Poland wants to end EC dispute before budget talks - FT

Poland wants to make progress in its rule-of-law dispute with the European Commission so that the issue does not affect upcoming negotiations on the EU budget after 2020, the Financial Times wrote on Monday. The British daily pointed out that amendments to Poland's controversial judicial reforms are scheduled for debate in the Senate on Monday. The FT wrote: "Senior officials in Brussels, Paris and Berlin, where concerns have grown that the plans undermine the rule of law, are encouraged but wary, seeing the revisions as a first step." The paper quotes a German official as describing the changes as, "'in the right direction,' but largely 'cosmetic.'" A French official agreed, but noted that, "the changes were nonetheless 'important' because Warsaw had never before accepted that 'it had to change something because of Europe.'"