The Supreme Court of Poland has ruled that the country’s constitution is above some laws of the European Union.
The country’s Constitutional Court effectively refused to recognize the rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and threatened to allocate European funds for the reconstruction of Poland after the pandemic.
The decision can be used by the Polish government as an excuse to circumvent the general rules that underlie the functioning of the 27-member bloc.
A court in Warsaw has ruled that the Polish constitution cannot allow the EU to influence areas in which the country has not given a bloc of powers, such as the judiciary.
This decision further reduces the likelihood that Poland will receive 36 billion euros in aid from the bloc in connection with the pandemic. Senior EU officials have said that questioning the bloc’s laws, which unite members into a single legal system, has already delayed the approval process.
Attack on the EU
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who filed the lawsuit, said this week that the EU’s largest eastern economy would cope with any loss of aid in the event of a pandemic, as its finances are in good shape.
In response, the European Commission stated that “EU law takes precedence over national law, including the provisions of the constitution”.
“All judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union are binding on all authorities of the Member States, including national courts,” the commission added, warning that it would not hesitate to exercise its powers under treaties to protect the uniform application and inviolability of Union law.