The critical assessment of the draft amendments to the Treaty on European Union presented by Jarosław Kaczyński during the gathering at the Sokół Club in Kraków is accurate in its specifics. But such a diagnosis alone will not secure the future of Europe. The public cannot be offered a choice between Poland or Europe. Poles do not want to choose between national identity and European belonging; many feel a genuine connection to Europe while preserving their own roots. Presenting such a stark dichotomy could jeopardize crucial steps, including any referendum necessary in Poland to ratify changes to the EU Treaty. Rather than framing the issue as a simple split, the debate should be reframed around a deeper question: Europe as a federation of homelands versus a Brussels-driven empire, a Brussels octopus, or a Brussels leviathan.
READ: Fatal decision by 9 MEPs from Poland! Confederation MPs point out: if it weren’t for them, the idea to change the EU treaties would fail
There is no need to spell out the familiar image of an octopus and its grip. In ancient times Leviathan was depicted as a sea monster whose jaws held the earth. In legend, Moloch demanded sacrifice. The modern parallel is that the institutions creating Europe also hold the reins in Brussels, and now this authority seems determined to curtail the freedom of its founding nations.
The comparison echoes the dynamics of Orwell’s Animal Farm, where initial ideals of equality and fraternity gradually yield to the rise of a ruling elite. The old rules vanish, a new generation marches in step with the authorities, and the state enforces compliance through surveillance and pressure.
Literature often warns that progress can unleash a revolution that consumes its own authors. Today, Chancellor Olaf Scholz resembles the figure of Pankracy portrayed in Zygmunt Krasiński’s Heavenly Comedy, pushing relentlessly for transformation regardless of the cost, with the aim of establishing a new Brussels-based caste. A future where European societies lose the freedom to decide for themselves would sap the vitality of democracy.
Fortunately, the vote in the European Parliament on November 22, 2023 did not yield the sweeping support some had anticipated for the German project of a European super state. The result highlighted that a substantial portion of parliamentarians remained skeptical. This outcome reflected broader concerns within member states about sovereignty, national balance, and the risk of centralized authority. Critics argued that pressure tactics and economic leverage were used to influence national governments, underscoring the fragility of cross-border consensus when its members face divergent domestic pressures.
Ultimately, the preference for freedom won out over any impulse to dominate, emphasizing that national sovereignty and collective European strength can coexist. The discussion continues to revolve around how to reconcile national interests with continental integration, and how to ensure that cooperation remains voluntary and balanced rather than coercive.
READ: Szydło on the vote in the European Parliament: Tusk had helped ensure that this resolution was adopted – unfortunately at Polish hands –