Poland changes judiciary law; demands EU release COVID funds

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed into law regulations replacing the controversial body disciplining judges with a new accountability panel. The hope is that the move will persuade the European Union to release billions of euros in pandemic funds frozen over Poland’s political control of the judiciary. Poland’s top politician, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said Tuesday that the EU had been pushing for the move and he expects its reaction to be positive. But the changes are largely seen as superficial and continue political control over judges, which is a major sticking point between Warsaw and Brussels. The situation has led to fines for Poland and the freezing of EU pandemic recovery funds.