The nation will never recover from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party’s decision to seize powers from Poland’s courts, which have been compounded by refusals to accept migrant quotas imposed by the European Commission, Elżbieta Bieńkowska said.
Ms Bieńkowska, who is the European Commissioner for industry said Poland’s government had completely diminished its “strong negotiating position” within the bloc after it ploughed on with constitutional and judicial reform in the face of calls to stop.
She said Poland’s voice would be “completely unheard” and blamed PiS for undermining Warsaw’s influence in the east of the bloc.
In a damning assessment of the growing crisis in Poland, she said even a change of government after the 2019 election would not help.
Ms Bieńkowska, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, told the European Forum for New Ideas in the Polish Baltic resort town of Sopot: “We will never have as strong a negotiating position as we used to have.
“No matter what happens with the government, we’ll always be treated with suspicion.
“Poland’s voice is completely unheard, and it’s the fault of the government. It’s in every single sphere.
“Poland has abdicated its role as leader of this part of Europe. It will take a very long time, and I think never, to rebuild its position.”
It comes at the same time she warned Poland posed a “greater danger for the EU than Brexit”.
Poland and the European Union are currently locked in a bitter dispute over (PiS) party’s plans to change how judges are hired and fired, that critics warn will give ministers too much political sway over the courts.
Brussels say it contravenes European law and has even threatened to suspend Poland’s voting rights.
Eurocrats have threatened to trigger Article 7 and temporarily boot the country off the European Council, in a punishment which would be unprecedented as it is the first time the measure has ever been used.