EU top official says Polish ruling is a threat to the bloc

BRUSSELS — The European Union apical authoritative said connected Tuesday that the caller ruling from Poland’s law tribunal challenging the supremacy of EU laws is simply a menace to the bloc’s foundations.

Addressing EU lawmakers successful Strasbourg, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she is profoundly acrophobic by the ruling, which she said is “a nonstop situation to the unity of the EU” and undermines the extortion of judicial independence.

“We cannot and volition not let our communal values to beryllium enactment astatine risk,” Von der Leyen said. “The regularisation of instrumentality is the glue that binds our national together.”

Relations betwixt Poland and the EU reached a caller debased earlier this period aft the tribunal ruled that Polish laws instrumentality precedence implicit those of the 27-nation bloc, which Poland joined successful 2004, escalating lingering tensions implicit antiauthoritarian standards betwixt the country’s right-wing nationalist authorities and Brussels institutions.

The divided came to a caput astatine the plenary of the European Parliament, wherever Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki volition besides present a code aboriginal Tuesday.

At bosom is the question who should person the astir powerfulness wrong the 27-nation bloc — each idiosyncratic federation implicit their citizens oregon the EU institutions implicit the subordinate nations. It was the premier mover down the exit of Britain from the EU, and it has stirred passions successful respective eastbound and cardinal European nations similar Poland and Hungary.

The full thought down the EU is that a agreed beforehand volition marque the 27 nations a formidable powerfulness successful the world, portion they would beryllium bystanders arsenic idiosyncratic countries. And adjacent if subordinate states are blessed to spot that powerfulness utilized successful planetary relations, immoderate abhor it erstwhile it affects them.

Depending connected however the Polish authorities decides to usage the latest ruling, the committee has further fiscal options astatine its disposal to effort to marque Warsaw comply with EU law, notably by continuing to clasp up the country’s entree to billions of euros successful European wealth to assistance revive its system successful the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The committee could besides activate a mechanics allowing the suspension of payments of EU wealth to a subordinate state breaching the principles of the regularisation of instrumentality successful a mode that affects the bloc’s fund oregon fiscal interests.

“We privation a beardown Poland successful a agreed Europe,” von der Leyen said, adding that she is unfastened to comprise.