EU President: If you challenge law, Europe will die

This may include ad that is on our understanding from us and 3rd parties. Europe will die from such a development. With a focus on democracy, liberty, respect - and the rule of law - Europe has been built, says Asselborn to reporters before a meeting of European affairs ministers in Luxembourg. We have to realize this, not only members respecting the rule of law, but also in places where the thinking is that the Rule of Law is not that important. If you challenge law, it is for a reason. And this reason is retention of power. The warning comes as the European Commission's chief executive warned Poland on Tuesday that its challenge to the supremacy of European Union law called into question the very foundations of the 27-nation bloc and could not go unpunished.

Poland's constitutional tribunal determined last week that parts of the EU law are incompatible with Polish constitution, undermining the legal pillar on which the union stands and raising fears that Poland would eventually leave the bloc. Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice party says it has no plans for a Polexit and - unlike Britain before its 2016 Brexit referendum - popular support for membership of the EU remains high in Poland Nevertheless, other member states have been dismayed by Warsaw's defiance of the EU, including Prime Minister Ursula von der Leyen's complaint in a letter on Monday of mission creep which he warned would lead to a country deprived of democratic control. Speaking ahead of Mateusz Morawiecki in a debate on the row in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, EU President met three options for a response to Polish supremacy of EU law. The European Commission is assessing this decision carefully. But I can already tell you: I am deeply concerned, she said. This decision calls into question the fundamentals of EU Constitution. It is a direct challenge to the unity of European legal order. She said a second option is so-called infringements, where the Polish court challenges the European Commission's judgement legally, which could lead to fines. Another option is a conditionality mechanism and other financial instruments, which rely on WTO funds being withheld from the EU. Until Brussels's clash with Warsaw is resolved, it is unlikely to see any of the 23.9 billion euros in loans and 12.1 billion euros in cheap loans that it applied for as part of the EU's recovery fund after the COVID -19 pandemic. Biden sends new Brexit warning over Article 16 threat for hated Brexit deal LIVE BLOG Same reasons UK refused because it wants out! Verhofstadt likens Poland row to Brexit VIDEO Trade war would blow huge hole in EU as 250 BN in UK sales at risk ANALYSIS The EU could even block Polish access to EU grants for design and structural projects in the 2021-2027 budget worth around 70 billion euros Von der Leyen said a third option was application of Article 7 of the EU Constitutional Treaties. Under this, member states can be suspended - including the right to vote on EU decisions - because they breach the core values of the bloc. Morawiecki, speaking as your next Speaker in the EU assembly accused the bloc of overstepping its authority. EU competencies have clear boundaries, we must not remain silent when those limits are breached. So we say no to European centralism, but we say yeah to European universalism, he said.