Could Poland Throw the EU into Disarray or Is It an Empty Threat?

But Warsaw is flexing its muscles to lash out against the EU more generally. The PiS government has rejected the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on its reforms of the judiciary. And Warsaw refuses to pay the penalties imposed by the CJEU, which to date amount to over 130 million euros. The Commission announced that it would collect the amount from the budget funds due to Poland; Warsaw has warned of retaliation.

"This issue will have to be put very clearly and strongly on the forum of the EU institutions, including decisions such as veto on various issues that are important for the EU," the leader of the PiS parliamentary caucus, Ryszard Terlecki, said in a recent interview.

First shots fired

Some believe that the 'nuclear war' against the EU has already begun. As reported by Politico, Poland - together with Hungary and Estonia - is blocking the EU's efforts to introduce a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent. Poland's "no" would deal a big blow to the EU by preventing it from living up to its obligations under the deal reached under the auspices of the OECD in July of 2021.

A desire to give Brussels a punch on the nose probably plays a role, but Poland does have rational arguments to oppose the current plans.

The PiS-led government has actually always supported a global corporation tax, arguing that large companies should pay income tax where they actually make a profit. This is the first pillar of the agreement concluded last year within the OECD. The second pillar of the deal is the introduction of a minimum corporate income tax (CIT) rate of 15 per cent (higher than currently in Poland) in all signatory countries of this agreement.

The problem is that only...

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