On Wednesday, Poland assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Broadly speaking, we have to lead the community for the next six months. This is a big challenge because times are not easy – both outside and inside the EU.
On Wednesday, Poland’s prime minister, ministers and hundreds of officials took power in the Council of the European Union for six months. – It will mainly be dedicated to our security, – announced Prime Minister Donald Tusk. – For me, this presidency will be successful when, on the one hand, we show ourselves as good negotiators, – says Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Deputy State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery in the European Union.
In practice, this means that Poland will become a mediator in the negotiations, will lead the negotiations and will seek an agreement among the member states in the coming months. And this is at a time when key issues for Europeans are being resolved.
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The priorities of our president
– It is very important to reach an agreement on the financing of the defense industry in the European Union. This is number one. The second number is the continued support of Ukraine. There are also additional topics, such as talks about the new EU budget, because the new seven-year period is approaching, and it is in Warsaw that the member states will show their expectations for the EU budget, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka points out.
Security will be the Polish president’s number one priority next to military security, border protection and curbing illegal immigration. Economy, food security and health are also important.
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– And above all, energy security. The point is that we should be independent from Russia, but at the same time we should fight and achieve low energy prices. This is very important not only for ordinary citizens of the European Union and Poland, but also for companies, says Andrzej Sejna, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
– The voice of Poland already affects specific decisions – Donald Tusk emphasizes.
At the last meeting of the government in 2024, the prime minister reported on negotiations and agreements regarding the so-called Baltic defense line. It is about joint military control of the Baltic region by NATO countries. – The day before, I received a signal from the Secretary General of NATO that we will immediately work on the project of strengthening military control for the safety of the Baltic Sea. This is a very important signal for us, said Donald Tusk.
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PiS politicians praise the Hungarian president
It will also be an important period for negotiations on the expansion of the Union by additional countries, including Ukraine, and what is symbolic in this context – Poland took the presidency from the Hungarians and the pro-Russian Viktor Orbán.
– This is a failure, a shame. The symbol of the Hungarian presidency was Orbán’s visit to the war criminal Putin in Moscow, – recalls Michal Scherba, a representative of the European Union from the Civil Alliance.
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However, according to the PiS MP, Orbán is someone Tusk’s government should emulate. – I hope that we will continue Hungary’s mission in the European Union, – says Przemysław Czarnek, a member of parliament from Law and Justice.
– Everyone in the European Union wants to forget the Hungarian Presidency as soon as possible, – says Michal Scherba.
The board includes more than 300 official and ministerial meetings in a total of 24 cities. On January 9, Gdansk will host the College of newly elected European Union Commissioners with members of the Polish government. It is expected that about 40 thousand people will visit Poland during the six months of the presidency.
Main photo source: Marcin Obara / PAP
