwealth, and become super voters.

READ MORE: How Georgias women of color beat voter suppression and saved democracy | Will Bunch

Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris announced from the White House a similar, $25 million voter registration effort backed by the Democratic National Committee.. Veteran Democratic strategist Ed Kilgore described in a New York magazine piece as part of a fallback strategy for voting rights because two major pieces of federal legislation to thwart Republican voter-suppression efforts are blocked by a GOP Senate filibuster.

The situation is paralleled in Harrisburg, where hopes of building on 2020s pandemic changes that led to a modern record for Pennsylvania turnout have been thwarted by gridlock between Republican lawmakers who want new restrictions and the veto power of Democratic Gov. Wolf. Without new voting rights laws, turnout-boosting schemes like the New Pennsylvania Project might not only be the Democrats best shot, but its only path.

In the Keystone State, this effort is led by an activist, in Kenner, with the zeal of a late-life convert. A Pittsburgh native who was raised in suburban West Chester and after a successful career as a retail manager went back to Temple for a mid-life degree in journalism and a new life in Charlotte producing sports telecasts, Kenner was thrown a curveball in 2016. Struggling to find work as college sports boycotted North Carolina over its anti-transgender bathroom bill, she took a job with Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. But Clintons defeat and the arrival of Trump convinced her that political change was now her calling.

Kenner, 46, also feels the quest for equity is in her blood. Her great-grandfather, M.L. Clay, was freed from slavery to become one of most prominent African-American businessmen in Memphis at the turn of the 20th century a bank vice president and industrialist who associated with the likes of Ida B. Wells and Booker T. Washington only to be gunned down on Beale Street over his wealth. Her modern hero is Bayard Rustin, who was also raised in West Chester and went on to organize the massive 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Kenner has a large poster with Rustins image and his words, The proof that one truly believes is in action that she carries around Pennsylvania. He literally travels with me, she said. Hes currently in the back seat of my car so wherever I go he can go with me.

She marvels that Rustin organized the 1963 march where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech without email, without Facebook, without social media, and he got 500,000 people to the Mall, and to know he had to do that behind the scenes because they kept him literally in the closet as a gay man. Fifty-eight years later, Kenner will have to combine those modern tools with old-school organizing to put up similar numbers in the voting booth, in an era when increasingly its the fate of democracy itself thats on the ballot.

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Is the Stacey Abrams method the only hope for saving democracy in Pa.? | Will Bunch - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The European Commission is working on a bill to regulate foreign subsidies. According to it, any foreign company wishing to sign a sizeable M&A deal in the European Union or export to the European Union on a public procurement basis must report subsidies it received in its home country for three years and obtain an approval from the European Union.

False data submission or non-submission can be subject to a fine equivalent to 1 percent to 10 percent of sales. In addition, the European Union can initiate an investigation on every possibility of subsidy-based competition distortion.

The application of the new regulation has to be limited to countries lacking transparency in terms of subsidy operation, said the American Chamber of Commerce in the European Union, adding, The cost burden and time delay attributable to the data preparation will hinder market innovation in the European Union in the end.

What is important is smooth data exchange using existing bills, not a new bill, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the European Union commented, continuing, This new regulation will lead to a decrease in corporate investment in the European Union.

South Korea is keeping the transparency in accordance with its FTA with the European Union and yet South Korean companies may become innocent victims, the Korea Business Association Europe pointed out, adding, This is because the bill has too much room for arbitrary interpretation and application.

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European Union to Adopt New Subsidy Regulation - BusinessKorea