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Poland has been drawn into a sharp political fight over its place in the European Union after Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, said countries pushing for fundamental reform of the bloc could open negotiations to leave it if every other method fails.
Kaczynski made the remarks on Wednesday, October 28, in an hour-long address at the Krynica Forum, an economic forum in the southern spa town of Krynica-Zdroj. "The European Union must be changed. This is my deep conviction, shared by my party and, I believe, very many Poles," he said.
His reform programme calls for abolishing the European Commission, which he described as a very harmful body concentrating too much power; handing a greater role to the European Council, where national leaders negotiate directly; drafting a new treaty with a delayed date of entry into force; having national parliamentarians monitor how often EU bodies break EU law; and building a blocking minority in Council votes requiring a qualified majority.
Only as a last resort, he said, could reform-seeking states conclude such a treaty while simultaneously opening withdrawal negotiations under the EU treaties' exit clause. "It all begins with negotiations, and we simply must start them," he said, calling it "a hard method, risky, but things are really that bad that it is worth using, if the other methods do not work." He argued the reform he seeks is about improving citizens' living conditions, lowering energy prices, strengthening security, a responsible migration policy, and economic and agricultural policy without unnecessary bureaucracy. He also argued a window for reform may open as elections in France, Spain and elsewhere bring in governments favouring radical change.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded on X on October 29: "Jaroslaw Kaczynski has just announced that Poland should begin negotiations on the terms of leaving the European Union. This is one of the issues at stake in the political struggle taking place in Poland today. A tough struggle. I do not intend to lose it." In a later video message, Tusk said the coming parliamentary elections would be a choice on whether Poland remains in the European Union or leaves it.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote: "So they do want Polexit after all," listing customs borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania, passport checks at airports, an end to subsidies for farmers and investment, and an end to the National Recovery Plan and SAFE funding, and said the remarks should help voters understand the consequences of choosing the far-right.
Kaczynski accused Tusk of misrepresenting him, saying the EU is necessary but requires fundamental reform, and that "we want the union to benefit not the elites, but the ordinary citizens." PiS deputy leader Przemyslaw Czarnek said the party does not plan to take Poland out of the EU and wants to reform it.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the EU needs reform where it needs improvements but should not be threatened with leaving, and asked the opposition to clarify before the legislative elections scheduled for November 2027 whether its objective is to take Poland out of the bloc. Sejm Speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty accused Kaczynski of normalising the idea of exit, while former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said people backing Poland leaving the EU would not run on his lists.
No withdrawal process has begun. Poland, a key NATO eastern-flank country and one of the EU's fastest-growing economies, has been central to support for Ukraine. Kaczynski's party led Poland from 2015 to 2023, a period marked by major conflicts with EU institutions over the rule of law and human rights, and polls about a year before the next general election indicate he could return to power allied with smaller far-right groups.