"If the Polish government goes ahead with undermining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Poland, we will have no other choice than to trigger Article 7," Juncker said in a press release.
The EC recommends against the dismissal or forced retirement of Polish Supreme Court judges as a step that would "seriously aggravate the systemic threat to the rule of law."
"It is time to restore the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal and to either withdraw the laws reforming the judiciary or bring them in line with the Polish Constitution and with European standards on judicial independence," Timmermans said.
The EC recommended Poland "to address the problems within one month, and to inform the Commission of the steps taken to that effect," according to an accompanying press release.
Timmermans vowed to "act upon" Warsaw's response when asked what actions Brussels could take if Poland either breached the deadline or failed to address its concerns.
