In addition to Poland, the debate is dominated by rising energy prices. According to Marin, the EU must reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Brussels
Prime minister Sanna Marinin (sd) states that the EU must be “very strict and clear” in its approach to violations of the rule of law in Poland.
“Citizens and businesses need to be able to trust that we have common rules of the game that we follow,” Marin said when he arrived at the EU leaders ’summit on Thursday.
The summit of EU leaders, the European Council, began in Brussels on Thursday and will continue until Friday. The agenda includes energy prices, immigration and the corona situation, in addition to which Poland rose to the debate off the agenda due to its recent decisions.
Polish the Constitutional Court recently ruled that the Polish Constitution takes precedence over EU law in some cases.
This is a questionable line for the existence of the EU. The basic premise of the EU is that all decisions of the European Court of Justice are binding on Member States, including national courts. In matters of European law, EU law takes precedence over national law.
“Together, we must have confidence that we have common rules of the game, otherwise we will not have a functioning internal market or confidence that we will be together in this Union. It has to be very strict and very clear. ”
According to Marin, it is primarily up to the European Commission to find a solution to the situation together with Poland.
“It may not yet be time for a wide-ranging debate in the European Council,” Marin estimates.
Part Member States wanted the debate to start at EU level at this summit.
The Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki when he came to the meeting, he reiterated what he had said earlier in the week in the European Parliament: Poland said he was not going to “blackmail” but seek a solution.
Poland’s only friend seemed to be Hungary, whose prime minister Viktor Orbán at the meeting, gave support to the line taken by the Polish Constitutional Court. According to Orbán, the EU Treaty does not say that EU law takes precedence over national law.
Germany’s retiring Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared very conciliatory. According to Merkel, the solution cannot be for the European Court of Justice to be satisfied with legal disputes.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament said it was preparing to bring an action against the Commission because it felt that the Commission had not used the financial means at its disposal, for example, with regard to Poland.
Marin also predicts that the debate on energy prices will not end at this summit, but will be a big issue for the coming winter.
“Europe must strive to be more independent in energy production in the future. We cannot be as dependent on imported fossil fuels as we are now. The long-term solution to this will be to invest heavily in green energy production in Europe, ”said Marin.
The meeting of EU leaders is forecast to last until late at night, as the discussion on energy prices, which started the meeting, has lasted for several hours.
Some member states would like the EU to react more strongly to rising energy prices and, among other things, to mitigate the effects of emissions trading on price levels.
The Finnish government, for its part, has stated that the EU should not take any action that would disrupt the emissions trading system or the electricity market. According to the government’s policy, no new intra-EU income distribution mechanisms should be created on the basis of rising prices.
According to Marin, Europe must also try to find short-term solutions to push down the price of energy.
“Our starting point is that primarily national solutions can address the issue of energy prices. No hasty conclusions should be drawn that are disrupting and exacerbating the situation. ”
Read more: Some EU countries have begun to hesitate on climate action – Energy prices and the Polish issue to be highlights of EU summit
Marinin According to Finland, Finland has been in active dialogue with the Commission on the so-called taxonomy, ie the classification system for sustainable financing. It remains to be seen whether nuclear power will also be classified as a sustainable way of producing energy.
Finland would like this, as would other EU nuclear power countries. According to Marin, the government has pointed out the special features of Finland, including the importance of the forest industry, in the direction of the Commission.
“We have also rushed the Commission to make its proposal on nuclear taxonomy,” Marin said.
This time The European Council is the 107th summit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This may be the last time he will appear at summits alongside other European leaders, as a new government is currently being formed in Germany.
According to Marin, Merkel has been a great European leader who has been a unifying force in the European Council and a tenacious negotiator.
.
#Prime #Minister #Marin #strict #clear #Poland #leaders #gather #summit
