A recent ruling by the Polish Court challenging the supremacy of E.U. laws has stirred up fears of “Polexit”
A recent ruling by the Polish Court challenging the supremacy of European Union (E.U.) laws has stirred up fears of “Polexit” – Poland leaving E.U.
What added to the tension was the welcoming of Polish Court ruling by the Prime Minister of Poland – Mateusz Morawiecki. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal had ruled that key article of one of the E.U.’s primary treaties were incompatible with Polish law, in effect rejecting the principle that E.U. law has primacy over national legislation in certain judicial areas.
Morawiecki was also seeking to stop Polish judges from using E.U. law to question the status of the appointment of new judges.
The Constitutional Tribunal was the first target of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party’s reform. It is now dominated by judges who are sympathetic to the party, one of whom was appointed illegally, according to the European Court of Human Rights.
France and Germany have already clarified that E.U. membership relied upon complete and unconditional adherence to common values and rules, and this was not simply a moral commitment. It is also a legal commitment.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen said, “I am deeply concerned by yesterday’s ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. I have instructed the Commission’s services to analyse it thoroughly and swiftly. On this basis, we will decide on next steps”.
She further said, “Our utmost priority is to ensure that the rights of Polish citizens are protected and that Polish citizens enjoy the benefits granted by membership of the European Union, just like all citizens of our Union”.
Taking it to twitter, Ursula tweeted,
Deeply concerned by the ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 8, 2021
🇪🇺 is a community of values & laws. We will uphold the founding principles of the EU's legal order.
Our utmost priority is to ensure that the rights of Polish citizens are protected.https://t.co/QcL2K0vltj
The European Commission has also warned that it will use all its powers against Poland. The European Commission says the changes have undermined judicial independence and opened up the courts to political interference.
However, Both Morawiecki and Poland’s most powerful politician and the Chairman of PiS – Jaroslaw Kaczynski, insist Poland wants to stay in the E.U. They accuse the country’s fragmented opposition of spreading fake news to frighten an electorate that overwhelmingly supports membership.
They also acknowledged the E.U. membership has given Poland access to billions of euros to invest in projects that have visibly transformed the country’s landscape. The Polish Prime Minister sees E.U. as the aggressor, overstepping its powers and inventing new tools to constrain Poland to roll back the reforms.
The Former European Council President and now Head of Poland’s largest opposition group Civic Coalition – Donald Tusk, has urged Poles to protest against the ruling at a Warsaw rally.
Besides, the European Commission is yet to approve € 57 billion (U.S. $ 66 billion) funds under Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) to Poland. Also, if Polexit were to be linked with Brexit, Poland has not seen any groundswell of support for leaving the E.U.
