On Monday, EU Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer responded to Poland's prime minister's remarks in an interview with the "Financial Times" about a "third world war," condemning his war rhetoric as unacceptable. The EU, according to PM Morawiecki, is making demands with a "gun to our head."
In an interview with the "Financial Times," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the European Commission was making demands while pointing a "gun to our head."
"What happens if the European Commission starts the third world war? If they do start it, we are going to defend our rights with any weapons which are at our disposal," the prime minister added.
When asked on Monday about Morawiecki's remarks, EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the bloc's policy was not to respond to media interviews.
He said, however, that the EU "is a project that for 68 years has very successfully contributed to establishing a lasting peace among its member states".
Mamer added that "there is no place for rhetoric referring to war" between members states and EU institutions.
Piotr Müller, Spokesperson for Polish Government, defended Morawiecki, saying that the prime minister's statements should not be taken literally.
"It's a hyperbole, a rhetorical figure, often used in various interviews and literature. I wouldn't draw such conclusions as the opposition is drawing today," Müller said.
Long-standing tensions between Poland's ruling nationalists and the EU's liberal majority have risen since Poland's Constitutional Tribunal concluded earlier this month that sections of EU legislation were incompatible with the country's charter, casting doubt on a key pillar of EU integration.
The disagreement not only threatens to trigger a new fundamental crisis for the EU, which is still dealing with the fallout from Brexit. It has the potential to deprive Poland of considerable EU aid.
Last week, European leaders gathered to condemn Warsaw for questioning the EU's legal foundations, but Poland's prime minister insisted he would not be intimidated by "blackmail" as he attended a summit of the bloc's 27 members.
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Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has been named chairman of the Civic Platform party he formed, remarked following Morawiecki's interview that "the world was dumbfounded."
"In politics, stupidity is the cause of most serious misfortunes," Tusk added in a tweet.
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