The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union will officially end on 30 June. At a press conference in Brussels, Donald Tusk summed up the six months of the Presidency, referring above all to defence. European and Polish politicians also commented on the Presidency.
Donald Tusk on Europe without war: naïve European faith
Donald Tusk summed up the six months of the Polish Presidency, drawing attention above all to defence. As he stated, during the presidency Poland managed to “convince Europe that the current geopolitical situation requires bold and unprecedented decisions”, crediting Poland with changing the EU paradigm.
“The European Union came into being as a great dream of a continent without war, without confrontation, without the need to use force. The European Union was a response to war and expressed the belief of Europeans that there would never be war again. Do you know how difficult it was to break this paradigm? This naive European faith?” – he said.
Some of the biggest successes, he stressed, include obtaining 150 billion euros for defence under the SAFE programme to support the arms industry in EU countries, or obtaining financial support for ‘Shield East’.
During Poland’s EU presidency, Donald Tusk also signed a controversial law that gives the possibility to temporarily suspend the ability to apply for asylum, which was heavily criticised by humanitarian organisations. They claim that this law can be abused and that human rights violations continue on the Polish-Belarusian border. However, the Polish Prime Minister maintains that the fact that Poland has proposed an “unprecedented solution” will allow Europe to confront illegal migration.
“War at the borders, but also a crisis in the Middle East.”
The geopolitical tensions happening during Poland’s EU presidency were alluded to by the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, among others. In an interview with the Polish Press Agency, he said that the Polish presidency took place at a critical moment for the world.
“The Polish presidency took place at a time of exceptional unrest. War at the borders, but also the crisis in the Middle East,” he said. “It seems to me that we have achieved a lot. It’s not only about continuing to put pressure on Russia on Ukrainian issues, but, above all, creating European instruments for greater resilience and security.”
The increase in defence spending was alluded to on several occasions by Donald Tusk himself, who stressed that Alliance member states had committed to increasing defence spending to 5% of GDP. 3.5% is to be used for basic defence and 1.5% for defence-related investments. According to government sources, Poland is to spend 4.7% of GDP on defence by the end of 2025.
“Your presidency was difficult, but you managed it.”
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Antonio Costa drew attention in their comments primarily to the legislative initiatives that Poland pushed through during its presidency. They also praised the determination behind sanctions against Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine, which were maintained throughout the six months of the Polish Presidency.
During the speech, Donald Tusk also referred to the new 18th sanctions package that is to focus on the Russian shadow fleet, which he called a gigantic threat, including environmentally.
“This is not only a threat to our infrastructure in the Baltic, but it can also be – it is already – a gigantic environmental threat,” he said.
Antonio Costa stressed that Ukraine is pursuing reforms under difficult circumstances, and now is the time to accelerate community action on this issue.
Ursula von der Leyen addressed Donald Tusk directly, saying: “Your presidency has been difficult, but you have done well”.
She pointed to 37 pieces of legislation and the negotiation of an agreement on 18 more, saying that these were impressive figures.
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