Polish PM heading off to EU summit, warns against two-speed Europe

“Talk of various speeds [in the EU] will not bring the expected results. It will only even more strongly serve to destroy cooperation and not to deepen it,” Szydło said in a televised address on Thursday evening.

She added: “We have to do everything possible [to make sure] that there are no further exits”.

The EU summit on Saturday is to issue a Rome Declaration, mapping out a vision of the future after Brexit -- Britain’s divorce from the bloc.

Szydło warned earlier on Thursday that Warsaw will not accept the Rome Declaration if it does not address issues that are a priority for Poland.

"The unity of the European Union... close cooperation with NATO, strengthening the role of national parliaments and, finally, the principles of the common market... These are the four principles which are a priority for Poland," Szydło told private broadcaster TVN24.

At a meeting at the palace of Versailles earlier this month, the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain spoke out in favour of a multi-speed Europe after Britain leaves the EU.

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday that a two-speed Europe would be "a recipe for disaster, division and separation."

He said there cannot be “a hegemony of countries” that impose their will on others.

(pk)