Brexit Scrutiny in Poland and the Role of the Polish Parliament

Brexit signifies for Poland losing one of the most important political and economic partners in the EU. Poland registers trade in goods and services surplus with the UK, with the latter being top direction of the Polish emigration and one of the biggest net contributors to the EU budget from which Poland is the largest recipient. Moreover, both countries share similar visions of the single market and the future of European integration. For this reason, the Polish government considers the negotiation of the UK withdrawal from the EU as well as forging the new UK-EU relationship as crucial processes for its national interests. The aim of this chapter is to account for the role of the Polish parliament in these procedures. By considering the constitutional, party-political and national interest dimensions, the chapter will cast light on the parliamentary oversight of Brexit negotiations and verify whether the Polish parliament maintains its strong scrutiny powers and is able to influence the process as opposed to only voting on the outcome. It will also address the questions about governing and opposition parties approaches to Brexit scrutiny as well as the parliamentary role in mediating societal or commercial interests