Polish PM defends Warsaw's rule-of-law position before EP

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has defended his government's position in a conflict with the European Union (EU) over the sovereignty of EU over national law, reported Xinhua.

Morawiecki addressed the European Parliament (EP) Tuesday regarding a controversial verdict by his country's Constitutional Tribunal (CT), which placed the authority of the Polish constitution above EU law.

Faced with the threat of penalties from the European Commission for not implementing rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Morawiecki chose a confrontational approach, labeling potential withholding of EU funds as punishment as financial blackmail.

However, he added that Poland remains committed to following EU laws and principles.

"Union law precedes national law to the level of the statutes and in the areas of competence granted to the Union," Morawiecki said. "This principle applies in all EU countries. But the Constitution remains the supreme law."

The CJEU ruled in July that a disciplinary chamber established by the Polish government goes against the principle of the rule of law as enshrined in the European treaties.

The body had also ruled on various individual cases on the demotion, transfer and penalizing of judges, which critics see as ways of punishing judges who do not rule in line with the wishes of the Law and Justice (PiS) party currently in power.