“Poland’s presidency of the EU Council will be a missed opportunity for our country. Instead of promoting Poland’s interests, Donald Tusk will be following the orders of the Eurocrats. The European mainstream may seize the opportunity to launch a project to build an EU super-state”, warns Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a Polish economist, one of the main negotiators of Poland’s accession to the EU and a former MEP, in an interview with europeanconservative.com.
More than a year ago, the European Parliament agreed on a report that supported changing the EU treaties. These changes include, among other things, getting rid of veto rights and giving more competencies to the European Union. However, the issue wasn’t raised again for some time. Has the European mainstream given up on creating a superstate?
Of course not. The topic was buried before the European elections to avoid upsetting the voters, even though it would have been the perfect time to ask citizens for approval for this kind of action. The planning is already underway. After all, the European Parliament has voted on proposals to amend the European Treaties. The process has already started. The EP has sent the proposal to the European Council, where only a simple majority is needed to convene a convention. If it looked as if there might be a case for it, the process would be set in motion. There is no better timing for this than the Polish Presidency obeying Brussels’ and Berlin’s orders.
Should we therefore expect this topic to return in the coming months?
Everything will depend on the attitude of the big players. As recently as two-and-a-half years ago, 13 EU governments stated that they did not want to change the treaties. Since then, that number has dwindled and I think only Hungary continues to take the same unambiguous position.
By contrast, in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and wherever the Socialists, post-Christian Democrats, and Liberals hold power in various arrangements, there would likely be support for changing the treaties. The quieter these capitals are on the subject, the more concerning this silence becomes.
Changing the treaties is not the only way to centralise the European Union. Moreover, it involves certain risks during the approval process by Member States. Why is the European mainstream so eager to pursue this?
Because it is an unambiguous and systemic change. The massive transfer of Member States’ competencies to the EU level transforms the Union into a de facto state. The need to find creative loopholes every time will be gone. However, there are other ways to achieve this. For example, gradually taking over competencies (competence creep). Or, creating a superstate through changes in economic management—shared debt, currency control, or budget reforms that increase the power of institutions without officially changing the treaties.
The priorities of the Polish presidency do not include changes to the treaties.
The priorities of the Polish Presidency are laughable. They are a collection of vague slogans. In contrast, there are no clear ideas of their own to respond to current challenges. It is common practice in EU policy for each presidency to promote its own national interests. However, Poland under Donald Tusk will be implementing the ideas of Berlin and Brussels. It seems that Tusk’s main goal is to create a positive propaganda effect for national purposes. This leads to a kind of contradiction, because as part of the plans agreed upon by the next three EU presidencies—Poland, Denmark, and Cyprus—Tusk’s government has accepted a document calling for the quick implementation of the migration pact and the Green Deal. At the same time, for domestic audiences, the same government says the exact opposite.
Does this surprise you?
No. Donald Tusk and his coalition partners have not had such clear backing from the most powerful groups in the EU—the European Commission, the German-French alliance and the Socialists, EPP, and the Liberals—in recent years as to act independently. Tusk and his coalition were supported in the elections to follow the will of Berlin and Brussels without question. This is what is expected of them, and unfortunately, the Prime Minister is living up to that expectation.
