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In an extraordinarily savage attack on the entire euro project Warsaw’s foreign minister effectively accused the rest of the club of ganging up on his country and stabbing it in the back over the re-election of Donald Tusk. Witold Waszczykowski vowed Poland would not go down without a fight, saying it would start vetoing major projects backed by other EU countries in revenge, a tactic which could completely paralyse the bloc. The move shows how the cavernous rift which opened up between Warsaw and the other 27 member states over the appointment of the top eurocrat and support for a two-speed Europe has now developed into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

GETTY Foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski attacked the EU over the re-election of Donald Tusk

What began as a dispute over the EU Council chief’s suitability for office has rapidly escalated into all-out verbal warfare, with Poland launching a series of increasingly fierce attacks on other members. And the relationship between its government and Brussels now looks to be smashed beyond repair, with ministers in Warsaw saying they will pursue a “negative” policy towards the EU in the future. The furious outburst was the latest nuclear fallout from a disastrous EU summit at the end of the last week, which was meant to be a show of unity post-Brexit but quickly descended into bitter acrimony.

GETTY The EU Council chief is at the centre of an increasingly bitter spat with his homeland

GETTY Poland's actions prompted an angry response from Francois Hollande who threatened to cut off funding

A meeting of the other 27 member states, which was meant to pave the way forward for the bloc without Britain, instead quickly became a vitriolic slanging match over the re-election of Mr Tusk and a multi-speed Europe. Warsaw then refused to sign off on the Council’s conclusions in protest, leading to a blazing row over dinner during which an apoplectic French President Francois Hollande threatened to cut off funding to the country. That in turn led Poland’s PM Beata Szydło to convene an extraordinary press conference, at which she railed against EU leaders “blackmailing” her country and warned that there would be severe consequences for the rest of the bloc. And after the summit Mr Waszczykowski gave the first indications of what Warsaw has in mind by way of retribution, by hinting it will look to wield its veto wherever possible to paralyse the project on a massive scale. He fumed: “It turned out that EU policy is one of double standards and cheating. We must be conscious that at any moment we may be deceived. “We must adapt our policies and adjust our behaviour concerning the EU. Certainly, we must lower our level of confidence in the EU.”

It turned out that EU policy is one of double standards and cheating Polish foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski

He added that Warsaw “will have to start following a negative policy” towards Brussels and said this would include “blocking” EU plans for the future. Poland was outraged that the rest of the Council opted to re-elect Mr Tusk on the basis of a majority vote, rather than requiring unanimity which would have handed it a veto. EU rules state that it is up to members to decide which voting system they want to use when picking their candidate for the powerful post, but Warsaw pointed out inconsistency in their methods. Member states insisted upon a unanimous ballot for the approval of Poland’s hand-picked rival to Mr Tusk, meaning his candidacy was subsequently rejected, but then switched to a majority vote for the main election itself. Mr Waszczykowski raged: “Why was it decided that the candidacy of eurodeputy Jacek Saryusz Wolski had to be decided by a consensus vote? And that for Donald Tusk, it was going to be a simple majority vote?”

Merkel's plea for Tusk Thu, March 9, 2017 Merkel, who spoke ahead of a EU summit in Brussels, said the planned re-election of Poland's Donald Tusk as president of the European Union is a "sign of stability" for the bloc, despite bitter opposition from Warsaw Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 7 French President Francois Hollande speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the second day of a European Summit at the Europa Building at the EU headquarters in Brussels