Warsaw’s latest steps could take Poland out of EU

Significance

Warsaw’s Constitutional Tribunal (KT) has challenged the European legal order in Poland and other member states, regarding EU treaties’ compliance with the national constitution and the powers of the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) to direct a member state’s judiciary. Both rulings mark significant steps on a possible ‘Polexit’.

Impacts

• Some areas of EU law in Poland may be paralysed.
• The repression of judges and prosecutors publicly opposing government policies will subordinate the legal system even more to the PiS.
• The ruling coalition’s goals are mostly focused on domestic politics so that legal independence from the EU is merely a side-effect.