“There is a witch hunt going on against Poland in Europe,” said the right-wing politician on Thursday shortly before the start of the EU summit in Brussels. “The truth is on the Poles’ side,” he added.
The dispute over the Polish judicial reforms and the recent ruling by the Constitutional Court in Warsaw, which places Polish law in part above EU law, are among the main topics of the two-day meeting. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen recently threatened the Central European country with sanctions. Countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are also pushing for a hard course. Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the other hand, relies on dialogue.
Hungary, in turn, is firmly on the side of Poland, Orban said. In the area of competencies that the member states have not transferred to the EU, the EU institutions have “no place”, he continued. In reality, however, there is a “gradual expansion of competencies” in favor of the Brussels committees, which must be stopped. “The Poles only had the courage to open this battle,” said Orban. “Our place is by your side.”