Poland's nationalist course is intensifying: Head of State Duda has made a harsh criticism of Europe on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the country's independence - and made a historically controversial comparison.
In the 1990s, the EU was a promise to many Poles. It stood for progress and a binding to the west, past the days of Soviet power. Now Polish President Andrzej Duda has severely criticized his country's membership in the Union.
At an event in Lower Silesia, Duda drew parallels with the 123-year occupation of Poland by Russia, Austria and Prussia between 1795 and 1918. "Somewhere in the distance, in distant capitals, our affairs are decided..., and we actually work for the account of others, "said Duda according to media reports on Tuesday in his speech in Kamienna Góra. At the same time, Poland is the largest net recipient of the European Union at around ten billion euros per annum, less its contribution to the EU budget.
Some people find the EU more important than Poland, he criticized in his speech commemorating Poland's independence 100 years ago. Even then - before Poland regained its sovereignty in 1918 - people would have thought, "Maybe it's better, there will be no more quarrels, no riots, no uprisings, no wars, no adventures, no confederations.At last there will be peace."
But then these people would have "quickly realized that wars and adventures would continue" and that the Poles would have no influence whatsoever and would be decided on over their heads. Today Poland is "independent". He believes that it will be a state in which it live will "always be better".
Duda is close to the ruling right-wing National Justice Party (PiS), which has been in power since 2015, relations with the European Union are tense. The EU Commission sees Poland's judicial reform endangering its own fundamental values - in particular the independence of the judiciary. The EU has so far initiated unprecedented criminal cases against the country, which may also lead to the withdrawal of voting rights in Brussels.
Source: dpa, AFP
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