Morawiecki slammed by Halicki for 'having communist friends'

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The European Commission 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 ruled last week that parts of EU law are incompatible with the Polish constitution, undermining the legal pillar on which the union stands and raising fears that Poland could eventually leave the bloc. Andrzej Halick MEP hit out at the Polish Prime Minister insisting he has “communist friends”.

Speaking in the European Parliament, Mr Halicki said: “I understand that we’ve only received one answer from the Prime Minister about the disciplinary chamber and I supposed that means all of the judges who have been sidelined can go back to work tomorrow.

“Prime Minister, you lied so much that it’s impossible to refute everything you’ve said.

“Who are the people that you’re relying on? Who are you relying on?

“You’re talking about us being on the wrong side but you have communist friends.

“People from the era of marshall law, we will not be defeated.

“From left to right, I’m very proud to have such support from your side.

“We have different ideas from different parties but we are together on one common Europe because of values and principles.”

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen accused Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of seeking to divert a debate on Polish record on the rule of law with spurious arguments.

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She said: “Your arguments are not getting better. You’re just escaping the debate.

“For European democracy to function, there must be respect for common rules and principles, common institutions, and independent justice. Don’t try to divert.

“That’s the debate right now here about the rule of law and the primacy of European law. Don’t try to run away and to escape that debate.”

Speaking ahead of Mr Morawiecki in a debate on the row in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Ms von der Leyen laid out three options for a response to the Polish court’s attack on the primacy of EU law.

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“The European Commission is, at the moment, carefully assessing this judgment. But I can already tell you: I am deeply concerned,” she said. “This ruling calls into question the foundations of the European Union. It is a direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order.”

She said a first option is so-called infringements, where the European Commission legally challenges the Polish court’s judgment, which could lead to fines.

Another option is a conditionality mechanism and other financial tools whereby funds from the EU’s budget and its post-pandemic recovery fund would be withheld from Poland.

A third is the application of Article 7 of the EU’s treaties under which rights of member states – including the right to vote on EU decisions – can be suspended because they have breached core values of the bloc.

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