The European Commission on Wednesday ramped up pressure for Poland to respond to EU concerns over judicial reforms made by Warsaw.
It warned that Brussels would issue a formal set of objections if substantial progress is not made by the start of next week.
Poland’s conservative government, which took office in November, has come under fire for several measures that critics say are designed to strengthen its grip on the constitutional court and on public broadcasters.
The commission, the European Union’s executive, launched an inquiry in January into the reforms, using an unprecedented mechanism aimed at protecting the bloc’s fundamental values.
Since then, commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, has held series of talks with the Polish authorities seeking to address the commission’s concerns, but has not made substantial progress in resolving the issue.
“On Monday, the commission will adopt a rule of law opinion spelling out its concerns, unless significant progress is made by the Polish authorities to resolve them.
“Warsaw would then have the opportunity to respond, before the commission recommends a course of action to cure the situation.
“In the case of non-compliance, Poland could in theory ultimately face a suspension of voting rights in the EU,’’ it said in a statement. (dpa/NAN)