'Brexit may happen here:' Poles rally to stay in EU
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in Poland flocked to city streets on Sunday, rallying to remain in the European Union.
It comes after a court ruled parts of EU law are not aligned with the country’s constitution, stoking fears Poland may leave the bloc.
Organisers say nearly 100,000 people gathered in the capital Warsaw alone, waving Polish and EU flags and shouting “We are staying.”
One protester pointed to the UK’s EU exit as an example of what might happen.
"It seems that just as Brexit suddenly became a fact that no one expected, the same may happen here."
"I am afraid that bad times may come back, since young people do not remember them because they were not there. There was simply no freedom, and what seems obvious to everyone right now, is not obvious at all."
Poland’s right-wing, ruling Law and Justice party has increasingly been at odds with the European Commission over issues like LGBTQ+ rights and judicial independence.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki welcomed the court ruling on Thursday, adding the EU must respect each member state.
Opposition leader, Donald Tusk, spoke in front of Warsaw’s Royal Castle on Sunday and suggested, “We know why they want to leave the EU, so that they can violate democratic rules with impunity.”
Morawiecki’s party says it has no plans for a “Polexit.”
