Brussels is exploring ways to unlock more than €100bn in EU funding for Poland even if the country’s president vetoes Donald Tusk’s judicial reforms.
The issue is front of mind for Premier Tusk, who came to power last month after campaigning to unblock funds the European Commission had frozen in a long-running dispute with the previous government led by the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS).
To access the funds, the government needs to fulfil a number of conditions or “super milestones” related to judicial independence. The difficulty for Tusk is that president Andrzej Duda, a PiS nominee who will remain in office until 2025, has already blocked other reforms put forward by the new government and has escalated a constitutional row with the prime minister.