The Commission's deputy head, First Vice President Frans Timmermans, who has conducted talks with the Polish government dominated by Law and Justice Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski for the past two years, said he was acting "with a heavy heart" but was obliged to take action to protect the Union as a whole. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - 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. After turning a deaf ear to the EU's concerns for months, Poland's rightwing government said last week it would introduce a draft law to slightly modify the judiciary changes. Stung by Britain's vote last year to leave the Union, the EU institutions are battling a rise in euroskeptic nationalism across the continent and particularly in the former Communist east, where Poland's ally Hungary has also prompted previously the Commission to threaten sanctions over the rule of law.
The Polish government announces a planned visit for April 9 from European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans. The government of Poland and the European Union are locked in a dispute over planned judicial reforms.