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WARSAW The head of Polands ruling party Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Friday that Germany was trying to turn the European Union into a federal German Fourth Reich.

Speaking to the far-right Polish daily GPC, the poweful head of the Law and Justice (PiS) party said some countries are not enthusiastic at the prospect of a German Fourth Reich being built on the basis of the EU.

If we Poles agreed with this kind of modern-day submission we would be degraded in different ways, said Kaczynski, who is also a deputy prime minister.

He added that the EUs Court of Justice was being used as an instrument for federalist ideas.

Poland has been involved in a lengthy stand-off with the European Union, particularly over the judicial reforms that PiS has pushed through since 2015.

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In the latest twist, the EU this week said it was launching legal action against Poland for ignoring EU law and undermining judicial independence.

Brussels is already withholding approval of coronavirus recovery funds forPolandover the row.

EUeconomy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the infringement proceedings targetedPolandfor breaching the primacy ofEUlaw and for deciding that certain articles ofEUtreaties were incompatible with Polish laws.

European Union Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni holds a press conference after the College meeting on global corporate taxation and shell entities at the EU headquarters in Brussels on December 22, 2021. (JOHN THYS / AFP)

Poland has accused the EU of bureaucratic centralism.

Poland has also been engaged in an escalating dispute with Israel over its attitude toward the Holocaust. In November Polands Foreign Ministry said it will have no ambassador in Israel for the time being, bringing the mission level down to that of Israels mission in Poland.

The traditionally sensitive bilateral relations soured in the summer after Poland adopted legislation seen as banning claims for restitution of some seized property, including that of Holocaust victims. Israel reacted in anger to the move.

The law effectively cut off any future restitution to the heirs of property seized by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In response to the legislation, signed into law by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called it antisemitic and immoral.

Relations had already been strained by Warsaws refusal to acknowledge Poles complicity in anti-Jewish violence during and after World War II.

Poland passed a controversial Holocaust law in 2019 that prohibited rhetoric accusing Poland of complicity in Nazi crimes. That dispute with Israel was resolved when Poland softened the law, eliminating any serious punitive measures.

During German Chancellor Olaf Scholzs visit to Warsaw earlier this month, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the current German governments support for EU federalism was utopian and therefore dangerous.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already ruled against Poland for implementing a mechanism to lift the immunity of judges in the Constitutional Court and to sack any not deemed acceptable by the parliament dominated by the Law and Justice party.

The European Commission is also upset over a 2019 Polish law that prevents Polish courts from applying EU law in certain areas, and from referring legal questions to the ECJ.

Gentiloni told a press conference the Polish moves breached the general principles of autonomy, primacy, effectiveness and uniform application of Union law and the binding rulings of the Court of Justice.

The European Commission, he said, finds the Polish Constitutional Court no longer meets the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, as required by a fundamental EU treaty.

Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks with the media as he arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on May 24, 2021. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool via AP, File)

He said Poland had two months to respond to a formal letter setting out the grounds of the infringement procedure.

In the event of no satisfactory reply, the matter could be sent to the ECJ.

While there is no option to kick Poland out of the EU for not respecting the blocs laws, it could be hit with daily fines for non-compliance.

But Poland and Hungary another eastern EU member accused of undermining democratic norms have a pact mutually shielding each other from more extreme EU punishment, such as removing their voting rights in the bloc.

Hungary, too, faces delays in receiving EU coronavirus recovery money because of its own defiance of EU rules.

Both countries have threatened to block EU businesses in retaliation for Brussels actions.

Gentiloni said he was confident the rows with Warsaw and Budapest would not degenerate into a tit for tat cycle but cautioned we cant exclude anything.

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Amid spat with EU, Poland accuses Germany of seeking to create a Fourth Reich - The Times of Israel

This International Migrants Day we celebrate the potential of human mobility. In 2020, there were 281 million international migrants in the world, representing 3.6% of the global population. Across the world, migration plays a significant role in peoples lives and has a profound impact on societies across the globe.

Migrationhascontributed to shape the European Union as we know it today.Itis a defining part of the European identity, wheredifferent cultures, languages and talents meet.Migrationand mobilityspreadknowledge, contribute to growth, innovation and social dynamism.

While some people move by choice, others are forced to flee. Regardless of the reasons, given the opportunity, migrants can always contribute positively to their adopted and native countries. Migrants make important fiscal contributions to the EU, and with improved labour market integration, studies show that they could also generate considerable gains for their host countries. Remittances, sent by migrants to their countries of origin, represent more than three times the volume of official development aid provided to developing countries.

The EU is a prominent destination, attracting young and highly qualified professionals from across the world, with almost 3million first residence permits issued per year, and guarantees a space for refuge to those in need. It is the European Unions responsibility to make sure that the dignity and human rights of migrants are protected. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum upholds those fundamental rights, by pursuing a comprehensive, balanced and sustainable approach to migration management. It also recognises the key role of legal migration in the European society and economy, to counter irregular and dangerous journeys where people put their lives at risk.

