Heiko Mass made the intervention ahead of his second trip to Poland to meet Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz and visit the former German concentration camp Auschwitz.
Mr Mass stressed European values are non-negotiable and if they are subject to pressure by individual member states there must be a dialogue with Brussels to resolve the issue.
The European Commission, Brussels’ powerful executive, have threatened legal action after Warsaw’s ruling Law and Justice party slashed the retirement age of supreme court judges from 70 to 65, which forces 27 of the 74 sitting judges to retire.
Critics, including the Commission, claim the move weakens the independence of the country’s judicial system.
When asked if the Polish authorities pose a threat to the EU, Mr Mass said: “European values, such as freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights, are at the heart of the European Union and are not negotiable.
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“If European values are subjected to pressure in individual member states, then this must be the subject of dialogue between member states and institutions at EU level.
“As part of the ongoing rule of law protection, we support the dialogue between the European Commission and the Polish government and we hope that the concerns expressed by the Commission will be resolved.”
Despite the threat of legal action from Brussels, Polish prime minister Mateusz Mateusz declared his country sets standards in the EU.
He told supporters at an election event that Warsaw sets the standards, ideas and proposals that are mimicked across the whole of Europe.
“During the times of our predecessors, Poland was a bit of the parrot of Europe – we only imitated,” he said.
“Today we set the standards, ideas and proposals. And these ideas are copied throughout Europe, for example in the field of the VAT or the fight against tax havens.”
The Commission, however, will continue its crackdown on Warsaw over its judicial reform.
The EU’s powerful executive announced Poland had one month to amend the law or face being dragged in front of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
Officials said: “The response of the Polish authorities does not alleviate the Commission’s legal concerns.”
Last year, Brussels took an unprecedented step to consider the use of Article 7 – which could lead Poland’s EU voting rights being removed – as a threat against the new legislation.
The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Warsaw on July 2 and they said that Poland’s reply to this fails to “alleviate the commission’s legal concerns”.
Brussels has constantly said the court reforms are “incompatible with EU law as it undermines the principal of judicial independence, including the irremovability of judges”.