Donald Tusk said he is ready for a one-to-one meeting with President Karol Nawrocki this week, to ease political tensions over the Constitutional Tribunal.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he is ready for talks with President Karol Nawrocki this week in a bid to defuse tensions linked to the makeup of the country's Constitutional Tribunal.
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"I am ready this week for a one-to-one meeting so that we can consider how to reduce this tension permanently," Tusk said at a press conference after a meeting of the National Security Council.
Tusk stressed that although both sides will probably stick to their positions on many issues, they share a common responsibility.
He added that he would try together with the head of state to find solutions that would protect Poland in future from political upheavals.
"We both feel a shared responsibility to try, in the face of the mounting threat from the east, to look wherever it is possible for agreement on security and internal order, and to calm these emotions," Tusk said.
Asked about the timing, the prime minister said that the date of the conversation would not be disclosed.
"We want to talk one to one without this pressure, without the political jitters. Sometimes such a face to face conversation, in calm, brings certain solutions," Tusk underlined.
Ministers from the President's Office confirmed that the request for a meeting had been received. Spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz recalled that the president had repeatedly declared readiness to talk when the prime minister asked for it.
"When the meeting is due to take place, we will inform people once the date has been set," the president's spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, presidential minister Marcin Przydacz, asked when the meeting might take place, pointed out that on Wednesday the president is travelling to Slovakia for a meeting of the presidents of the Visegrad Group.
"I hope that during that time the prime minister will not be using the police to take over any constitutional bodies of the state," Przydacz added.
Crisis at the court
The dispute over the composition of Poland's top court has fuelled an open confrontation with President Karol Nawrocki, who attempted to enter the Tribunal building amid a deadlock over the appointment of new judges on Friday night.
Police surrounded the building as the confrontation unfolded live on television, drawing attention to the crisis beyond Poland and into the wider European political debate.
The opposition has accused Donald Tusk's government of attempting a coup, while the government says it is pushing ahead with long-needed reforms to restore the rule of law after years of Law and Justice (PiS) party interference in the judiciary.
The European Commission said on Saturday it was closely monitoring the crisis.
A spokesperson told Euronews on Saturday: "It is for the Polish authorities to ensure that the Constitutional Tribunal can operate in accordance with the Polish constitution and with respect for the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union."
"The appointment of eight new members of the Constitutional Tribunal falls within the constitutional powers of the Sejm, the Polish parliament," the spokesperson added.