Scramble to stop ‘Polexit Realism’

France and Germany have thrown their weight behind the European Commission as they prepare to face a challenge to the European Union’s legal system from Poland.

This came after the government of right-wing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki took the row over the rule of law to new heights by asking its Constitutional Court to rule on whether EU law replaces Poland’s.

Thursday’s court ruling – which opposition parties and NGOs say has been placed under the political control of the ruling Law and Justice party – upheld the government’s claim that it did not have to heed European Court of Justice rulings that suggested it interfered with the independence of the judiciary.

French Europe Minister Clément Pellon described the ruling as a political provocation and warned that the government’s actions run counter to the interests of the pro-EU Polish majority.

“When you join a club, you sign a contract called a treaty, which was ratified by a referendum in Poland. That was the choice of the Polish people,” said Mr. Bonn.

Polish opposition parties have accused the government of trying to take the country out of the European Union and called for mass protests.

Boris Budka of the centre-right Civic Platform wrote on Twitter: Governance is the «realistic path to Polexit politics». «It is impossible to be a member of the European Union without following the basic principles on which society is based.»

Attention turned to the tools left by the European Union to enforce its legal system in the face of the Polish insurgency, despite successive legal actions and orders of abuse.

The Commission has suspended the 57 billion euros owed to Poland in grants and loans under the European Union’s Covid economic stimulus fund as a result of concerns about respect for the rule of law, and the escalation of the confrontation has made it difficult to imagine the payment.

Some members of the European Parliament have called on the Commission to go ahead and withhold budget payments to Poland, using a new protection rule and rule of law regarding cash in the EU.

“The only language Warsaw understands is a money freeze,” Daniel Freund, the German parliament member for green policy in Warsaw, told the media, noting that Polish regions backed away from the policy of declaring “LGBT-free zones” after the European Union responded with a freeze. Funding millions of euros for local municipalities. .

The executive has already asked the EU’s Supreme Court to impose daily fines on the country for each day it ignores an order to suspend a controversial chamber set up to discipline judges, which can be deducted from EU funds. This development may also have implications for whether Poland can rely on fellow member states to enforce European arrest warrants issued by its courts.

Ireland’s Supreme Court asked the European Court of Justice earlier this year to clarify whether these arrest warrants issued by Poland should be respected, expressing concerns about the rule of law in the country and whether a fair trial could be ensured for the accused.

The Commission has pledged to use all the powers at its disposal to protect the EU’s legal system, with experts warning that the single market relies on legal coherence among its members through the principle that EU rulings have the last word.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that the executive’s legal services would study the Polish rule and «next steps» would then be taken. «I am deeply concerned about yesterday’s decision of the Polish Constitutional Court,» she said.

“EU citizens as well as companies doing business in Poland need legal certainty that EU rules, including European Court of Justice rulings, are fully applicable in Poland.”