EU top official clashes with Polish PM over rule of law

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top official has locked horns with Poland’s prime minister, arguing that a recent ruling from the country’s constitutional court challenging the supremacy of EU laws is a threat to the bloc’s foundations and won’t be left unanswered. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Mateusz Morawiecki laid bare their differences of opinion on rule-of-law principles during a heated debate Tuesday with EU lawmakers. Von der Leyen accused Morawiecki of trying to run away and escape the debate on the primacy of European law. Morawiecki repeated that Poles are in favor of the “power of the rule of law” and “don’t believe in blackmail or paternalistic attitudes” toward their country.