EU heads of state and government knew they would not resolve Poland's dispute with the EU institutions over the Rule of law on Thursday 21 October, a week after the Polish Constitutional Tribunal challenged the primacy of EU law (see EUROPE 12807/1, 12808/1).
European Council President Charles Michel, who did not speak to the press after the first working session of the European Council, floated the idea of a calm discussion on this divisive issue, e contrario to the debate on the Hungarian law stigmatising the LGBTI community, which had ignited sparks at the June European Council (see EUROPE 12748/1).
The debate took place in a “serene” atmosphere and Mr Michel thanked EU leaders for their “constructive approach”, an EU source said.
“Serene” was the adjective used to describe the discussion by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, one of the few to speak on Thursday evening. He expressed “strong support” for the Commission’s approach, which is refining its analysis of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruling before acting on the basis of three options: infringement proceedings, activation of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, or pursuit of the ‘Article 7’ procedure of the Treaty.
At the session, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki explained to his counterparts the position of his country that he had defended in the European Parliament on Tuesday (see EUROPE 12815/3).
“We do respect the superiority of EU law over national law in areas where this should be the case. [...] But we cannot accept that the European Commission or the Court of Justice should decide on matters over which they have no authority”, he said upon his arrival in Brussels, refusing any “blackmail” intended to make his government bend.
According to the Polish authorities, the government is preparing reforms to comply with Court of Justice of the EU rulings, including on the disciplinary chamber for Polish judges.
Not surprisingly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán defended his Polish counterpart, denouncing a “witch hunt”. The extension of European competences “must be stopped”, he said.
On the other hand, many leaders regretted the new level of challenge to the EU’s legal order. “There was a very clear message from a large majority of leaders that we are very concerned about the situation in Poland”, said the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte. Earlier, he said it would be “very difficult” to grant Warsaw EU funds under the European recovery plan if this issue is not resolved.
The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, took up this idea by establishing “a link between respecting the rule of law and receiving large sums of EU money".
But, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel “a cascade of cases at the European Court is not a solution”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)