Deep Divisions Evident In Polish Rule Of Law Stand-Off

With national leaders arriving in Brussels for European Council summit, doorstep interviews might be concerning for countries looking to have the focus of the summit on energy and COVID-19, rather than rule of law issues in Poland. There are shaping up to be three main camps at the summit: those nations in favour of Article 7 proceedings against Poland to force Warsaw's hand, those in favour of continued talks with Poland to bring them back into EU fold, and those countries backing Poland in its stand-off with Brussels.

• Mehreen Khan at FT tweets on the Netherlands' PM Mark Rutte: "Rutte says independence of judges is "non-negotiable" in context of Poland Says it is "difficult" to see how Poland can qualify for any RRF cash until the issue is settled"
• Craig Hughes, Irish Daily Mail tweets: "[Irish] Taoiseach Micheal Martin says he believes "Poland has gone too far" and says he will be making a strong intervention this evening on the rule of law issue that is set to dominate the agenda."
• Anne Gellinek at ZDF tweets: ""I would think it's a shame if people only give in when there's money involved." Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, on the question of whether Poland should cut EU budget money."
• French President Emmanuel Macron states that he "shared his concerns about the situation created by the Polish constitutional court ruling," with Polish PM Morawiecki with the two meeting at Brussels airport. Macron came down on the side of dialogue rather than punishing Poland, "to find a solution compatible with our principles and our common rules," according to Eylsee official.
• Hungarian PM Viktor Orban called Poland the 'best country in Europe'. Stated that there is a "witch hunt in Europe against Poland". Also said EU law primacy is not included in treaties, arguing that "The EU has primacy where it has competences."