European Union leaders put pressure on Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki amid a dispute over the EU’s primacy over Polish legislation. At a meeting of the 27 nations of the bloc in Brussels this Thursday, the Polish leader said he will not accept “blackmail”.
Earlier this month, Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled that some elements of EU law are incompatible with the country’s constitution. After the decision, the European Union threatened to impose sanctions on Poland.
Morawiecki previously claimed that the EU treats its 27 nations as mere provinces, imposing its values against the will of sovereign peoples.
The dispute between Poland and the EU dominated discussions ahead of Thursday’s meeting, whose agenda also included issues such as the challenges of vaccination against Covid-19, rising energy prices, climate change and the upcoming climate conference in Scotland , and accusations of smuggling of migrants by Belarus.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo argued that EU members must abide by the “club” rules. “If you want to have the perks of joining a club, you have to respect their rules. You can’t be a member of a club and say ‘the rules don’t apply to me,'” he commented.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended a compromise. She said that “the rule of law is a central aspect of the European Union. At the same time, we need to find ways to come together again, because a cascade of cases in the European Court is not the solution.”
Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, said EU leaders must demand that Poland protect its judicial independence: “The independence of the Polish judiciary is the main issue to be discussed. It is very difficult to see such a big new fund of money could be made available to Poland until this is resolved.”
The Polish prime minister again accused the European Commission of going beyond the limits of legality and said that his country “will not act under blackmail pressure”.
“We are ready for dialogue. We do not agree with the constant expansion of the EU’s range of competences, but of course we are going to talk about this, how to resolve the current dispute with understanding and dialogue,” said Morawiecki.
The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, came to Poland’s defense. “The issue is very clear. The primacy of European Union law is not in the treaty. So the EU has primacy where it has jurisdiction,” said Orban, who said there was a “witch hunt against Poland in Europe.”
Warsaw could face financial penalties for its actions, defended mainly by France and the Netherlands. Since joining the European Union, Poland has received significant resources from the bloc. Popular support for the country to remain in the EU is high, and Morawiecki has already rejected questions about a possible “Polexit” – Poland’s exit from the bloc, as in the case of the UK decision.
#European #Union #leaders #pressure #Poland #legal #dispute #bloc