EU executive to revisit rule of law issue in Poland in April

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will revisit the issue of whether Poland's government is respecting the rule of law in April, after studying the opinion of the Venice Commission due to be delivered on Friday, a Commission spokesman said. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe provides legal advice to its members to help them bring their laws and institutions into line with European standards. Poland asked the Venice Commission in December for an opinion on the changes it introduced to its Constitutional Tribunal. A leaked draft opinion of the Venice Commission showed it strongly criticized the changes. Separately the European Commission has opened a process to monitor the rule of law in Poland which could end up in Warsaw having its vote in the European Union suspended. "Once the Venice Commission adopts its opinion, the European Commision will study it and will take it into account when it will revisit the issue after Easter on the basis of the recommendation of the First Vice President Frans Timmermans," Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a regular news briefing. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)