WARSAW

Poland’s prime minister has called the EU an “imperial power,” suggesting that France and Germany effectively monopolize the bloc’s decision-making.

“Political practice has shown that the voice of Germany and France counts above all,” Mateusz Morawiecki wrote in an op-ed for German daily Die Welt on Wednesday.

“As a result, we are dealing with a formal democracy and a de facto oligarchy, where power is held by the strongest.”

He criticized Germany and its partners for ignoring Poland’s warnings as they pursued a cautious policy toward Russia.

Instead of being vigilant, “the West fell into a geopolitical slumber and preferred not to see the problem rather than face it in advance,” he wrote.

“The war in Ukraine exposed the truth not only about Russia, but also about the European Union, which did not want to listen to warnings from Poland, among others,” Morawiecki added.

“Poland does not have a monopoly on the truth, but in terms of relations with Russia, we are, to put it bluntly, much more experienced than others,” he stressed.

Many, he asserted, “did not want to see that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s state still has imperialist aspirations.”

“Now they have to face the fact that the demons of the 19th and 20th centuries have revived in Russia: nationalism, colonialism, totalitarianism,” he wrote.

“European leaders let themselves be lured in by Putin. Following the invasion of Ukraine, they are in shock.”