Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo leaves at the end of an European Council in Brussels | Thierry Charlier/AFP via Getty Images European Parliament to push for tougher action on Poland MEPs hopes to spur the Commission to crack down on Warsaw.

Poland should face the next level of scrutiny from the European Commission in its probe of the country's rule of law, according to a draft motion seen by POLITICO that is being readied for debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday.

The resolution, prepared by the European People's Party and the Socialists and backed by the Liberals and Greens, warns that the Polish government should end the fight over the country's Constitutional Tribunal in line with recent recommendations from the Venice Commission, the legal body of the Council of Europe.

If the right-wing government in Warsaw doesn't comply, then the Commission should move to the second stage of the rule of law procedure which "shall clarify whether there is a systemic threat to the democratic values and the rule of law in Poland," the draft resolution states.

Under a second stage procedure, the Commission would "recommend that the Member State solves the problems identified within a fixed time limit."

If that fails, it could trigger a third level where the Commission monitors the member's country's follow-up. The final step is so-called Article 7. That would see Poland — the EU's sixth largest member — have its voting rights suspended. However, such an outcome is unlikely as Hungary, which has also come under fire from Brussels over governance issues, has insisted it would never agree to penalize Warsaw. Such a decision must be unanimous.

The Polish government faces growing international pressure for changes instituted since it took power in late October. The most sensitive battle has been over the country's top constitutional court. The new government ignored three justices elected by the previous parliament and chose its own replacements for the 15-judge panel — all of whom were swiftly sworn in by President Andrzej Duda.

The government also pushed through deep changes to the functioning of the tribunal, new rules that the tribunal itself last month found were unconstitutional. The government has refused to accept that decision and is refusing the publish the tribunal's verdict, the normal final step in making a ruling binding.

The dispute has prompted large anti-government demonstrations in Poland and strained relations with allies in Brussels and Washington. The foreign minister invited in the Venice Commission to examine the dispute, but its report put the bulk of the blame for the situation on the government and warned that hobbling the tribunal presents a danger to “not only the rule of law, but also the functioning of the democratic system.”

The Commission has also become involved, in January launching an unprecedented three-step “rule of law” probe into the Polish government’s actions.

However, the politics of waging a campaign against Poland has prompted caution from the Commission. When he was in Warsaw last week, Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans called on the government to publish the verdict, but shied away from confrontation.

"I did get the feeling today that there is room for dialogue and room for finding a solution without the European Commission having to take any next steps," he said.

The Commission's restraint is driving the Parliament to act. It is due to vote on a non-binding resolution on Poland during its plenary session Wednesday.

The government insists that the country is being harmed by having the constitutional crisis discussed internationally, and blames the opposition Civic Platform party, a member of the EPP, for playing politics with the issue.

"Such arguments show that the main forces in the European Parliament are prone to repeating old arguments," Konrad Szymański, the Europe minister, told Poland's Rzeczpospolita newspaper. "In this sense there is no added value. It won't help. It would be good if we could avoid the political side-effects of such a position."

Poland's ruling Law and Justice party is a member of the European Reformists and Conservatives grouping in the Parliament, and doesn't have the numbers to stop the resolution. However the party on Monday prepared an alternative resolution stressing Law and Justice's democratic mandate and put the blame for the crisis on the previous Civic Platform government.

Amendments are expected to be tabled before the vote on Wednesday, with pressure from some groupings to add other issues, like recent concerns that Poland may strengthen its already very tough abortion law, said a parliament official.

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