Poland: Berlin and Paris lead Union as “de facto oligarchy”

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused Germany and France of running the European Union like a "de facto oligarchy". In an opinion piece in the French daily Le Monde on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Polish head of government wrote today that warnings from Poland about Russian expansionist policy had been ignored. The conflict in Ukraine "revealed the truth about Europe," said Morawiecki.

Europe has refused to listen to "the voice of truth" from Poland about the "imperialist" ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This shows a bigger problem that the EU is facing.

On paper, all member states are equal, but "political practice shows that the German and French voices have priority," Morawiecki continued. "We are dealing with a formal democracy and a 'de facto oligarchy' within which power is exercised by the fittest."

Worry about unanimity
The EU has "more and more difficulties in respecting the freedom and equality of all member states," it said. "We are also hearing more and more often that the future of the entire community should no longer be decided by unanimity, but by the majority," Morawiecki added, criticizing that this would bring the EU closer to a model "in which the strongest and biggest decide for the weakest and smallest". He called for a "return to the principles" of the EU.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine in February, Poland has been at the forefront of countries condemning Moscow. Warsaw has always called for the toughest EU sanctions against Russia and huge arms deliveries to Kyiv.

Source: ORF