Czarnek calls for halt to EU Ukraine funding; PiS dismisses rift as media spin

A storm erupted around Prawo i Sprawiedliwość’s vice-president and candidate for prime minister, Przemysław Czarnek, after he said on Telewizja Republika on Monday 13 July that the EU should halt all financing of Ukraine’s armaments and reconstruction until Kyiv “enters the path of pro-human values”. The statement drew sharp rebukes from across the political spectrum, but by Wednesday the PiS leadership had closed ranks, insisting no dispute existed and that Czarnek’s words were consistent with party policy.

Call to suspend funding

Czarnek argued that Poland must use its position in the EU and NATO to pressure Ukraine over what he called its hostile policy towards Poland, including historical issues and treatment of Polish farmers and carriers. “Trzeba zmusić Unię Europejską, również naszą pozycją w Unii Europejskiej, do tego, żeby zaprzestać na ten moment finansowania w jakikolwiek sposób zbrojeń na Ukrainie i odbudowy Ukrainy, dopóki Ukraina nie wejdzie na ścieżkę wartości proludzkich,” he declared on Monday. PiS MP Andrzej Śliwka later defended the remarks, saying Czarnek had merely listed instruments available to a government and that the current administration was passively watching Zełenski’s “confrontational” line.

Opposition outrage

Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of the Civic Coalition said on TVN24 that the statement was tantamount to repeating Kremlin propaganda. “One of the leading opposition politicians is repeating Putin’s theses. If there were no help for Ukraine, Russian tanks would probably now stand along the entire length of Poland’s border,” he said, adding that such words would be “greeted on the Kremlin with bottles of champagne”. Trzaskowski also argued that PiS had lost its way in attempting to outflank two rival Konfederacja groups on the far right.

PiS seems to have got lost in its competition with both Konfederacjas. Minister Czarnek apparently wanted to be top of the class and steal the most extreme electorate, but he went so far that he is now uttering theses that are simply contrary to Poland’s national interest.

Sejm speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty of the Left was no less blunt. “Unfortunately, Mr Czarnek, what you are saying is very unwise,” he said in an interview with Magda Sakowska, adding that halting support would lead to Ukraine’s defeat and a long border with a Russian aggressor. “You are not thinking ahead at all. What you said, Mr Deputy, is stupid,” Czarzasty stated. He also argued that party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński had made Czarnek look ridiculous by publicly contradicting him while retaining him as the party’s prime-ministerial nominee.

PiS seeks to close ranks

On Tuesday 14 July Kaczyński posted on X that PiS “stands and has always stood on the position that military aid to Ukraine is necessary from the point of view of Polish raison d’état”. He added that the matter would be clarified by the leadership. By Wednesday, spokesman Rafał Bochenek announced that the issue had not even featured at the party’s Presidium meeting and was already settled. “There was no dispute here. The gentlemen think very similarly,” Bochenek said, stressing that Czarnek and Kaczyński had spoken by phone on Tuesday and met in the Sejm on Wednesday. He attributed the perceived clash to media distortion and confirmed several times that Czarnek remains the party’s candidate for prime minister.

The only thing is that the media tried to give Professor Czarnek’s words a slightly different meaning than they actually had.

Separately, the Presidium adopted a resolution banning PiS members from participating in political associations, foundations and other organisations. The move targets structures such as former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s “Rozwój Plus”. Members belonging to such groups were ordered to cease activity and resign within seven days.

Czarnek defiant

The candidate himself showed no sign of retreat. Asked on Wednesday whether he would repeat his Monday statement, he replied “absolutely, without the slightest hesitation” and insisted there was no contradiction between his views and those of Kaczyński. After leaving the party headquarters on ulica Nowogrodzka, he flashed a victory sign and a thumbs-up to the cameras.

The sequence underscored the balancing act inside Poland’s largest opposition force: a candidate testing a more sceptical line on Ukraine while the leadership tries to present the row as already resolved, all as the country prepares for a parliamentary campaign.