#Poland forced to deny #Macron visit delayed for fear of attack on president ...

polandPresident Andrzej Duda delayed Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Warsaw next month (Image: Getty Images)

Relations between Paris and Warsaw have been strained for years, but worsened after Emmanuel Macron said an isolated Poland would never define the Europe of tomorrow. And earlier this week the independent Polish daily Rzeczpospolita said the Polish authorities had pushed back Mr Macron’s visit – reportedly scheduled for April 8-9 – amid fears he would use the opportunity to openly criticise Mr Duda’s hardline rule. Rzeczpospolita said that the Duda government also feared he would call on voters to support the main centrist opposition grouping in the EU parliament, which consists of the Civic Platform of European Council President Donald Tusk and a pro-business party, over the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS). 

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macronEmmanuel Macron said an isolated Poland would never define the Europe of tomorrow (Image: Getty Images)

But the head of the president’s office Krzysztof Szczerski rejected Rzeczpospolita’s suggestions, saying that Mr Macron’s visit was not dependent on the EU vote.   

Mr Szczerski told the Polish state news agency PAP: “There is no question of cancelling the visit [or of placing it] in any electoral context.” 

No date has been “officially announced,” he said, before adding: “An invitation was extended to Mr Macron… We asked our French counterparts to choose between two dates and are still waiting for conformation.” 

The EU-wide vote on May 23-26 is shaping up to be a battle between centrist, pro-EU parties and nationalist far-right formations that want to stop immigration. 

The outcome is widely

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