In 2020,over 8 million non-EU citizens were employed in the EU labour market, many of whom perform essential jobs. In the race for global talent, the EU needs migration to address increasing skills shortages. Several initiatives including the simplified Blue Card, Talent Partnerships and the forthcoming skills and talents package, create safe and legal pathways to Europe, while responding to labour market needs. In parallel, we are working with international partners on a coordinated approach to migration management that balances the opportunities that well-managed migration can bring to migrants and their families, their countries of origin, host societies, while addressing the challenges of irregular migration.

For Europe to remain prosperous and open to the world, we must harness the potential of human mobility. As we emerge from another year of the pandemic work towards building a brighter future, we see the many ways in which migration enriches our lives.

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HR: Migration has contributed to shape the European Union as we know it today Sarajevo Times - Sarajevo Times

According to the Lithuanian Interior Ministry, authorities in Belarus have ordered the removal of migrants from warehouses along the Poland-Belarus border. This could potentially lead to a new wave of migrants entering the European Union (EU) through the borders of Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.

In recent weeks, the number of migrants crossing into the EU from Belarus has decreased. According to Reuters, at the peak of the crisis last month, thousands of migrants were stuck on the EUs eastern frontiers, in what the EU said was a crisis Minsk engineered by distributing Belarusian visas in the Middle East, flying them in and pushing them across the border. In response, Alexander Lukashenko said that it was the EU that deliberately provoked a humanitarian crisis.

Currently, there are an estimated 3,000 4,000 migrants in Belarus. On Monday, December 20th, Lithuanian Interior Minister, Agne Bilotaite, told reporters that they had received word about Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko order to clear out illegal migrants from the warehouse at Bruzgi border crossing and Minsk, so there will be attempts soon to push these migrants into Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. Many of the border nations are worried that the situation is devolving into a larger humanitarian crisis.

According to NPR, migrants inside Belarus report that they are being given an ultimatum: book a flight out of Belarus the officials [dont] care where to or be put on a plane to Syria. Some migrants are protesting the forcible removal from Belarus and are asking for international aid from NGOs and the EU so they do not have to return home to life-threatening conditions or endure the difficulties of the Belarus-Poland border, where over 15 people have died so far.

President Lukashenko has been accused by the U.S and European officials of using migrants as a political weapon in retaliation for sanction, reported NPR. As the migrants pleas for asylum and aid have fallen on deaf ears in Belarus, it is now up to the international community to ensure the remaining migrants in Belarus are not subject to the same fate. They should not have to choose between risking hypothermia and death to cross a border or returning to their home country to face violence and persecution. It is a lose-lose choice.

As a signatory of the 1951 refugee convention, Belarus is not permitted to return individuals to a country where they would face the risk of persecution or other serious human rights abuses, per the UNHCR. Because Belarus preyed upon vulnerable populations, many migrants are not unable to return home safely. As such, Belarus is required not to deport them back to an unsafe environment. By doing so, they are violating international law. Other signatories of the 1951 convention, and the international community as a whole, must hold Belarus accountable to the law. Additionally, the EU must stop punishing migrants crossing the border for the actions of Belarusian officials. The migrants are stuck in the middle of a European power play that they have nothing to do with. They deserve much more than being left out in the woods to die.

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Migrants Forced Out of Belarus Lithuania Braces for Influx - The Organization for World Peace

Britain has agreed a new fisheries deal with the European Union over how to divide up shared stocks in the year ahead, prompting dismay among environmentalists.

Under the Brexit trade deal, London and Brussels are required to annually agree on catch quotas and fishing rights in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean a separate affair from the row over fishing licences which has sparked threats of a trade war and prompted French trawlers to blockade the Channel.

In contrast to the tone typically ascribed to the spat with France and thorny negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol European minister Joze Podgorsek hailed the agreement as being thanks to good will and a constructive approach on both sides, setting a good precedent for future negotiations with the UK.

Environment secretary George Eustice also welcomed the balanced agreement, which the government said will provide around 140,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities for UK fleets, estimated to be worth around 313m, based on historic landing prices.

One fishing industry expert told The Independent that the deal largely follows the same pattern as the first annual deal, which was only struck in June, reportedly after months of difficult talks mired in disputes over how to both meet environmental aims and ensure maximum access for fishermen.

Nevertheless, the signs are that the underlying tensions arising from the UKs departure from the EU have been in evidence throughout this set of negotiations, said Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO).

While Mr Deas said the negotiations themselves had been utterly opaque, causing palpable frustration among industry representatives, he claimed that the European Commission appears to have had a torrid time with some of its member states.

But despite the avoidance of a political stand-off across the Channel, environmentalists greeted the deal with alarm.

Lamenting that Wednesdays agreement should have been the beginning of a new post-Brexit era of truly sustainable, science-based fisheries management, ClientEarth expert Jenni Grossmann said that instead of giving vulnerable fish stocks a decisive nudge towards recovery, ministers had chosen to keep them on the brink.

