A Polish court ruling challenging the supremacy of EU law has plunged the European Union into an existential crisis and raises the possibility for Poland leaving the 27 - nation bloc, ministers from other member states warned on Friday.
Welcoming the Constitutional Court's decision, Poland’s prime minister said his eastern European country wanted to stay in the wealthy trade and political group he joined in 2004 but that each member state must be treated equally and with respect.
Brussels has long been at odds with Warsaw over democratic standards and the independence of its judiciary. The decision by the EU Court of Justice that parts of EU law are incompatible with the Polish Constitution puts Warsaw and Brussels at risk and ties them into a collision course.
On arrival for EU Ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Luxembourg's foreign minister has declared to us that this government is playing with fire.
The supremacy of European law is essential to the integration of Europe and living together in Europe. If this principle is broken, Europe will cease to exist, as we know it, as it was built with the Rome treaties. The French Central Minister of European Affairs, Clement Beaune, said the ruling by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal was an attack on the EU that could lead to economic sanctions against Warsaw.
It is most severe There is the risk of exit from the European Union, Beaune told BFM TV, adding that he did not want Poland to leave the bloc.
Poland's Law and Justice PiS party state says it has no plans for a Polexit and - unlike Britain before Brexit referendum in 2016 - popular support for the EU is high in Poland.
The Constitutional Tribunal took on the case after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki asked it whether EU institutions could stop Poland from reorganising its judiciary. We want a community of respect, not a grouping of people who are equal and more equal. This is our community, our Union, Morawiecki said on Facebook referring to the EU. This is the kind of union we want and that's the type of Union we will create. The executive European Commission said on Thursday that the ruling raised serious concerns about the primacy of EU law.
Officials in Warsaw said the decision could lead to a drawn-out obstacle course of fines and legal cases against Brussels.