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The bill, sponsored by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), was passed by parliament's lower house earlier in the day after tumultuous debate. It saw one of the biggest protests since the PiS came to power in late 2015.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish centrist prime minister and arch-adversary of PiS, said he had asked President Andrzej Duda for an urgent meeting about the "political crisis" in the country.

Mr Tusk said in a statement that PiS moves on courts were backward, went "against European standards and values", harmed Poland's reputation and risked marginalising the country.

He said: It falls to us, together, to avert bleak outcomes which could ultimately lead to the marginalization of Poland in Europe The situation, including at international level, is really serious. And that is why I am asking for serious measures and serious partners. Please let us try, Mr. President.

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The vote came a day after the EU gave its largest formerly communist member state a week to shelve judicial reforms that Brussels says would put courts under direct government control.

If Warsaw's nationalist-minded PiS does not back down, the government could face fines and even a suspension of voting rights, although other eurosceptics in the EU, notably Hungary, will likely veto strict punishment.

In the best-case scenario, Poland will see its clout in Brussels wane further, damaged by mounting frustration among its EU peers arising from bitter disputes over issues such as migrant quotas and nature conservation.

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), told a crowd in Warsaw: We will ... not allow them to trample European values. We will not allow ourselves to be pushed out of the European Union."

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A crowd in front of the Presidential Palace, carrying Polish and EU flags responded with chants, "Free Poland, European!" "Free Poland, European!"

Sources close to the Presidential Palace told Reuters that President Duda was on vacation on the Baltic seacoast.

Warsaw City Hall estimated the crowd at more than 50,000, while police put it at 14,000. Tens of thousands demonstrated in other Polish cities.

Piotr, 48, who came to the protests in Warsaw with his five-year-old son, said: I wanted to be here on this historic day when our freedoms for which we fought for more than 25 years are being taken away.

The government says the changes are needed to make courts accountable and to ensure state institutions serve all Poles, not just the "elites" it says are the support base for the centrist opposition.

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Demonstrators affiliated to leftist groups scuffle with riot policemen

PiS has offered no concessions, instead presenting the criticism as unacceptable foreign meddling in the domestic affairs of the country, which overthrew communism in 1989 and joined the EU in 2004.

"We will not give into pressure," Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Thursday evening in a special state television address defending the bill. "We will not be intimidated by Polish and foreign defenders of the interests of the elite."

The bill will go to parliament's upper house today, where PiS has absolute majority. Duda, a PiS ally, will have to sign it before it can become law.

Critics at home and abroad say the legislation is part of a drift towards authoritarianism by the government, which espouses nationalist rhetoric coupled with left-leaning economic policy.

Since being elected in 2015, PiS has tightened government control over courts and prosecutors, as well as state media, and introduced restrictions on public gatherings and the activity of non-governmental organisations.

Last week, parliament passed another bill that ends the terms of current members of the National Council of the Judiciary, one of the main judicial bodies, and gives parliament powers to choose 15 of its 25 members.

Political opponents, rights groups and the EU say the changes undermine the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, a fundamental democratic principle.

While PiS remains broadly popular among many Poles, particularly poorer and older voters from the countryside, there have been widespread protests against the plans.

A senior aide to President Duda, Krzysztof Szczerski, said Tusk should instead focus on explaining Poland's stance in Brussels.

"The president is surprised that there has been such increased engagement in this matter by European institutions because everything is in accordance with the Polish legal order.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another nationalist critic of Brussels, wrote a letter to his Polish counterpart to express Budapest's support.

"We stand by Poland, and we call on the European Commission not to overstep its authority," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

The bill passed on Thursday calls for replacing all Supreme Court judges except those elected by a judicial panel that is to be chosen by the parliament. The Supreme Court's tasks include validating elections.

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'Poland will be marginalised in Europe' Tusk in astonishing ATTACK as Warsaw defies EU - Express.co.uk