Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Chaputowicz believes that during the pandemic, the highest authority should be at the level of the state, not European institutions.
The idea of giving the European Union a higher level of authority than community countries during a pandemic of the disease caused by the new coronavirus had proved to be untenable. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Chaputowicz in an interview with the Daily Polish Newspaper published on Monday.
“In times of crisis, member states of the community take responsibility for the safety of their citizens”, – he said.
“Sovereignty, that is the supreme power, is at the level of the state, not European institutions. Poland, like other member states, has introduced its own extraordinary measures, such as closure of borders, quarantine, closure of institutions, schools or a ban on mass assembly”, – he said.
“This has shown that the idea of reformatting the EU with the provision of higher power, for example, in the field of security, in the face of the crisis was absolutely unrealistic”, – said the Polish minister.
“The European Union will exist as long as it is in the interests of its member states,” Chaputovic said. “Membership brings benefits to all countries, including Poland. The first signals of a gradual recovery from the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus have already appeared. Some hope that the EU’s role in this process will be greater, that it will really support some countries”, – said the Foreign Minister.
In Poland, the number of reported cases of infection with coronavirus has exceeded 13 thousand, 678 people died. Since mid-March, there has been an epidemic regime in the country, many institutions and organizations have been closed.