WARSAW, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Vera Jourova, vice-president of the European Commission for values and transparency, met with Polish justice minister and heads of key courts here on Tuesday, discussing rule of law as part of a two-day visit to Poland.
Jourova was scheduled to meet with Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, the heads of the Polish parliament chambers, as well as the heads of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
"This is my first visit since the new Commission took office. My main goal is to meet and discuss with our (Polish) partners the issue of rule of law, but also other aspects of my work, such as disinformation or external interference," she told Polish media on Tuesday.
Jourova said that "the doors of dialogue are open" between the Commission and Poland, but she also expressed a wish "to do more to defend judges from the campaign led against them, because this is not an atmosphere in which judges can complete their demanding work."
Poland has been embroiled in a conflict with Brussels over reforms of the justice system. While governing Law and Justice party says the reforms it has implemented are necessary to fix a corrupted system, the European Commission has started several infringement procedures against Poland, arguing the reforms have a negative impact on judicial independence.
The Commission also asked the European Union's highest court to freeze the new law passed by Polish parliament that allows for disciplining judges who are critical of government changes to the judiciary.
Jourova's visit to Poland started on Monday, when she took part in the event marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern Poland.
