Poland could leave EU if European financing reduced President Tusk warns

European Council President Donald Tusk warned yesterday that the Polish government could try to drive the country out of the European Union if European financing was affected by Brexit or by sanctions imposed due to the Polish judiciary situation, British, Polish, German, Austrian, Luxembourgish, Belgian, Slovakian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Latvian media report. “I have no doubt that for PiS one of the goals is to ‘free’ Polish politics from the burden of the EU”, Mr Tusk told Tygodnik Powszecnhy magazine yesterday, as reported by The Times.

Mr Tusk said that if Poland becoms a net payer and holding an in/out referendum were easily imaginable. “I can easily imagine a situation when Poland finds itself among the net payers, then the government in Poland would feel it was time to ask Poles if they wanted Poland to continue in the EU”, he said, as quoted by The Times. According to Mr Tusk, the conflict between the PiS government and Brussels is not an accident, but a strategy of the ruling party, Polish Fakt reports. Poland is the largest net recipient of European funding, receiving a boost of about €10 billion annually, but may lose money after Brexit if the EU cuts spending in its seven-year budget from 2020 to 2027, The Times notes. Talks on future spending are under way, and the European Commission has warned that all countries would be required to increase their contributions, potentially meaning that Poland, which has a booming economy, could end up paying more into the EU than it receives, the British newspaper adds. According to Lietuvos Zinios, Poland is however, unlikely to withdraw from the bloc at the moment.

Polish support for its membership in the European Union has indeed never been stronger, the Lithuanian newspaper notes. The latest polls demonstrate that 92% of the country’s population support membership, and only 8% of respondents would like the country to withdraw from the EU. Most Poles welcome the European integration project, which the country contributed to in 2004, but the idea of the introduction of the single currency is not particularly admired: 77% of Poles would like to keep the zloty, while 23% would like to join the euro area.

What is more, President Juncker opposes the termination of EU financial support for Poland, Lietuvos Zinios reports, quoting him as saying: “I am not inclined to make wild threats. I would like to have an intelligent conversation.” In an interview with German TV channel ARD on Tuesday quoted by Le Monde, President Juncker said he did not want to use the funds as a way of exerting pressure. “Such a move would give eastern European citizens the impression that Europe is ruled only by the West,” he said.

The European Commission, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung notes, is divided with regards to linking EU financial assistance to the rule of law – a story also reported by Gazeta Wyborcza. President Juncker and European Commissioner Crețu oppose the idea, whereas First Vice-President Timmermans, as well as Commissioners Jourová and Thyssen are in favour, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. European Commissioner Oettinger, the German newspaper adds, takes a “realistic” middle-ground by arguing for conditionality in more general terms.

European Council President Donald Tusk, Mediafax.ro reports, made his stance after Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki had defended the controversial judicial reforms during a meeting with President Juncker in Brussels – a story which continues to garner media attention. The meeting between new Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Juncker, along with the cabinet reshuffle, was supposed to help hit the reset button on long-strained relations between the European Union and Poland, Latvijas Avīze notes. The 9 January meeting was positive, according to the European Commission, but Poland’s position on controversial judicial reforms has not changed, the Latvian newspaper reports.

Mr Morawiecki defended the Polish justice reform, Greek radio station Skai reports. According to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, the Polish government is to present, by 20 March, its arguments in reply to accusations by the European Commission on the changes to the judiciary. Both President Juncker and PM Morawiecki expressed hope that, by the end of February, progress in the talks on the rule of law in Poland will be made.