“European Union leaders pressured a defiant Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki Thursday to fall back into line on recognizing that EU law trumps national decision-making, hoping that dialogue will stave off a fundamental crisis in the bloc. Morawiecki instead painted a picture of an overbearing union treating its 27 member nations as mere provinces, usurping ever more powers and feeling free to impose its values at will against the wishes of sovereign peoples.”
“Facing the threat of losing out on tens of billions of EU funds because of his stance, he countered that Poland ‘will not act under the pressure of blackmail.’ Almost all other countries countered that respecting common rules and values is essential in a bloc if it is not to unravel and lose political and economic clout in the world. ‘If you want to be part of a club and have the advantages of a club, you must play by the rules,’ said his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo. ‘A red line has been breached and we cannot accept that.’ Beyond holding up Poland’s access to billions of euros in help revive its economy in the wake of the pandemic, the EU’s executive arm can also start infringement procedures, or activate a mechanism allowing the suspension of other EU payments to a member country breaching the principles of the rule of law” – AP.