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Poland's dispute with the EU: Former foreign minister threatens to cut contributions

2021-10-13T11:52:33.904Z


The Polish Constitutional Court has declared parts of the EU treaty unconstitutional. Should the EU withhold funds because of this, Poland could cut its contribution payments accordingly, says Witold Waszczykowski.


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Witold Waszczykowski was Polish Foreign Minister between November 2015 and January 2018

Photo: Donat Brykczynski / IMAGO

Former Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has threatened a further escalation in his country's dispute with the European Union. If the EU Commission withholds money from the newly created reconstruction fund, the Polish government could for its part stop making payments to the EU. "I suggest that we then deduct the same amount from our annual EU contributions," Waszczykowski told the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit". "There is no legal basis for the Commission to withhold the money from the fund."

Poland was originally supposed to receive 36 billion euros from the fund, but the payout is tied to certain conditions. The Commission is examining whether these conditions, in particular compliance with the rule of law, are met in Poland. Waszczykowski denies that the EU Commission has the right to do so. The so-called rule of law mechanism, he says, should ensure “that the money is properly spent in the member states. It is not an instrument for the Commission to evaluate national governments. "

The dispute between the EU and Poland came to a head after the Polish constitutional tribunal declared parts of EU law to be incompatible with the Polish constitution.

This was preceded by a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

He had ruled that parts of a judicial reform in Poland violated European law.

Waszczykowski accuses the European judges of political intentions: »The ECJ itself violates European law with its jurisprudence.

Some of his judgments are based not on legal, but on political guidelines. "It is not the task of European judges to" create their own laws ".

Thousands of Poles demonstrate against the Constitutional Court's verdict

The PiS government has been restructuring the judiciary for years.

Critics accuse her of putting judges under pressure.

Due to the reforms, the EU Commission has already opened several infringement proceedings against Warsaw and filed suits with the European Court of Justice.

In Poland itself, thousands of people across the country recently demonstrated against the judgment of the Constitutional Court and for their country to remain in the EU.

The former EU Council President and Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk had previously called for protests against the verdict.

German economy: do not restrict payments to Poland

The Eastern Committee of the German Economy has warned against restricting EU payments to Poland or Hungary for other reasons.

"Delays in the allocation of EU funds also affect German companies in Poland and Hungary, because EU-co-financed investments have been a major growth driver since 2004," said the chairman of the Eastern Committee, Oliver Hermes, on Wednesday.

“The governments in Warsaw and Budapest should not jeopardize this in the interests of the economic and social development of their countries.

But the EU cannot have any interest in weakening these fast-growing member states over the long term, ”he warned.

svs / Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-10-13

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