‘Polexit’ looms in legal spat

Poland’s top court has ruled against the supremacy of European Union law in a decision that could threaten the country’s EU funding and even its bloc membership.

The court said some EU treaty articles were “incompatible” with the Polish constitution and warned all EU institutions not to “act beyond the scope of their competencies” by interfering with Poland’s judiciary – a major bone of contention with Brussels.

The ruling brought a stern warning from Brussels, with EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders saying the principle of supremacy of EU law was “at the heart of the union”.

Poland and the EU are at odds over reforms introduced by Poland’s governing rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

“It’s a scandal ... they’re taking us out of the European Union,” said Anna Labus, a pensioner who was in tears.

Malgorzata Roslonska, the owner of a hairdressing salon, said: “This is probably the first step towards Polexit.”

In Brussels, Jeroen Lenaers, a spokesman on justice and home affairs for the European People’s Party, said: “Enough is enough. This is an attack on the EU as a whole.”

But the Polish government, which brought the case, welcomed the ruling, with spokesman Piotr Muller saying it confirmed “the primacy of constitutional law”.