Warsaw: A Polish Court a regime challenging the supremacy of The European Union the law fell The European Union In an existential crisis on Friday, fear is mounting among EU policymakers and many poles Poland may eventually leave faction.
Politicians across Europe expressed dismay at Poland’s constitutional tribunal’s decision on Thursday that parts of EU law are inconsistent with the Polish constitution, the legal pillar on which the 27-nation EU stands.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply concerned” and that the EU executive would do everything in her power to ensure the primacy of EU law.
She said in a statement that the EU’s 450 million citizens and its businesses need legal certainty, and the commission will conduct a quick analysis to decide its next steps.
Although Warsaw and Brussels have been at loggerheads since the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) came to power in 2015, they are now on an all-out collision course.
“We must clearly state that this government in Poland is playing with fire,” Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Esselborn said on arrival for a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.
“The primacy of European law is necessary for the unification of Europe and for Europe to live together. If this principle is broken, Europe as we know it, as created with the Rome treaties, will cease to exist.”
Brussels officials said Thursday’s court ruling could lead to a variety of fines and legal cases against Warsaw that will take months, if not years, to play out.
PiS says it has no plans to “Polexit” and – unlike Britain before the Brexit referendum in 2016 – popular support for EU membership is high in Poland.
Poland’s membership of the bloc since 2004 has helped drive some of the fastest economic growth in Europe. With Russia demoralizing some Central and Eastern European states that have been under communist rule for decades, many Poles see the EU as an essential part of national security.
But, welcoming the court’s decision, Polish Prime Minister Mateuszów morawiecki Said that each member state should be treated with respect and that the EU should not be “a group of people who are equal and more equal.”
worry about poles
Populist governments in Poland and Hungary have found themselves increasingly at odds with the European Commission on issues ranging from LGBT rights to judicial independence.
The constitutional tribunal took over the case after Morawiecki asked whether EU institutions could prevent Poland from reorganizing its judiciary.
Poland is expected to receive about 770 billion zlotys ($193 billion) from the bloc by 2028, and critics say the government is risking that funding. Poland’s nominal GDP in 2020 was 2.3 trillion zlotys.
A Eurobarometer survey conducted in June and July 2021 showed that almost twice as much as Poles trust their national government over the EU.
“I think … there is a risk that we could exit the EU, because all these actions could lead to a step-by-step move that is happening,” said Warsaw pensioner Grazina Gulbinowicz.
“I think it will have a very negative impact on our overall situation, because things are not easy and without EU funding it will be even more difficult, not to mention the fact that we will feel isolated.”
Politicians across Europe expressed dismay at Poland’s constitutional tribunal’s decision on Thursday that parts of EU law are inconsistent with the Polish constitution, the legal pillar on which the 27-nation EU stands.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply concerned” and that the EU executive would do everything in her power to ensure the primacy of EU law.
She said in a statement that the EU’s 450 million citizens and its businesses need legal certainty, and the commission will conduct a quick analysis to decide its next steps.
Although Warsaw and Brussels have been at loggerheads since the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) came to power in 2015, they are now on an all-out collision course.
“We must clearly state that this government in Poland is playing with fire,” Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Esselborn said on arrival for a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.
“The primacy of European law is necessary for the unification of Europe and for Europe to live together. If this principle is broken, Europe as we know it, as created with the Rome treaties, will cease to exist.”
Brussels officials said Thursday’s court ruling could lead to a variety of fines and legal cases against Warsaw that will take months, if not years, to play out.
PiS says it has no plans to “Polexit” and – unlike Britain before the Brexit referendum in 2016 – popular support for EU membership is high in Poland.
Poland’s membership of the bloc since 2004 has helped drive some of the fastest economic growth in Europe. With Russia demoralizing some Central and Eastern European states that have been under communist rule for decades, many Poles see the EU as an essential part of national security.
But, welcoming the court’s decision, Polish Prime Minister Mateuszów morawiecki Said that each member state should be treated with respect and that the EU should not be “a group of people who are equal and more equal.”
worry about poles
Populist governments in Poland and Hungary have found themselves increasingly at odds with the European Commission on issues ranging from LGBT rights to judicial independence.
The constitutional tribunal took over the case after Morawiecki asked whether EU institutions could prevent Poland from reorganizing its judiciary.
Poland is expected to receive about 770 billion zlotys ($193 billion) from the bloc by 2028, and critics say the government is risking that funding. Poland’s nominal GDP in 2020 was 2.3 trillion zlotys.
A Eurobarometer survey conducted in June and July 2021 showed that almost twice as much as Poles trust their national government over the EU.
“I think … there is a risk that we could exit the EU, because all these actions could lead to a step-by-step move that is happening,” said Warsaw pensioner Grazina Gulbinowicz.
“I think it will have a very negative impact on our overall situation, because things are not easy and without EU funding it will be even more difficult, not to mention the fact that we will feel isolated.”
.