A protester in Warsaw is carried away by police after MPs voted to approve the justice reforms. Opponents said that “the rule of law and democracy was ending”

Poland triggered a showdown between eastern and western Europe yesterday when its MPs voted to give parliament the power to appoint supreme court judges, despite the threat of sanctions from Brussels.

The European Commission had warned that the legislation would undermine the separation of judicial and political powers, seen as a cornerstone of democracy and the rule of law.

On Wednesday it gave Poland a week to rethink the plans and to avoid sanctions: the suspension of its full EU membership by the withdrawal of its voting rights, a measure that has never been used against a member state.

Thousands of people protested against the legislation in Warsaw yesterday, many waving EU flags BARTLOMIEJ ZBOROWSKI/EPA

This enraged the Polish government, which yesterday won the backing of Hungary to resist European officials. Tensions have been running high in some of the former