The European Union should resolve its differences by talking to each other rather than through court decisions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, responding to a question on the dispute with Poland over the rule of law.
"We are all member states of the European Union, which means we have the duty always to try to find compromise - without giving up our principles, obviously," Merkel told reporters after meeting Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels.
"I think it is time to talk more in depth with the Polish government on how to overcome the problems," she added. "It is certainly right that, from time to time, cases have to be decided by the European Court of Justice."
But Merkel, who will leave office once a new German coalition is formed after September elections, said she was concerned by the amount of cases ending up with the EU's top court at the moment.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Zuzanna Szymanska; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)
