Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated during a meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament that the Polish Presidency of the EU Council will focus on security. Metsola pointed out that one of the main tasks of the Polish Presidency is to prepare a program for the new European Commission.
On Thursday, Metsola and the leaders of the EP political groups, who make up the Conference of Presidents, visited Warsaw to discuss the upcoming Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will begin on January 1, 2025. Poland will hold the Presidency from January 1 to June 30 of next year. It will mark Poland’s second Presidency; the country previously held this role in the second half of 2011.
“We are in the process of preparing the Polish Presidency. By tradition, the country holding the Presidency must ensure the best possible relations and good cooperation with the European Parliament, its President and all groups, taking into account common interests because these are the ones that prevail in our work,” Tusk said during the meeting.
He highlighted that in the current unstable time, amid ongoing armed conflicts, Europe still has a chance to be the safest, most stable place on Earth.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us, a deep correction of certain previous methods of action, but I am convinced that we will find a common language where necessary,” the Polish Prime Minister stressed.
He pointed out that the Polish Presidency will promote activities relating to broadly understood security.
“Whether these are talks on energy, climate, food, increasing the defence capabilities of Europe as a whole and its member states, transatlantic cooperation, policy towards the Russian-Ukrainian war – everywhere we will have to climb above traditional divisions, and we will have to remember that the security of the entire continent depends on us,” Tusk told EP’s political groups leaders.
“We expect that the Polish presidency will significantly influence the preparation of the programme for the new European Commission and help us resume our work in the new term of the EP,” said EP President Metsola.
She highlighted security, in its various forms, as a key responsibility during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. She stressed that this encompasses not only military and physical security but also the protection of freedom, social justice, human rights, and the rule of law. She noted that the current geopolitical situation shapes political priorities.
Metsola pointed out that the dominant topic of discussion over the past three years has been the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the European Union’s response to it.
“This brutal war demonstrates our need to strengthen our foreign and security policy. Regardless of how critical the current situation is, we must act together as a Union. We must confront these urgent challenges collectively,” she said.
