The political crisis in Poland has reached a new level of urgency. Prime Minister Donald Tusk issued a stark warning on Sunday, March 15: Poland’s exit from the European Union is now a real threat.
In a post on the X platform, Tusk declared: “Polexit is a real threat today! Both Confederations and the majority of PiS want it. Nawrocki is their patron. Russia, the American MAGA movement, and the European right-wing want to destroy the Union. I will do everything to stop them. For Poland, it would be a disaster.”
The reason for such harsh words was President Karol Nawrocki’s recent veto of the law implementing the major European defense investment program SAFE in Poland. This EU initiative provides for preferential long-term loans to quickly strengthen the defense capabilities of European countries against the backdrop of the US shifting priorities toward Asia and its diminishing involvement in European security.
Tusk has repeatedly emphasized that the president’s veto is not simply a technical decision, but part of a broader anti-European campaign, which, in his opinion, is being waged by right-wing forces. Back on Friday, in an interview with TVP Info, the Prime Minister noted that “those who say that this is a prelude to Polexit, to Poland’s exit from the European Union, are, unfortunately, increasingly right.”
President Nawrocki and PiS representatives categorically deny the accusations. PiS MEP Adam Bilán stated that the only politician who has been “scaring” Poles with Polexit for years is Donald Tusk himself. PiS emphasizes that the party has always advocated for EU membership, but criticizes the “dictate of Brussels” and certain areas of EU policy (in particular, the climate package and migration policy).
The conflict between Tusk’s government and President Nawrocki has escalated into open institutional warfare. In seven months of his presidency, Nawrocki has vetoed more laws than Andrzej Duda did in ten years. The issue of control over defense and foreign policy is particularly pressing given the war in Ukraine and the changing global situation.
Experts interviewed note that although the majority of Poles still support remaining in the EU, the rhetoric of some right-wing politicians is becoming increasingly Eurosceptic. The next parliamentary elections in 2027, according to Tusk, “will decide whether Poland will remain in Europe or whether someone will take us out.”