Poland and the EU: A Whirlwind Romance That May End In Divorce

Years of yearning to join the European Union seem to have been long forgotten with the recent developments in Polish-EU relations, as well as judicial reforms in the country.

When the United Kingdom left the European Union (EU), setting a dangerous precedent, no one thought that any country would realistically follow suit. Brexit was supposed to be the exception, an anomaly, not the beginning of some new rule. But recently the question of a “Polexit” has surfaced. While Poland has played the role of the EU’s black sheep for a few years now, most dismissed it simply as bickering — like every married couple does. However, Polexit entered Polish and European public discourse over the summer, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Poland’s Disciplinary Chamber (transl. Izba Dyscyplinarna) — a judicial organ that reprimands judges when they break the rule of professional ethics — should be liquidated. While the idea behind the disciplinary chamber is not necessarily a bad one in theory, it has been abused by the ruling party to open investigations into, and eventually suspend, judges who are vocal critics of the government.

The promising meet-cute

Like every tale of romance, this one starts years back. Poland entered the EU on May 1, 2004, after 77.45% of those voting in the referendum answered yes to the question “Do you allow the accession of the Republic of Poland to the European Union?” Television reports from the day of the referendum shows Poles cheering, whooping, jumping up and down with smiles on their faces. Joining the EU was a dream come true for the Polish nation after living under communist rule and Soviet influence for 44 years. A united Europe symbolized to many Poles a guarantee of no more wars — the Second World War and the Cold War still haunted collective memory. Opening up the market and having access to goods which used to be rarities brought by lucky cousins from abroad was another dream come true. Furthermore, free movement between countries meant some could see places that they had only heard about in stories or saw in newspapers and movies. Puppy love, the honeymoon phase, call it what you will — it seemed like life as a European nation could not get any better than becoming a part of the Union.

However, things started rapidly changing when the Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in 2015. The outgoing Sejm (lower chamber of the legislative body), led by the Civic Platform, appointed three judges for the Constitutional Tribunal before the end of its term. It was up to newly elected President Andrzej Duda to swear them in, which he ultimately decided against. When the new PiS government was formed, they unlawfully appointed three new judges who conveniently corresponded to PiS’ placement on the political spectrum. This provided the groundwork for the Sejm to pass several unconstitutional laws and, with a complicit President and Constitutional Tribunal, it was more than easy. In 2017, the Disciplinary Chamber was created and in April of 2020, the so-called “muzzle” act was passed, which envisioned disciplining judges for applying EU law in court cases, and sending inquiries to the EU Court of Justice. The issue of restricted abortion, which was precisely made possible by the judiciary reforms, further developed in March of this year. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled then, that abortion in case of fetal defects was unconstitutional after an inquiry to the Tribunal was made by far-right parliament members.

A love turned sour?

This summer, when the ECJ ruled that the Chamber must be liquidated, Law and Justice politicians rushed to send an inquiry to the Constitutional Tribunal about whether or not Poland should comply with the ruling. And unsurprisingly, the Tribunal ruled that Polish law is superior to EU law. At this point Poland asked itself whether it was in a toxic relationship with the EU. Am I losing my independence and sense of self? But it really was not. It was just realizing that it was not in love with its partner as it used to be.

The ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal sparked a series of protests in support of the EU. Nevertheless, the state-controlled media, TVP Info, made a special effort to further polarize the conflict, headlining the dissent as “protests against the Polish constitution,” indirectly suggesting that those who do support the EU are not in fact patriots. On the 19 of October, a hearing was held in the European Parliament on the topic of violations of rule of law in Poland. Patryk Jaki, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Law and Justice party, pompously quoted Jean Jacques Rousseau and whined about how the EU was against the Polish government. The Prime Minister Morawiecki, on the other hand, could not resist mentioning the name that always stirs up a myriad of controversies: Donald Tusk.

Donald Tusk, in the case of the Polish-European marriage, is like that shared friend whose expected position after the divorce is unclear. Or at least that is how the government views it. He served as the Polish Prime Minister in the years 2007 to 2014 from the Civic Platform (the largest opposition party), after which he became the President of the European Council. PiS partly built its election campaigns on demonizing him — at one point the national news portrayed him having a reddish tint. So is Donald a friend? A foe? Depends who you ask. Therefore, instead of addressing the issue at hand, the rule of law (or in Poland’s case, a lack thereof), Morawiecki decided to redirect the attention onto Tusk. He pushed back against the accusations of judicial ruling being politically motivated by saying “Please show me one ruling like that. One.” Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, Poland was officially gaslighting the EU. Moreover, he pointed out that during Tusk’s rule — contrary to now — politically motivated court rulings were made. But the only reaction he was met with for this statement was scarce applause and a Polish MEP shouting “don’t lie” in the background.

“But will they really get divorced?”

As in most dysfunctional marriages, when things go south, one of the partners has to say “I can’t live without you, please stay” to put past quarrels aside and make amends. In this case, it seems it is the EU that wants to hold onto Poland, whereas the Polish government unfortunately does not reciprocate the feeling. But interestingly enough, the dynamic is reversed — it is more so Poland that needs the EU than the other way around. The country is heavily dependent on EU funds and is now also dealing with the Belarusian migrant crisis on the border, which it cannot face alone. “On the eastern border we are dealing not only with violence, but with a staged spectacle aimed at violating borders, bringing chaos to the European Union” Prime Minister Morawiecki said on the situation at the border in November. Maybe Poland still loves the EU after all? Or perhaps it is just scared of getting lonely…

Another worrying indication is how reckless the Law and Justice politicians have become when talking about a potential Polexit. A member of parliament, Janusz Kowalski, even mentioned 2027 as the year for a Polexit referendum. Nevertheless, as of October, 88% of an Ipsos poll’s respondents (made for Gazeta Wyborcza and OKO. Press) supported Poland’s continued membership in the EU.On the other hand, the Polish nation is becoming increasingly polarized, and the government-controlled media outlets are becoming progressively more ruthless by the day. As if that was not enough, on the 18 of December 2021, the Sejm passed a law commonly dubbed Lex TVN. The law is targeted against Poland’s largest independent news broadcaster, TVN, which is owned by American company Discovery. The new bill prohibits companies from outside the European Economic Zone to have complete ownership of a Polish radio or TV station.

Is the Poland-EU dispute just a bump along the road, a crisis that every marriage must endure? Or is it truly the end of a great love story, one that ends with heartbreak? Only time will tell.