The dispute between the European Commission and Poland over the primacy of EU law in the Member States will dominate the EU summit starting on Thursday. The topic is very hot and it is moving ahead of what should actually be the main task of Heads of State and Government: How to deal with the energy crisis and green transition.
The EU summit in Brussels was to be the final touch to the climate policy that the EU will present at the climate summit in Scotland in two weeks' time (COP26).
However, EU officials say the issue of the judiciary and the relationship between the European Court of Justice and the national courts of different countries is so fundamental that the topic will dominate the meeting. It is said that this conflict has enough power to divide the EU.
Two-way persuasion
The most important heads of state and government hold individual meetings with the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki immediately before the meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron met Morawiecki at the airport, they arrived at the same time. Later, the Polish prime minister was to meet with Angela Merkel, who still represents Germany in government negotiations after the elections. The inflamed situation was already clear earlier this week, when the head of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, fought Morawiecki on the podium in the European Parliament. Although the dispute between the European Commission and Poland has been going on for a long time, it is not expected that the summit will turn into an open confrontation or that the majority will gather against Poland.
Fast and determined
Benelux countries - Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. They will send a clear signal that swift and decisive action is needed to face the challenge that threatens the judicial system in several Member States. A majority in the EU believe that Poland has manipulated the judiciary by retiring uncomfortable judges and introducing supporters of the ruling PiS party. Moreover, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal overruled the priority of the European Court of Justice in several rounds.
The Polish court claims that EU law is limited to certain areas of Polish society. Prime Minister Morawiecki persists and claims that the Commission is abusing its power and forcing its members to a more federal Europe.
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Source: NTB
Photo: Olivier Matthys, Pool
