Brussels is poised to withhold more than €100m from Poland to cover unpaid fines imposed by the EU’s top court, the justice commissioner has warned, as he responds to “waves” of problems in the country’s judicial system.
Didier Reynders told the Financial Times on Thursday that the commission will shortly send a letter to Warsaw demanding payment of €69m in accumulated daily fines that Poland has racked up between early November and the start of this week.
If Warsaw does not comply within a 60-day period the commission will withhold the fines from EU payments due to be disbursed to Poland, with interest payments to be imposed on top, he said.