Polish PM predicts changes for Brussels after EU elections: FT

In an interview with the paper, Mateusz Morawiecki was quoted as saying that the European Parliament elections due in May would have a “strong” impact on the bloc.

“Brussels and the European Commission need to be very receptive to what is going on in different countries,” Morawiecki told the Financial Times.

He added, as quoted by the paper: “The voice of different countries, and in particular central European countries, will need to be heard much more clearly.”

According to the Financial Times, "anti-establishment, nationalist, far-right parties have made advances" in a number of EU member countries ahead of the elections.

Morawiecki said in the interview that the “EU as an institution needs reform . . . and when I speak to prime ministers from other countries, most of them agree that a serious revamp of procedures and institutions is needed, but everyone is waiting for the European elections.”

Morawiecki dismissed claims that central Europe was sliding toward authoritarianism and argued that officials in Brussels “completely do not understand the situation in post-communist countries,” according to the Financial Times.

In the interview, Morawiecki also called on Brussels to drop disciplinary proceedings over Poland’s contentious legal changes, the Financial Times reported.

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the 28-nation European Union, of which Poland has been a member since 2004.

Poland’s political parties are gearing up for an electoral marathon, with European elections scheduled for May 26 and a national parliamentary ballot due in the autumn, followed by a presidential vote next year.

(gs)

Source: ft.com, PAP