Waszczykowski: This is not the EU Poles voted to join

Speaking in Brussels ahead of an opinion which is to be issued by the European Commission on Poland's rule of law, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski stated that European Union leaders are taking steps which go beyond the union's rules and the EU's fundamental treaties. Waszczykowski also expressed his opinion that this is not the EU Poles voted to join. "This is not the union, not the kind of membership that we agreed to, this is not the kind of referendum that the Poles took part in," he said. The publication of an opinion expressing European Union concerns about Poland’s failure to respect the rule of law is the next step in a monitoring procedure that could possibly lead to sanctions. Poland will have two weeks to respond, failing which it will be exposed to possible sanctions that could include the suspension of its voting rights.