EU Executive Moves to Punish Poland Over Court Reforms

EU Executive Moves to Punish Poland Over Court Reforms
European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans addresses a news conference at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 20, 2017. Reuters/Francois Lenoir
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BRUSSELS—The EU executive launched an unprecedented process on Wednesday to suspend Poland’s voting rights in the European Union after two years of dispute over judicial reforms that Brussels says undermine Polish courts’ independence.

The European Commission, the guardian of EU law, will now ask the other EU governments to declare that Poland’s changes to the judiciary constitute “a clear risk of a serious breach” of EU values—especially the rule of law.