Warsaw reacted with outrage to the European Court of Justice ruling to impose a daily fine of €1 million, DW reports.
Opposition lawmakers accused the government of acting irresponsibly and wasting Polish taxpayers' money.
What many in Poland had suspected, and even feared, has now come to pass: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has imposed a daily fine of €1 million ($1.2 million) on the country over its judicial reforms. This comes on top of the €500,000-per-day fine imposed in September after Poland refused to shut down the Turow coal mine on the border with the Czech Republic. And there are still other proceedings on judicial reform pending in the Luxembourg-based court.
"The (ruling Law and Justice party) PiS is an expert in wasting Poland's money," said Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz of the opposition Civic Platform. "Not only are they destroying the independence of the judiciary, but doing so at the Poles' expense."
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said the "Polish state cannot bow to lawlessness. He said Poland "cannot and should not pay a single zloty, (local currency)," either for "the illegal sanctions against Turow" or for the "changes to the judiciary." And he advised Poles to keep calm.
"Only the weak give in to pressure. Let us do our job, let us reform the justice system and take care of the rule of law in the European Union. Let us also take care of the standards of the European Union, which require that the law be the same everywhere and enforced in the same way," he said.