After Brexit comes Pexit? Poland ‘takes back control’ by placing national law first
Fears of a Polexit have been stoked by a court ruling that decisions by the EU’s highest court are incompatible with the nation’s constitution.
In a serious legal challenge to the EU’s authority the Polish court ruled that in certain cases the Court of Justice of the European Union “violates the principle of rule of law” as well as Poland’s sovereignty and said that certain rulings lacked supremacy over Polish jurisdiction.
The EU quickly hit back with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying she was “deeply concerned” by the ruling.
“The EU is a community of values and laws. This is what binds our Union together and makes it strong,” said Von der Leyen. “Our utmost priority is to ensure that the rights of Polish citizens are protected and that Polish citizens enjoy the benefits granted by membership of the European Union.”
She continued by saying that the EU treatise are clear that decisions by the European Court of Justice are binding on all member states: “we will use all the powers that we have under the Treaties to ensure this,” she added.
Last month Marek Suski of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party referred to fighting back the “Brussels occupier” and Ryszard Terlecki, head of the party’s parliamentary caucus said that the UK’s exit from the EU had defeated “the dictatorship of the Brussels bureaucracy.”
Mr Terlecki added that “drastic solutions” would need to be sought if the conflict could not be resolved.
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