Opposition urges EU pressure over Supreme Court judges

Opposition parties Civic Platform (PO) and Nowoczesna in Brussels appealed to the EU to continue putting pressure on the Polish government to stop Supreme Court judges from being forced to retire. The law envisages the retirement of 27 of the court's 74 judges within three months of its enforcement. The EC has criticised the regulation on grounds that it puts political pressure on the court. PO and Nowoczesna leaders Grzegorz Schetyna and Katarzyna Lubnauer are in Brussels for meetings of their parties' EP factions pending the EU summit. Schetyna told reporters in Brussels that he planned talks on the rule of law issue in Poland with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. He added that the coming days will show if the Polish government backs down on the issue under international pressure.