Politico reported that on March 15, Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Poland's exit from the European Union could become a "real threat", amid increasing domestic political tensions.
In a message posted on social network X, Mr. Tusk said that right-wing forces in the country are promoting steps that could push Poland out of the EU. He criticized Nationalist President Karol Nawrocki and right-wing opposition parties for bringing the country closer to the "Polexit" scenario.
According to Mr. Tusk, both factions in the far-right coalition Confederation (Freedom and Independence) and most MPs of the Law and Justice party (PiS) support the removal of Poland from the EU. The Polish Prime Minister called it a "disaster" and declared that he would "do everything" to prevent this scenario.
The head of the Polish government also believes that the risk of "Polexit" is linked to forces that want to weaken or divide the EU. According to him, these forces range from Russia, the MAGA political movement in the US, to far-right European leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Mr. Tusk's warning was issued after President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a bill allowing Poland to access a preferential defense loan package worth 43.7 billion euros from the EU. This loan is designed to support member states to increase military spending in the context of an increasingly tense security environment in Europe.
Because Mr. Tusk's government does not have a majority in parliament to overcome the president's veto power, the future of the defense financial plan is currently in a deadlock. This is especially important as Poland plans to increase military spending to nearly 5% of GDP this year - one of the highest levels in NATO.
The Polish Prime Minister warned that vetoing the aforementioned law could weaken Warsaw's position in the EU, and at the same time make the country's long-term defense plans difficult.
Concerns about "Polexit" are also acknowledged by some right-wing politicians. Former Minister in charge of Europe of the PiS party, Konrad Szymański, recently wrote in the newspaper that the Polish nationalist faction is gradually sliding down the "path to Polexit". He compared the current situation to the political context in the United Kingdom before the 2016 referendum, leading to the Brexit event.
However, public opinion polls show that the majority of Polish people still support continuing to stay in the EU. However, the rate of support for leaving the bloc is gradually becoming clearer. Some polls show that from 10% to 25% of Polish voters surveyed are willing to support starting the EU leaving process if there is an opportunity.
The rise of this view makes many observers believe that the debate about "Polexit" - once considered an extreme scenario - has now become a real political topic in Poland.
