The decision of the Constitutional Court of Poland on the illegality of the priority of European law over national law undermines the unity of the European legal order, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a session of the European Parliament.  

“At the moment, the European Commission is carefully studying this court ruling.

But I can already say: I am deeply concerned, ”she said.

- This decision calls into question the foundations of the European Union.

This is a direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order ”. 

The head of the EC listed a number of measures that can be applied to Poland in response.

So, according to her, the European Commission will challenge the decision of the Polish court, which may lead to fines for Warsaw.

In addition, restrictions may be imposed and the conditions under which the Polish side receives funds from the EU may be changed.      

Reuters notes that Warsaw has applied for grants totaling € 23.9 billion, as well as concessional loans of € 12.1 billion from EU financial institutions.

Also, the EU may block Poland's access to development grants for the period from 2021 to 2027 for a total of about € 70 billion.      

Ursula von der Leyen also stated that another option for retaliatory measures is to apply Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union to Warsaw.

This article provides for the application of measures against a member of the association who violates the basic principles of the EU, up to and including deprivation of a vote in the European Council.

At the same time, it does not imply the exclusion of the country from the European Union.

Earlier, on October 7, the Constitutional Court of Poland ruled on the inconsistency of the rule on the domination of European law over the provisions of the constitution of the republic.

The corresponding request was sent by the Prime Minister of the country Mateusz Morawiecki. 

The decision caused a new wave of criticism from EU officials and structures and provoked discussions about the possibility of depriving Warsaw of access to funds from European funds.  

So, on October 8, Ursula von der Leyen announced that she would use all the available arsenal of tools to force Poland to comply with the EU's rule of law.  

Other high-ranking European politicians also criticized the decision.

For example, the Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tyutti Tuppurainen said that it was undermining the foundations of the European Union and that the European Commission should now act as a defender of the European Union treaties.

In turn, Irish European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said that EU institutions should take a very tough line on this issue.

And the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clement Bon, called the situation an attack on the European Union.       

Conflict for the right

The conflict between Poland and the EU over the supremacy of the common European legal system and its institutions has been going on for several years.

In 2017, the European Commission initiated a procedure in relation to Warsaw to eliminate violations of European law after the reform of the Polish judicial system. 

At the end of 2020, the EU Council and the European Parliament decided that the observance of the principle of the rule of European law will be a decisive criterion in the distribution of financial subsidies among the members of the union, including the fund for the recovery of EU countries after the pandemic.

This was opposed by Poland and Hungary, which regularly clash with Brussels on these issues.   

  • Mateusz Morawiecki and Ursula von der Leyen

  • Reuters

  • © Pascal Rossignol

In July, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said he would tackle challenges from EU members who challenge the rule of European law.   

“If a problem arises in one of the member states, there is a danger of a“ proliferation effect ”- that all or some of the EU member states will tend to challenge the supremacy of EU law and the exclusive competence of the European Court,” the Financial Times quoted the European Commissioner as saying. 

In June, Politico reported that Reynders had sent a letter to the Polish authorities in which he called for the withdrawal of the petition to the country's Constitutional Court and asked for a number of points in the EU agreements to be checked for compliance with Poland's main law.  

Reynders' letter also said that the petition of the country's authorities to the Constitutional Court "allegedly challenges the fundamental principles of European law, in particular the principle of priority of EU law over national law", as well as "the power of the European Court to interpret EU treaties." 

On July 14, the European Court of Justice upheld the EC's claim against Warsaw and imposed restrictions on the activities of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland.

The court ruled that the system of disciplinary investigations against judges created in this country violates the principle of the rule of law, as it creates the preconditions for making the judicial system dependent on the government. 

However, the chamber continued its work, and in September the European Commission appealed to the EU court with a requirement to launch a penalty procedure against Warsaw for failure to comply with the prescribed measures. 

Poland's position 

Mateusz Morawiecki at the session of the European Parliament rejected the position of the EC.

According to him, Poland does not refuse to comply with European law, but the constitution remains the supreme law in the country. 

“The supreme law in the EU is the country's constitution,” said Morawiecki. 

He stated that "the EU will not disintegrate simply because our legal systems are different." 

“If you want to make a non-national supranational state out of Europe, first get the consent of all European states and societies,” the head of the Cabinet added. 

  • Mateusz Morawiecki in the European Parliament

  • Reuters

  • © Ronald Wittek

The European Commission wants to punish Warsaw for trying to defend the independence of its legal system in order to curb centrifugal processes within the EU, Vladimir Schweitzer, head of the department of social and political research at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with RT.    

At the same time, Warsaw found itself in a difficult situation precisely for economic reasons, the political scientist added. 

“This is a large state, but their contribution to the European budget and economy is not very large.

Nevertheless, they are trying to show themselves as an independent power, which is very annoying for Brussels, which believes that “since the EU pays, it means he is a girl and dances,” explained Vladimir Schweitzer. 

In a commentary to RT, Dmitry Suslov, a researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, said that this conflict has been growing over the past few years and is the result of a general strengthening of Polish Euroscepticism and Warsaw's desire to pursue an independent policy within the EU. 

“By and large, the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court on the priority of domestic Polish legislation and constitutional provisions over the EU Treaty contradicts the EU Treaty.

In accordance with it, the European legislation has supremacy over the national legislation of the member states on those issues that fall within the competence of the EU, ”the expert explained.   

The EU institutions and the European Commission are protesting and trying to weaken this trend and punish Poland for such decisions, added Suslov. 

“The main goal of the European Commission is the observance of EU legislation by the members of the European Union.

But there is no certainty whether it will be possible to force Poland to reconsider its national decision.

In any case, it should be noted that a new conflict is brewing in the EU and it seems that this is a conflict between member states and supranational institutions.

It seems to me that this conflict will not be limited to Poland alone, but will spread to other EU countries, where sentiments are also growing in favor of strengthening their national subjectivity, ”the expert concluded.