latest news
On Wednesday, the Senate adopted a resolution calling on the Council of Ministers to adopt the negotiated draft EU budget for 2021-27.
97 senators took part in the vote - 49 supported the resolution, 48 were against, no one abstained.
In the resolution "The Senate of the Republic of Poland calls on the government to respect the national interest and to withdraw from the threat of vetoing the budget of the European Union, which is contrary to the Polish rationale".
"The veto,(...) which the government has announced, is against Poland's economic, political and strategic interests. It threatens to delay, limit or even withhold the payment of hundreds of billions of zlotys from European funds for Poland, including those for Reconstruction and Increasing Resilience, which are to help overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Employees and entrepreneurs, local governments, farmers, as well as the health care system in Poland and the whole of Europe await these funds”, reads the resolution.
In the resolution, the Senate also rejects the prime minister's statements that "this is not the Union we have joined”, and that "this is not a Union that has a future ahead of it". "The Senate reiterates that the decision made by the nation on Poland's accession to the European Union, which is not only an economic community, but above all a community of values, is valid and final," further reads the resolution.
The Senate assures that "it will make every effort to ensure that the interests of Poland prevail, in which the rule of law, the foundations of democracy, and equality of citizens before the law are not questioned." "It is in our deepest national interest that Poland is law-abiding, sovereign and strong in the centre of a united Europe. Only in such circumstances will Poland be safe and prosperous for future generations. This is the only Poland that Poles want".
The head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Michał Dworczyk, stressed that he was "extremely critical of this resolution and the Senate's activity". "This opinion weakens the position of the Republic of Poland. Does it weaken the position of the government? No. It weakens the position of Poland because the government, on behalf of the Republic of Poland, is trying to ensure that the Union not only respects the Treaties, but also treats all its members as partners and in a subjective manner”, he said.
During a meeting between European Union ambassadors, Poland’s Ambassador Andrzej Sadoś presented the position that Poland rejects the political agreement between the European Parliament negotiators and the German presidency on the conditionality mechanism in the EU budget.