Poland today called for EU institutional reforms that would make Europe "a superpower" through creating a confederation of nation states under a president in charge of a powerful military.
Poland's rightwing leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a strong opponent of European federalism, insisted that after Britain voted to leave the bloc, it was imperative "to preserve a Europe of nation states".
"A confederation would be best," he told the Rzeczpospolita broadsheet daily.
Describing Brexit as something "very bad", Kaczynski warned that pushing ahead with the old Franco-German model of ever-closer political and economic integration could "end in catastrophe".
Although he holds no cabinet post, the leader of the governing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party is widely regarded as the real powerbroker in the government that swept to power on an anti-migrant and populist spending platform in October elections.
Kaczynski also insisted that an EU-wide president be chosen through a "process of regional negotiation.
"If the EU is to count, it should also have a president that is chosen for a long term."
The president would have "strictly defined, but stong rights to lead EU foreign policy regarding large entities like Russia, China, the United States and India, while of course preserving the foreign policy of each individual member state."
Kaczynski also repeated his long-held view that the EU should become a significant military power, "not to be against NATO but rather to work alongside NATO."
His proposed European president would also be commander-in-chief of a powerful military force "with two great fronts - the east and the south."
"I know that this kind of plan has slim chances. But this is what should happen.
"Europe should be a superpower, and nation states should retain internal sovereignty, which is very limited today."
Kaczynski said Friday that Britain's vote to leave meant it was time for a "new European treaty" that would guarantee the rights of nation states.
Taking a different tack, the foreign ministers of Germany and France on Monday called for closer EU political integration based on three key policy areas - internal and external security, the migrant and refugee crisis, and on fiscal and economic cooperation.