Stocks, such as cod in the Celtic Sea and west of Scotland, will continue to hover on the brink of commercial extinction, she said.

Just like in pre-Brexit times, they have continued to prioritise short-term commercial interests over long-term sustainability for both fish and fishers perpetuating the dire state of these depleted stocks, Ms Grossmann said.

Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester

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The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge.

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People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year

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An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton

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Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux

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Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent

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Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election

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Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire

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Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle

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The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool

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People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster

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People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds

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People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds,

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Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judges decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

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Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service

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Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine

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Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow

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A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra

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People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother

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People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square

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A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London

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Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum

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Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar

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Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week

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Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana

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Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow

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Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as Storm Arwen triggered a rare red weather warning

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An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England

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A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London

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A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border

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A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London

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Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel.

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The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London

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The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead

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London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services

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Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London

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A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste'

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The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke

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The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England

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ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh

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Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool

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Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London

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Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was caught in a dispute between two states

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Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

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Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain

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London and Brussels reach balanced post-Brexit fisheries agreement on 2022 stocks - The Independent

The world has undergone great shifts in the balance of power, which have weakened the traditional structures of the rules-based international order. American power is in relative retrenchment and is shifting its focus away from the Atlantic towards the Pacific.

The US has had to reassess its strategy: moving away from crisis management operations in peripheral countries towards traditional Great Power competition. It is not conjecture that while the US will try to contain both Russia and China, it will no longer be willing to intervene in regions more crucial to European security than to its own.

This new reality comes at a pivotal moment for our continent. Europe is in danger, and Europeans need to take their defence seriously. Our neighbourhood is unstable, and both the threats we face, and the nature of conflict itself, have become more complex.

Against this worrying backdrop, European military capabilities are a shambles. For too long, we have been reliant on the US and have neglected our defence as a result. Today, no single Member State or coalition of Member States is capable of conducting a medium-intensity operation in our neighbourhood without extensive assistance from the US.

We find ourselves in the situation of needing to compensate for decades of underinvestment as soon as possible, and any delay increases the risk to our Union and citizens.

There is bipartisan consensus in the US that Europe must do more to defend its own geopolitical and military interests. Washington has changed its traditional resistance and now favours EU defence initiatives, so long as they complement NATO activities.

"Washington has changed its traditional resistance and now favours EU defence initiatives, so long as they complement NATO activities"

This does not mean the US will stop being our closest ally; it simply means we need deeper cooperation in security and defence, and, where needed, a clear distribution of work.

Both the EU and NATO should focus on their strengths and cooperate in areas of shared responsibility: American power, Article 5 of the Treaty of Washington and NATOs nuclear umbrella will remain the cornerstone of the territorial defence of Europe.

At the same time, the EU can promote a strong European technological and industrial defence base and facilitate military mobility in Europe. Beyond these exclusive areas of focus, the EU and NATO must cooperate in joint capability development, in crisis management, in addressing hybrid threats and in the exchange of information and intelligence.

The future EU-NATO Joint Declaration should reflect a division of labour along these lines.

Europe must invest in its own military capabilities, and our budgets must reflect this reality. However, we must be more efficient in how we invest in defence. The EU must address the fragmentation of our defence industry, and the joint development of capabilities must be the norm, not the exception.

For this purpose, the EU should give greater incentives for Member States to develop military capabilities together; a good way to start is to undo the budget cuts to the European Defence Fund.

The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) must be more ambitious: its projects should focus on addressing key strategic capability gaps, and it must gather all major European capability projects such as the Future Air Combat System or the European Main Battle Tank.

"Europe is in danger, and Europeans need to take their defence seriously. Our neighbourhood is unstable, and both the threats we face, and the nature of conflict itself, have become more complex"

The EU must be capable of intervening to stabilise its neighbourhood. The development of a rapid reaction capacity for the EU has captured most of the attention.

Although it is much needed, such capacity will be useless if we do not address our problems with decision-making and low-force generation for operations of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The EU must explore ways to make its decision-making for CSDP more flexible, through Constructive Abstention, PESCOs operational component and Article 44 of the TEU, which allows groups of states to take the lead on operations. We must also significantly increase common funding for CSDP missions and operations through the European Peace Facility.

Finally, it is crucial to develop a Common Strategic Culture and foster solidarity among Member States. Frequent joint threat analyses as well as systematic exchange of intelligence should help us develop a common threat perception.

Building EU defence is one of the main tasks for us and for the coming generation. The Strategic Compass is a good start, and I urge Member States not to dilute it, but rather to make it even more ambitious.

Member States will continue as the driving agents of CSDP and defence integration, but as parliamentarians, there is much we can do to support EU Defence: We must push for greater integration. We can work at both EU and at national levels, from our political groups and national parties.

Next year will be the year of European Defence: an important milestone, and we must live up to the moment.

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There is a now a discernible momentum for the European Union to develop its own military capabilities, explains Antonio Lpez-Istriz White - The...