{"id":950807,"date":"2026-10-29T16:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T16:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/950807\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T16:00:10","slug":"polish-opposition-leader-floats-eu-exit-talks-to-force-reforms-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/950807\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish opposition leader floats EU exit talks to force reforms \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

WARSAW, Poland (AP) \u2014 A year before Poland\u2019s general election, the country\u2019s main opposition leader suggested that countries led by nationalist parties could open negotiations to leave the European Union to pressure it to return powers to member states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe European Union must be changed. This is my deep conviction, shared by my party and, I believe, very many Poles,\u201d Jaros\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski, the leader of the national-conservative Law and Justice, said Wednesday at an economic forum in southern Poland.<\/p>\n

He said EU institutions like the European Commission, the EU\u2019s executive body, have too much influence, but that upcoming elections in France and Spain, which could bring far-right politicians to power, could open the way for discussions about change.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFILE – Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the head of the opposition conservative party Law and Justice, speaks to a crowd in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Czarek Sokolowski, File)<\/p>\n

He offered several ideas for change, including having national parliamentarians monitor how often EU bodies break EU law.<\/p>\n

But as a last resort, he suggested that countries seeking reform could conclude a new treaty that would take effect at a later date while simultaneously opening EU withdrawal negotiations. He presented that as a way to pressure other countries and EU bodies to accept changes.<\/p>\n

His remarks sparked criticism from senior government figures in Poland.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaros\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski has just announced that Poland should begin negotiations on the conditions of leaving the European Union,\u201d the pro-European prime minister, Donald Tusk, wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Kaczy\u0144ski accused Tusk of misrepresenting his intentions. \u201cWe want the union to benefit not the elites, but the ordinary citizens,\u201d Kaczy\u0144ski shot back on X.<\/p>\n

Poland, a key country on NATO\u2019s eastern flank and one of the EU\u2019s fastest-growing economies, has gained strategic importance in recent years, partly through its crucial role in supporting Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Kaczy\u0144ski\u2019s party led Poland between 2015 and 2023, leading to major conflicts with EU institutions over the rule of law and human rights.<\/p>\n

One year ahead of general elections, polls indicate that Kaczy\u0144ski could bring his party back to power if he allies with smaller far-right groups that have been on the rise in Poland in recent years.<\/p>\n

Kaczy\u0144ski said the EU reform he is advocating was focused on \u201cimproving citizens\u2019 living conditions, lowering energy prices, strengthening security, pursuing a responsible migration policy and an ambitious economic and agricultural policy without unnecessary bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski said Kaczy\u0144ski\u2019s remarks should help Polish voters understand the consequences of choosing the far-right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank Jaros\u0142aw Kaczy\u0144ski for his honesty,\u201d Sikorski said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WARSAW, Poland (AP) \u2014 A year before Poland\u2019s general election, the country\u2019s main opposition leader suggested that countries…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":950808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-950807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=950807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/950808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=950807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=950807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=950807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}