Polish PM vows loyalty to EU, warns of 'dangerous' centralisation

FILE PHOTO: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomes Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as he arrives for a bilateral meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/Pool

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland is a loyal member of the European Union but opposes excessive centralisation of power, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday in a letter to other European leaders amid a deepening row over the rule of law.

Brussels has long said reforms introduced by Poland's right-wing government undermine judicial independence, but their row escalated this month when the Polish Constitutional Tribunal challenged a key tenet of EU integration by ruling that parts of the European treaties were incompatible with the constitution.