The court said Poland „failed to fulfill its obligations under EU law when it established a different retirement age for men and women who were judges or public prosecutors in Poland and, second, by lowering the retirement age of judges (and giving) the Minister for Justice the power to extend the period of active service of those judges”. The ruling says Poland broke EU law in two areas. Firstly by giving male and female judges different, lower, retirement ages, and secondly by giving a government minister the decision on whether to allow a judge to stay on longer.

The changes which were a key part of an election promise which received widespread popular support, brought judge retirement ages in line with the general public, but the ECJ says giving a government minister control over judges’ positions violated judicial independence.

The Polish government reversed the changes two years ago, bowing to pressure in Poland and Brussels, however, the European Commission did not withdraw the case. After Tuesday’s ruling, the foreign ministry said the court’s verdict related to an „old state of affairs” and had no relevance to current regulations.

The government says the reforms are not subject to EU law and had been intended to cleanse the judicial system of hangovers from the communist era.

Many Judges in Poland began their careers under the communist regime and many still appoint their own successors, leading to concerns that communist era systems still affect Poland.

Critics, however, say the government was using the reforms to install loyalists to the Law and Justice party into the courts.

Russian Spy Expelled

A Russian diplomat has been expelled from Poland after an investigation by counterintelligence services.

The diplomat, Russia’s deputy consul-general in Poznań, was expelled in March according to a report earlier this week by TVP Info citing newly revealed information about previously unreported Polish counterintelligence operations.

The Russian is reported to have „conducted activities incompatible with his diplomatic status” and activities that would harm Polish-Russian relations.

He has also be barred from entering the European Schengen area.

Best Place in Europe

A property in Gdańsk’s Przymorze district has been awarded a top prize at the European Property Awards in London.

The Tarasy Bałtyku development on Prezydenta Lecha Kaczyńskiego Street was given the title of Best Residential High Rise Development at a ceremony in London’s Covent Garden.

A panel of 80 judges, chaired by members of the UK House of Lords, considered thousands of entries based on architecture, design, and environmental factors.

You can see the award winning design and others on https://propertyawards.net/european-property-awards-2019/ and https://www.allcon.pl/mieszkania/apartamenty/tarasy_baltyku?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2ITuBRDkARIsAMK9Q7PHBO-7KjLyJaIsCdyKrNEA9R9t_sfi8P4gAu0oD0mzQAWL-hRHqYgaAnz2EALw_wcB

Russian Ballet Evening

It’s that time of year again, Swan Lake is returning to Gdynia.

The Royal Moscow Ballet will be performing Tchaikovsky’s tragic story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by the spell of an evil sorcerer, and her lover Prince Siegfried as they try to break the wicked spell.

The Royal Ballet features some of Moscow’s best ballet talent and includes dancers from prestigious Russian school and the famous Bolshoi theatre.

The performance will be on Saturday, 7pm at Gdynia Arena with tickets on sale with prices starting at 89zl.

Details and tickets on https://www.ebilet.pl/klasyka/balet-taniec/ballet-moscow/ and https://www.royalmoscowballet.com/

The Weather: Chillier than yesterday with a small chance of some rain this afternoon. Highs of 7 degrees centigrade, that’s 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

RGEN