BRUSSELS, 27 October 2021, (TON): European Union founding member Belgium warned Poland not to treat the EU like “a cash machine” to boost its economic fortunes while disregarding its democratic and rule of law principles at will.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said “you cannot pocket all the money but refuse the values.”

De Croo targeted Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki who accused the EU of threatening “World War III” for insisting that Poland should respect the independence of the judiciary and the primacy of EU law.

The Belgian prime minister said his Polish counterpart was “playing with fire when waging war with your European colleagues for internal political reasons.”

The comments follow years of disputes over changes Poland’s government has made to the country’s courts. The EU believes the changes erode democratic checks and balances, and the European Commission is holding up billions of euros to Poland earmarked in a pandemic recovery plan.

The war of words also comes on the heels of an EU summit, where Polish arguments that fundamental judicial changes the country made would not undermine the EU failed to convince key bloc leaders.

Among them was French President Emmanuel Macron, who will meet his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda later.