The Ordo Iuris Institute warns that the European Union is pushing ahead with treaty amendments, and government officials under Donald Tusk support this move, claiming it helps safeguard Polish interests by reducing constant surveillance over Polish affairs. The report identifies ten policy areas where national sovereignty could be eroded, including education, defense and industry. A document titled Why Do We Need Sovereignty? has been prepared to be shared with European lawmakers as a means to halt these changes.
Recent actions by the European Parliament have seen amendments to EU treaties that would transfer powers from member states to the Community in ten areas. Ordo Iuris highlights foreign policy, border control, currency policy, industry, cross-border infrastructure, climate policy, health care, defense, education, and family law as the domains at stake.
Tusk administration and vigilance
The Polish Prime Minister has insisted that changes violating national sovereignty cannot occur. Yet critics argue that official assurances sometimes fail to match practical policy moves.
In a parliamentary statement, Donald Tusk described the EU path as one that could steer reforms without harming Poland’s core interests, while noting that Poland would shape the direction of any future EU changes during his tenure. Jerzy Kwaśniewski, president of Ordo Iuris, commented that Poland’s stance has sometimes appeared inconsistent with the pace of treaty discussions.
According to Kwaśniewski, the reform process has progressed with quiet support from Poland, even as Ordo Iuris has emerged as a leading voice against the shifts. He argues that there is concern over potential reductions in Poland’s military autonomy and the possibility that major projects such as the Central Communication Port or port developments could proceed under Brussels rather than Warsaw’s oversight.
He also notes that a key moment could involve the EU’s internal discussions at the EU Council, where Warsaw’s position might not have been as forceful as it could have been in opposition to further treaty talks.
Amendments and the shift in authority
Kwaśniewski points to changes that could abolish the veto on foreign policy matters and suggests this might open doors to a customs bloc with the United States or to a broader energy alignment with Russia, moves that would clash with Poland’s interests and with the views of several EU partners.
Such a restructuring would transfer substantial independence to Brussels and Berlin, the lawyer explains, and only a broad alliance of opponents could slow down Germany’s push toward greater European authority.
The ten areas at risk
Ordo Iuris has released a report titled Why Do We Need Sovereignty?, arguing that the proposed treaty amendments are designed to permanently curtail Poland’s sovereignty in ten critical areas. The report highlights defense as a major concern, suggesting the EU could assume control over Polish armed forces, close embassies, or replace diplomats with EU staff, thereby weakening national autonomy.
Kwaśniewski stresses that the EU would also steer key immigration policies and widen influence over important economic sectors. The report claims that the bloc could gain exclusive power to negotiate climate agreements and limit Poland’s own regulatory authority in energy and environmental matters.
To advance awareness, the institute plans to circulate the document to EU lawmakers from several member states, with the aim of building cross-border support against what it sees as a sovereignty rollover. The ten areas covered include climate policy, health policy, cross-border infrastructure, border protection, foreign policy, security and defense, industry, education, monetary policy and family law. Each chapter analyzes the potential reach of transferred powers and what it could mean for Poland’s autonomy.
A vision of centralization
Kwaśniewski notes that the package of changes suggests a European superstate model, an economy centralized and governed from above in a way that far exceeds traditional federal patterns seen in other large nations. Experts warn that the EU could claim exclusive rights to international climate agreements and redefine the scope of environmental matters as a sole EU competence, which would challenge national constitutional norms on energy security.
There are divergent positions among member states about energy futures, with Germany often pursuing strategies that may not align with Polish interests, according to the institute.
Infrastructure, investment and transport
The report argues that amendments would broaden shared competences to cover cross-border infrastructure, extending across all transport modes including roads, rail, sea, air and inland waterways. Poland’s own projects in strategic infrastructure, such as the Central Communications Port, the Port of Gdańsk, LNG facilities and major road corridors, could be subject to EU-level decision-making instead of national planning.
Kwaśniewski cautions that sovereignty in investment planning could be compromised, potentially constraining Warsaw’s ability to steer major national developments and critical ports or energy terminals.
Currency and defense
One proposed treaty change states that the currency of the Union will be the euro, a move that would place monetary policy under EU-wide rules. Ordo Iuris warns that these shifts would extend to defense and security, potentially limiting each nation’s capacity to shape its own defense strategy and rely on Brussels for key security decisions.
Education and health care under EU oversight
The institute fears that decisions about education, including sex education, abortion access, surrogacy and family structures, could be centralized in Brussels. There is concern about a common European reading list and uniform history education imposed from above. Kwaśniewski notes that powers previously held by national ministers could be transferred to EU commissioners, a change that would be difficult to reverse through ordinary national elections.
Health policy is also seen as vulnerable. In an emergency, centralized EU policy could constrain national responses, including measures that affect civil liberties or health rights, with national parliaments potentially bypassed in certain decisions.
How the process unfolds
The reform initiative began in 2023 when the European Parliament put forward the draft, which then moved to the Council of the European Union for review by member-state ministers. The next steps include consideration by the European Council to convene a convention gathering national parliaments and EU leaders to assess the amendments, followed by recommendations for an Intergovernmental Conference. In some scenarios the European Council could act directly, but that would require consent from the European Parliament.
The final stage would involve ratification by all member states in line with their constitutional requirements. In Poland, the president would need prior parliamentary consent, and in some cases a national referendum could be used to secure approval for such sweeping changes.
In closing, observers emphasize that the path toward a more centralized EU framework would require careful, cross-border cooperation and sustained political consensus across member states. The discourse continues as lawmakers weigh the implications for national sovereignty and the future of Europe.
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