Europe Poland has taken over the EU Council Presidency
Poland took over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council at the turn of the year. Representatives of the country's government will therefore chair numerous ministerial meetings until the end of June and mediate in the event of differences of opinion between the EU states. The main aim is to ensure that EU legislative procedures run as smoothly as possible.
01.01.2025, 08:12
SDA
The hope in Brussels is that the Polish government will not instrumentalize its prominent role for its own purposes as the Hungarian government has done in the past six months. Last summer, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to Moscow and Beijing without prior consultation shortly after his country took over the presidency of the Council, causing considerable displeasure in most other EU states.
Poland is not expected to go it alone diplomatically in this way - partly because Prime Minister Donald Tusk knows the machinery of the EU better than many others. Tusk held the post of full-time EU Council President from 2014 to 2019 and in this role headed the body of heads of state and government of the 27 EU states.
Motto: "It's about security, Europe!"
In the six months of its presidency, Poland intends to focus primarily on security and defense policy. "It's about security, Europe!" is the motto that the government in Warsaw has issued. "We want to focus on seven aspects of security: external and internal security, but also the security of information, the economy, energy, health and food," said European Affairs Minister Adam Szlapka at the presentation of the program at the beginning of December.
As far as external security is concerned, the Polish presidency's main aim is to strengthen the European defense industry. The EU and NATO member state also wants to advocate "maximum support" from the EU for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, as Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced. Poland will work closely with the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, and the EU Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius. In contrast, Poland wants to show Russia and its ally Belarus a clear edge and fight for stricter sanctions.
When it comes to internal security, Poland is primarily focusing on the issue of migration and the fight against sabotage. Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner in order to exert pressure on the West. In the summer of 2022, Poland secured the border with Belarus with a 5.5-metre-high fence and an electronic surveillance system. This is also an external EU border.
"Protective shield east"
To protect itself against potential threats, Poland is currently investing billions in the so-called "Eastern Shield", a fortified line of defense on its border with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. It hopes that European partners will contribute to the funding.
Prime Minister Tusk is not ruling out negotiations on Ukraine this winter. "Our EU Council Presidency will be partly responsible for the situation in the negotiations that could begin this winter," he said at the beginning of December. Shortly afterwards, during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, he made it clear that Ukraine must be present at all talks.
Presidency in the election campaign
Germany and France, who have usually set the tone within the EU in the past, are currently hampered by domestic political crises. Poland could therefore theoretically use its Council presidency to increase its political weight. However, diplomats in Brussels have recently warned against overly high hopes.
The background to this is the upcoming presidential election in Poland in May and the associated fear that Tusk's government could primarily promote those EU projects that are conducive to an election victory for his camp. These include measures against irregular migration as well as security and defense.
Under this scenario, other projects that are controversial in Poland could be delayed until after the election or at least be tackled with little commitment. These include environmental and climate protection projects, for example.
