Metsola meets Tusk and Nawrocki amid Constitutional Tribunal row as PiS protests in Sejm

In brief

• Roberta Metsola is in Poland for talks with President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, with the Constitutional Tribunal dispute expected to come up.
• Her speech to the Sejm on Friday was disrupted by PiS deputies holding placards accusing Tusk of dictatorship and a coup.
• Tusk mocked the protest on X, while PiS MEPs had earlier written to Metsola about the Tribunal conflict.

Metsola's visit and meetings

Roberta Metsola arrived in Poland on Thursday and was scheduled to meet President Karol Nawrocki at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw that evening (Wystąpienie przewodniczącej PE w Sejmie. Padło kilka słów po polsku – Wirtualna Polska). The Chancellery said the talks would cover European matters, including climate policy, migration, the EU's next budget framework and enlargement (Szefowa PE złożyła wizytę w Sejmie. Oto co zrobili posłowie PiS – RMF24). Reports indicated the Constitutional Tribunal crisis could also feature in her meetings with the president and Prime Minister Donald Tusk (Roberta Metsola w Sejmie. Jedno zdanie do posłów wymówiła po polsku – wydarzenia.interia.pl).

Friday in the Sejm

On Friday morning Marshal of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty welcomed Metsola to parliament (Szefowa PE rozpoczęła wizytę w parlamencie. Wygłosi przemówienie w Sejmie – pap.pl). She then addressed a session of the chamber, where she spoke of Poland's security situation and said the European Union is now hearing Warsaw's long-standing warnings about threats from the East and hybrid threats (Metsola może być w szoku! Politycy PiS pokazali jej to – wpolityce.pl). She also recalled Wisława Szymborska and the Solidarity movement, and said Poland has repeatedly shown how it can emerge stronger from periods of testing (Protest podczas wystąpienia Metsoli w Sejmie. Tusk odpowiedział – Wirtualna Polska). Speaking in Polish, she said Europe needs Poland and Poland needs Europe (Przewodnicząca PE zabrała głos w Sejmie. "Polska jak dom" – Wirtualna Polska).

Protest during the speech

As Metsola began her speech, PiS deputies displayed a large black banner reading "Tusk = Dictator" and smaller yellow placards alleging that a coup was under way in Poland, initiated by Tusk (Przewodnicząca PE zabrała głos w Sejmie. Posłowie PiS przynieśli transparenty – Onet). Some deputies also held up English-language signs making the same claim.

Tusk responded on X, posting a photograph of himself in front of one of the banners and mocking the protest, suggesting PiS deputies would soon start singing and selling watches, a reference to the party's conduct around the Tribunal.

Letter to the European Parliament President

Before the visit, PiS MEPs said they had sent Metsola a letter on the Tribunal conflict, arguing that European public opinion and political elites should have full information about developments in Poland.