Poland on the ‘path to Polexit’ after judges rule its constitution supersedes EU law
POLAND’S future in the European Union was thrown into doubt yesterday after judges ruled that Polish law superseded EU law in the latest clash between Warsaw and Brussels.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Law and Justice, the dominant party in Poland’s governing coalition, said a different ruling would mean that “Poland is not a sovereign state”.
He added that when it came to the administration of justice “the EU has no right to interfere”.
The ruling that the Polish constitution carried more weight than the EU treaties drew a furious reaction from politicians in Brussels, the de facto capital of the bloc. The European Commission said it “will not hesitate to make use of its powers” to protect the primacy of EU law.
They accused Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, of putting the country on the “path to Polexit”, increasing the prospect of Warsaw leaving the bloc. MEPS described Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal as “illegitimate” because it is stuffed with Mr Morawiecki and Mr Kaczynski’s handpicked allies.
All member states agree to a treaty provision that dictates EU law has primacy over national law. The final arbiter of EU law is the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, according to the membership treaties.
The Constitutional Tribunal said some provisions of the EU treaties and some EU court rulings went against Poland’s highest law. Two of the 14 judges dissented from the majority opinion.
“The primacy of constitutional law over other sources of law results directly from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,” Piotr Muller, a government spokesman, wrote on Twitter. “Today (once again) this has been clearly confirmed by the Constitutional Tribunal.”
Jeroen Lenaers, a MEP for the centreright European People’s Party, said: “By declaring that the EU Treaties are not compatible with Polish law, the illegitimate Constitutional Tribunal in Poland has put the country on the path to Polexit.”
Davide Sassoli, the European Parliament president, added the verdict “cannot remain without consequences. The primacy of EU law must be undisputed”.
Didier Reynders, the EU Justice Commissioner, said Brussels would take action to ensure the supremacy of
EU law and the bloc’s top court.
Last month, the European Commission confirmed the challenge to the supremacy of EU law was delaying the release of €57 billion (£48 billion) in EU coronavirus recovery funds to Warsaw.
There are calls in Brussels to withhold EU budget funds from Poland, begin legal action against Warsaw or strip it off its EU voting rights over concerns for its illiberal shift. “We will use all the tools at our disposal,” Mr Reynders told reporters.
Pawel Jablonski, deputy foreign minister, said the Tribunal ruling would not breach EU membership treaties but redefine them.
Top courts in many EU countries did not always follow the European Court of Justice’s rulings, he said.
Law and Justice have long been at loggerheads with Brussels over issues such as the rule of law, migration and gay rights. It insists that the judiciary should be the sole purview of nation states and not the EU and has ignored a number of EU court rulings.
However, the Polish government has dismissed any talk of Polexit. An opinion poll published on Tuesday found that 88 per cent of Poles wanted Poland to remain a member of the bloc.
Mr Morawiecki asked for the review that led to the Tribunal opening the case after the EU court said the bloc’s law took precedence over Poland’s law. It started hearing the case in July but had adjourned it four times.
Many of those sitting on the Tribunal are government loyalists.
‘Today’s verdict in Poland cannot remain without consequences. Primacy of EU law must be undisputed’