Polish PM launches scathing attack on EU 'oligarchy'

August 10, 2022

End EU ‘imperialism’: Polish PM launches scathing attack on Brussels as he likens Germany to Russia and says alliance’s strongest members wield all the power

Morawiecki said the most powerful EU nations sit behind a guise of democracy
He said big EU states, particularly Germany, were part of a de facto ‘oligarchy’
PM also claimed Ukraine would’ve fallen had other states behaved like Germany
Tensions between Poland and the European bloc have increased in recent weeks
The European Commission is restricting pandemic recovery payments to Warsaw amid a dispute over Morawiecki’s judicial reforms

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused the European Union of ‘imperialistic’ behaviour towards smaller member states in a scathing op-ed published yesterday.

In the article shared via Germany’s Welt news website, Morawiecki claimed the most powerful EU nations sit behind a guise of democracy and instead rule the European bloc as members of an ‘oligarchy’.

‘Political practice has shown that the positions of Germany and France count more than all the others… So we are dealing with a formal democracy and a de facto oligarchy in which the strongest hold power,’ he declared.

The prime minister, whose nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government has clashed repeatedly with Brussels over rule of law issues, also said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had thrown a spotlight on the EU’s shortcomings.

In a similar article published in The Spectator, Morawiecki argued that Russia would have already conquered Ukraine and would be using gas supply to threaten the whole of Europe had other EU member states mirrored the behaviour of Germany.

‘If all of Europe followed Germany’s voice… the continent’s dependence on Russian gas – which today serves Putin as a blackmail tool against Europe – would be almost irreversible,’ he said.

‘If Europe had sent weapons to Ukraine on the same scale, and at the same pace, as Germany, the war would have ended long ago: with Russia’s absolute victory.’

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused the European Union of ‘imperialistic’ behaviour towards smaller member states in a scathing op-ed published yesterday

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen poses with Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 1, 2022

EC chief Ursula von der Leyen is restricting pandemic recovery payments to Poland amid what the commission sees as problematic judicial reforms

Tensions between Poland and the European bloc have escalated in recent weeks after EU lawmakers restricted pandemic recovery payments to Warsaw.

Morawiecki’s government was set to receive more than 35 billion euros (£30 billion) of Covid-19 recovery grants and loans earlier this summer, but the EU has not yet executed the payment as it believes new Polish judiciary reforms subvert democratic standards.

Poland adopted a law in May that replaced a controversial disciplinary chamber for judges with a new body, and on Tuesday the nation’s Supreme Court drew candidates to the new chamber from among its judges.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party said the reforms are designed to make the judicial system more efficient and denied meddling with the courts for political gain.

But European Commission (EC) chief Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview at the end of July that the new law did not give judges the right to question judicial appointments without facing disciplinary proceedings, an issue which she said needs to be solved before funds can be accessed.

She also reasoned that the functions of Poland’s minister of justice and the prosecutor general should be split.

Currently, Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro also serves as national prosecutor, a dual-role that the EC believe could create a conflict of interest.

The EC’s decision angered members of the PiS party, several of whom threatened to hit back at the European bloc, without specifying what actions would be taken.

‘If there is an attempt to block the payment… and the European Commission tries to pressure us, then we have no choice but to pull out all the cannons in our arsenal and respond with barrage fire,’ Krzysztof Sobolewski, PiS secretary general told Polish public radio.

Currently, Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro (pictured here in July) also serves as national prosecutor, a dual-role that the EC believe could create a conflict of interest

Morawiecki meanwhile called on the EU to initiate ‘profound reform that puts the common good and equality back at the forefront of the union’s principles’ in yesterday’s article, and argued larger EU members should not be able to exercise their lawmaking clout to ‘dominate’ smaller states.

‘The EU faces increasing deficiencies in respecting the freedom and equality of all member states,’ he wrote.

‘We hear more and more that it is not unanimity but the majority that should decide the future of the entire community. Moving away from the principle of unanimity in subsequent spheres of EU activity brings us closer to a model in which the stronger and bigger dominate the weaker and smaller.’

The EU has however granted Poland an considerable support package of €144.6 million designed to help the nation bear the brunt of a mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees amid the conflict with Russia.

More than 2 million Ukrainians are thought to have moved indefinitely into Poland since February 24, including more than 1.2 million who have officially registered for protection – more than double any other country in the EU.

A UN investigator on the human rights of migrants, Felipe Gonzalez Morales, last month praised Poland’s government for its welcoming of Ukrainian migrants.

‘I am impressed by the Government of Poland for providing significant support to a huge number of refugees fleeing Ukraine in such an intense period,’ he said.

‘Over 2 million refugees currently stay in Poland and most of them are hosted as guests in private homes by Polish people.’

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