On 20th November 2018 the President of the ENCJ, Mr Kees Sterk, was invited to address the LIBE committee of the European Parliament in a public hearing on the Rule of Law in Poland. The hearing had a specific focus on the Independence of the Judiciary. Other speakers included Mr Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the European Commission, a representative of the Venice Commission, the Polish Ombudsman and several academics. In his address the ENCJ President explained why the ENCJ had decided to suspend the membership of the Polish National Council for the Judiciary.