Fiala: Europe facing more pressing questions than whether Poland is upholding EU rules

There are currently more pressing questions than the issue of whether the Polish government is upholding EU regulations regarding the rule of law, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Friday ahead of his flight to Warsaw where he will be meeting with his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki. Mr Fiala said that Poland has been exemplary in defending European values during Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Poland, together with Hungary, has been in the spotlight of EU institutions for several years now due to the concern that it has been breaching the European Union’s own rules regarding the independence of the judiciary, media plurality and academic freedom. Poland is facing the prospect of being cut off from EU funding for this reason.

Questions of security and of whether Europe will actually be able to maintain its freedom, prosperity and independence are currently most important, the Czech prime minister said.

Mr Fiala is hoping to discuss questions relating to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and to find a united position for upcoming EU discussions on the topic, including the possibility of further sanctions. He also wants to talk about how Europe would respond if Russia were to cut off its oil deliveries in a similar way to how it has done so with gas to Poland and Bulgaria a few days ago.

The Czech prime minister also noted that Polish black coal deliveries will be a subject of discussion, as the neighbour state may be forced to limit its deliveries to Czechia in view of the shutting off of Russian coal imports. Mr Fiala said that maintaining coal supplies from Poland is key.