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Added on the 04/07/2018 08:46:07 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
During a press conference with Belgian PM Alexander de Croo and Polish Pm Donald Tusk, EU chief, Ursula Von der Leyen, announces that aid for Poland frozen over rule-of-law row has now been unblocked. SOUNDBITE
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says Poland will only receive the money from its 35.4-billion euro ($38 billion) post-Covid economic recovery package if it carries out rule of law reforms. She says the EU's approval of the plan announced on Wednesday is "important" but only "a first step, as the money will be disbursed when the reforms and investments are in place". SOUNDBITE
Eric Mamer, spokesperson for the European Commission reads a statement by Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in which she vows to firmly defend the primacy of EU law after Poland's highest court ruled that EU treaties are incompatible with its national constitution. SOUNDBITE
Pro-EU demonstrators gather outside the Polish Constitutional Court as it readies to deliver a verdict on the validity of EU law in the country. Poland has said it would fight an order from the EU's top court to suspend a "disciplinary chamber" for judges, part of a long-running row over judicial reform. Poland and the EU have been at loggerheads for years over the reforms and Brussels has promised to take strong action against what it sees as a flouting of democratic norms. Poland argues it should be allowed to adopt the judicial reforms it wants and has accused Brussels of a high-handed approach that could split the European Union. IMAGES
US Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts is sworn in on the Senate floor to preside over the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. IMAGES