Rutte: no money for Warsaw | Abroad

Rutte will speak on Thursday with fellow government leaders at a summit in Brussels about the recent ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. This states that in some cases European law does not take precedence over Polish law. Warsaw defends the controversial ruling.

Most member states believe that with this step Poland is destroying the foundations of the European Union. There have been concerns about the independence of judges in the country for some time.

Coronaherstelplan

Prime Minister Rutte believes that the European Commission, the day-to-day management of the EU, should intervene by quickly turning off the money tap. If it is up to the Prime Minister, there will be no green light for the corona recovery plan of 36 billion euros. Other financial resources should also be frozen if it is up to him.

“The independence of judges and adherence to common agreements is essential,” Rutte explains. According to the prime minister, he said before the summit, this is also in the Netherlands’ interests: “For the functioning of the internal market. For example, if there are conflicts about goods flows. If someone sells something in Poland and has fewer rights there than in the Netherlands, that is very serious.”

With this critical stance, the Netherlands receives support from a whole series of like-minded countries, but a country like Hungary is back on the side of Poland. Warsaw speaks furiously of ‘financial blackmail’.

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