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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reiterated plans for a proactive Polish EU presidency.
The European Union should become a body capable not only of “survival” but also of a “political offensive,” he said.
Tusk (PO, EPP) and his government met with Council Secretary-General Thérèse Blanchet to discuss challenges facing Warsaw as it takes over the EU presidency from Hungary next month.
Tusk noted that 13 years have passed since the last and only Polish EU Council residency and that “almost everything” has changed in Europe since then. He added that the presidency, which will start on 1 January 2025, will therefore be special because it “comes at a special time.”
“Our priorities are not routine. The Polish presidency is not about making these next six months pass somehow,” Tusk added, as quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The Polish government has repeatedly stated that proactive security will be a core theme of the Polish EU Presidency. This includes military and internal security, as well as economic security, energy security, food security, health security, internal security, and information security, such as the fight against disinformation.
“Breakthroughs are perhaps awaiting us regarding war and peace east of our border. What awaits us, and this is the task of the Polish presidency, is a profound correction of some European priorities,” Tusk argued, adding that “some (EU countries) are already slowly maturing for this.”
According to him, the coming six months will also be the moment when “Europe will have to be told loudly” that “it is time for a full awakening.”
The European Union should become an organism that is capable “not only of survival but also of a political offensive,” the Polish president added.
“We will be very determined to make Europe think in Polish in a lot of matters,” he also stressed.
Poland will take over from incumbent Hungary on 1 January 2025 and retain the role until 31 June, when Denmark will take over. It will host 22 informal council meetings in Warsaw, Undersecretary of State Magdalena Sobkowiak-Szarnecka told foreign reporters on Friday.
(euractiv)