WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled on Thursday that some articles of the European Union treaties are unconstitutional in the country, challenging a key tenet of European integration.
The nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government is involved in a series of disputes with the EU on issues ranging from courts and media freedom to LGBT rights. The case under consideration by the tribunal refers to changes that PiS made to the country’s judicial system.
“The primacy of constitutional law over other sources of law results directly from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,” government spokesman Piotr Muller wrote on Twitter.
“Today (once again) this has been clearly confirmed by the Constitutional Tribunal.”
Critics have warned that challenging the supremacy of EU law not only jeopardises Poland’s long-term future in the Union but also the stability of the bloc itself.
The Tribunal started hearing the case in July but had adjourned it four times before Thursday’s sitting. Some critics say the delays may have been aimed at putting pressure on Brussels to accept Warsaw’s National Recovery Plan.
The EU has accused the government of politicising Poland’s courts, including the Constitutional Tribunal.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz and Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Gareth Jones)
