His comments on Monday came after daily Rzeczpospolita reported that French presidential hopeful and far-right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen said that she is willing to work with Kaczyński in order to “dismantle” the European Union.
“We have as much in common with Le Pen as we have with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Kaczyński said.
Kaczyński also commented on plans to introduce a “multi-speed” EU whereby different member states develop at their own pace.
“The concept of the European Union’s two-speed programme is, in fact, breaking up the EU,” Kaczyński said.
“Poland has become a country that has the courage to stand up to that terrible concept... directed against states in this part of Europe,” he added.
Kaczyński's statements were mirrored by Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, who said that he spoke with Le Pen in January in Paris, and she is not “on the same page” as the Polish government.
He added that the author of the Rzeczpospolita article was “extremely incompetent” in reporting these statements.
Le Pen, who is gearing up for the 23 April presidential election in France, was quoted by the Rzeczpospolita daily as saying: “If I win, I will cooperate with Kaczyński to dismantle the Union”.
The Polish daily added that Le Pen’s offer would include working with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as well as Kaczyński.
However, the wPolityce website said that Le Pen was misquoted, adding that the Rzeczpospolita article was “manipulation”.
wPolityce journalist Aleksandra Rybińska tweeted that she attended the Le Pen press conference, and the French presidential hopeful spoke of “cooperation in areas of shared common interests, and not dismantling the Union”.
Marine Le Pen is lagging behind other candidates in the polls. However, international observers say a recent wave of nationalist sentiment in France could still put the politician in the Élysée Palace.
“If I were elected president tomorrow, I would undertake a debate with Orban on what we deem unacceptable in the European Union, [the points which are] intolerable in today's mode of operation by the EU,” Le Pen was quoted by Rzeczpospolita as saying. (rg/pk)