Historic handover: Poland takes up rotating leadership of EU for first time
WARSAW – Polish prime minister Donald Tusk promised “energetic engagement” as he took over the rotating presidency of the European Union yesterday and said the 27-country bloc was facing one of its most difficult moments.
Poland, Europe’s sixth most populous country and a powerhouse of the central and east European economy, says it wants to strengthen the single market, press ahead with EU enlargement and deal openly with issues such as migration during its six-month presidency, its first since joining the EU in 2004.
Speaking to the foreign press as he prepared to take the reins, Mr Tusk conceded the EU, and particularly the euro zone, faced challenges in tackling the debt crisis that has struck Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
“I’m not going to say these are the most difficult months in the EU so far, but they are definitely some of the more difficult and complicated ones,” he said, adding that his aim was to be active and energetic in engaging with his partners.
“Poles don’t want politicians who engage in rows with Europe. They want politicians who know how to operate in Europe, who can engage with Europe on a business level and who operate professionally. That’s my ambition,” he said.
As well as finalising Croatia’s EU accession, Poland wants to start membership talks with Serbia, clinch a trade deal with Ukraine, and promote deeper energy and military co-operation within the bloc.
Pushing his pro-European credentials – polls show around 80 per cent of Poles are positive about EU membership – Mr Tusk admonished EU leaders who tap into growing Euroscepticism in their countries to boost their popularity, although he named no names.
“Too often we see the red light, the red light of exaggerated national accents,” he said, saying what bothered him was those who professed to be pro-European but didn’t hold that line when it came to restive and sceptical electorates.
“I hope the Polish presidency is going to mean a revitalisation of the European spirit,” he said.
Poland will hold an election in October, midway through its presidency, and some fear the campaign will distract Mr Tusk and his ministers from Europe.
But polls give his ruling centrist Civic Platform a strong lead, making a change of power unlikely. – (Reuters)