French, Polish leaders meet in Paris amid tension

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Thursday they are willing to leave disagreements aside and reach compromises to revive fragile bilateral relations.

“We have disagreements, which we talked about, but also points on which we share views,” Macron told a joint news conference with Szydlo in Paris.

The French leader said Poland’s judicial reform remained a cause for concern for his country but added that France did not judge reforms conducted in other countries.

Szydlo assured that her country respected all the principles, values and rights of the EU.

As for the EU's directive on "posted workers" who travel to other EU countries to work on terms set in their home country, the Polish leader said a compromise could be reached.

She added that without Franco-Polish cooperation, all the necessary EU reforms were doomed to failure.

The EU lawmakers recently expressed concern over a recent push for reforms that the European Parliament believes can undermine judicial independence and the rule of law.

Macron announced that he would visit Poland next year.