Poland’s right-wing government could try to drive the country out of the European Union if it stops being a net recipient of bloc funding, EU President Donald Tusk warned.
"For PiS the benefit of being in the EU boils down to the balance of payments, with a complete disregard for other benefits like the common market, legal order, guaranteed security, etc," Tusk said, speaking with the Tygodnik Powszechny news weekly.
"As long as we’re not a net contributor, the game is worth the candle for them. So I can easily imagine a situation where if one day Poland finds itself among the (net) contributors, the Polish government will decide that it’s time to ask Poles if they still want Poland in the EU and then will work hard so that they come to the conclusion that it’s necessary to say goodbye to membership," he stressed.
Tusk said it was "a sad day for all" last month when Brussels triggered article seven of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the nation’s right-wing government, the Telegraph reported.
But the EU President noted that "the PiS can still end this crisis by abandoning the changes to the judiciary."
Tusk stressed that there’s still a huge surplus of hope in Brussels that Poland will nevertheless remain in the EU.
