Sounding Out MEPs on the Polish Prime Minister’s Pitch to the EU

Morawiecki went to the European Parliament on October 19, where he delivered a speech that escalated the war of words between Warsaw and Brussels over the rule of law, claiming the CJEU was responsible for a "creeping revolution" that is undermining Poland's sovereignty.

Morawiecki's speech did not go down well. In fact, the prime minister achieved the opposite effect of the one he wanted, with members of the European Parliament (MEP) adopting a tough declaration condemning the Polish government and demanding sanctions from the European Commission. Not only was this declaration unprecedented, it was widely endorsed by 502 MEPs in favour and only 153 siding with Poland.

Morawiecki ended that week attending the European Council summit. On the margins of that get-together, he met with Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right National Rally and a presidential hopeful. The picture of the two of them shaking hands went viral in Poland and France, signalling as it did the possibility that a far-right grouping of national parties could be taking shape in the bloc.

Finally, on October 24, the Financial Times published an interview with Morawiecki, during which he used the language of war. According to Morawiecki, there is "gun to our head", and this gun is being held by the European Commission, which is withholding Poland's slice of the EU's mammoth 750-billion-euro coronavirus Recovery Fund, worth almost 24 billion euros in grants plus another 12 billion euros in loans.

If the European Commission starts World War III by withholding these funds, "we are going to defend our rights with any weapons which are at our disposal," Morawiecki said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki delivers a speech during a debate on 'The Rule...

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