‘The farewell has already begun’ Poland is ready to leave EU at any time – lawmakers warn
POLAND could get itself KICKED OUT of the EU if the government continues to battle Brussels over judicial reform and deforestation, opposition politicians have warned.
By ROSS LOGAN
Express.co.uk
Tue, Aug 8, 2017
The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to speed up a case against Warsaw over large-scale logging in the Bialowieza forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The forest is also home to the largest herd of European bison, unique birds and insects, and the ECJ has issued an interim order demanding Poland cease its activities.
But the Polish government, led by the eurosceptic Rule and Jutice Party (PiS), has claimed the logging is necessary to control a beetle outbreak and has ignored the ECJ ruling.
It is the latest act of defiance by PiS, having passed controversial judical reforms giving the government greater powers over the judiciary and the state-run media.
Last week European Council president Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, admitted there was a “question mark” over his country’s future with the EU.
He said: “It smells like an introduction to an announcement that Poland does not need the European Union and that Poland is not needed for the EU.
“I am afraid we are closer to that moment.”
Katarzyna Lubnauer, an MP for the opposition Nowoczesna party, suggested PiS was deliberately trying to provoke the EU into expelling the country from the bloc.
She said: “When we look at what is happening now, we get the deep feeling that the farewell has already begun.”
The Rest…HERE
