EU Council President Charles Michel did not want the sensitive issue on the agenda for the summit but now it is inevitable: When the 27 heads of state and government meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, it will also be about dismantling the rule of law in Poland. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will address the problem as he announced in Parliament in The Hague; the Swedish government supports this step. This could mean a repeat of the June drama. At this summit, the top politicians argued heatedly and emotionally over Hungary’s censorship law against the representation of non-heterosexual relationships.
Now the anger is not directed against Hungary, but against Poland, the other increasingly authoritarian member state. Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki defended a controversial ruling by the Warsaw Constitutional Court in the European Parliament on Tuesday, which questions the primacy of European law. The verdict is the culmination of the dispute between Poland and the EU over the independence of the judiciary in the country.
When the 27 European Ministers met on Tuesday to prepare for the summit, the Belgian Sophie Wilmès demanded – also on behalf of the Netherlands and Luxembourg – that the EU Commission should apply the new rule of law mechanism “as soon as possible”. This allows EU money to be withheld if the rule of law problems in the recipient country jeopardize proper use. Germany’s representative Michael Roth (SPD) also called this regulation “an option”. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen already had this instrument with her her speech brought into play in the European Parliament. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn was amazed at this escalation: “I would never have thought that I would find myself in a situation in which Europe had to be saved with money, with finances. That is crazy.”
In addition, the summit will discuss the fight against the pandemic, how to deal with refugees and digital change. This emerges from a draft of the conclusions which the SZ has received. The heads of state and government also want to talk about improvements in trade policy. For example, the EU’s trade agreement with the South American economic bloc Mercosur has been blocked because several European governments have refused to sign it.
Poland is slowing down on the climate protection package
The most important issue, however, should be the rising prices for gas and electricity. The summit wants to call on the European Investment Bank, the EU funding institute, to put more money into projects that serve the Union’s energy security. According to the draft, the Commission should also think about medium to long-term measures that contribute to secure, affordable and climate-friendly supply.
In a discussion paper for the summit, the Polish government calls for the planned expansion of the Emissions trading to remove traffic and heating because this would lead to a “disproportionate burden, especially for consumers”. However, expanding the trade in pollution rights is a central part of the EU’s climate protection package. Heated debates with Prime Minister Morawiecki could be pending at the summit not only on the subject of the rule of law.