Plans to abolish national vetoes on important issues such as foreign policy and further centralise power in the hands of Eurocrats are proving a step too far even for prospective Polish PM and leader of the liberal opposition Donald Tusk.
MEPs in a vote passed a report Wednesday, November 22nd that, if applied, would strip member states of their power to object to EU foreign policy. One conservative Polish lawmaker has already referred to it as an attempt to engineer a “dystopian superstate” against the wishes of voters.
Responding to the Brussels power grab, Tusk has publicly referred to the plans as “stupid” as he declared that his Civic Platform party and almost all MEPs in the Polish delegation would oppose the federalist push on the grounds of national sovereignty and protecting the EU’s reputation in Poland.
Despite being a firm Europhile himself and serving as President of the European Council until 2019, Tusk referred to the Brussels roadmap as “naive” and exactly the sort of policy that contributed to the 2016 Brexit decision.
EU bigwigs are attempting to accelerate their vision of a federal state as the bloc prepares to admit new members in the Western Balkans by 2030 and deal with turbulent accession talks around a war-ravaged Ukraine in the coming months.
This is not the first time that Tusk has strayed from the script. The 66-year-old Polish politician has been noted for his critical attitudes towards migration policy within elite EU circles as his party attempted to rhetorically outflank the ruling conservative PiS party on the issue of Islamic immigration during the recent election cycle.
Regardless, Tusk and his party are often accused of representing EU and German interests in Poland with PiS currently in a last-ditch battle to prevent him and his rainbow coalition consisting of left, liberal, and centrist factions from taking power.
One of the first actions Tusk took following last month’s election was travelling to Brussels to negotiate the unfreezing of vital EU funding for Poland, stalled as part of the “rule of law” harassment campaign by the European Commission against PiS.
While still a frontrunner to become PM before the end of the year, Tusk is still yet to take formal control of the office with his administration already plotting an institutional purge against officials loyal to PiS.
Poland’s PiS President Andrzej Duda has been adamant in the press that he will not appoint Tusk as PM, while PiS argue that they are entitled to form the next administration due to the fact they remain the largest party in the Polish Parliament (Sejm).
