Isolated in EU, Polish PM Szydlo fights back

Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo holds a news conference at the end of a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Poland will not be blackmailed by Western Europeans threatening to take away millions in European Union funds for standing up for its interests, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Friday, a day after Warsaw was badly defeated over who chairs EU summits.

On Thursday, Szydlo was the only one of 28 EU leaders to fight against the re-appointment of Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, as the chairman of their meetings.