While Brussels believed its deliberately prolonged battle with the UK over Brexit would bolster its authority in other member states, it is experiencing a rude awakening thanks to a bitter row with the Polish government.
Poland is accused of abusing so-called “democratic values†of the EU, after a constitutional court ruled that Polish law prevailed over EU law. Earlier this week, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called it a “direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order” and threatened punitive measures. A lack of action, he warned, could see the EU collapsing.
The assumption in Brussels, and among some of the more aggressive national leaders, seems to be that since Poland receives billions of euros in EU grants and the Poles are largely in favor of EU membership, they can afford to upset the Polish government and perhaps even go so far as to deprive the country of some of the benefits of membership. But not everyone in Europe is so sure, including outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Talking about Polexit may be premature. The Polish prime minister said earlier this week that his country remains a “staunch member” of the EU, but that he is worried about the bloc’s transformation into an entity that is no longer an alliance of equal states and Kings.
However, there is clearly a risk that Brussels is wrong. If Brexit taught the EU anything, it should have been that national sovereignty is not an abstract concept that is irrelevant in the modern world, but crucial for the proper functioning of democratic politics.
While Brussels believed its deliberately prolonged battle with the UK over Brexit would bolster its authority in other member states, it is experiencing a rude awakening thanks to a bitter row with the Polish government.
Poland is accused of abusing so-called “democratic values†of the EU, after a constitutional court ruled that Polish law prevailed over EU law. Earlier this week, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, called it a “direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order” and threatened punitive measures. A lack of action, he warned, could see the EU collapsing.
The assumption in Brussels, and among some of the more aggressive national leaders, seems to be that since Poland receives billions of euros in EU grants and the Poles are largely in favor of EU membership, they can afford to upset the Polish government and perhaps even go so far as to deprive the country of some of the benefits of membership. But not everyone in Europe is so sure, including outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Talking about Polexit may be premature. The Polish prime minister said earlier this week that his country remains a “staunch member” of the EU, but that he is worried about the bloc’s transformation into an entity that is no longer an alliance of equal states and Kings.
However, there is clearly a risk that Brussels is wrong. If Brexit taught the EU anything, it should have been that national sovereignty is not an abstract concept that is irrelevant in the modern world, but crucial for the proper functioning of democratic politics.