WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said security, energy and competitiveness will be priorities for his country’s next presidency in the European Union in the first half of 2025.
Tusk said Europe must be more “selfish” and show more internal solidarity when facing outside competition.
He spoke on Thursday after talks with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and leaders of the parliament’s various political groups on the key points of the presidency, which he said he wants to be a “breakthrough” time for the EU .
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The priorities of the Presidency will be: “security in many dimensions, energy – as one of the most important (necessary) conditions for the European Union to regain its full competitiveness, the protection of different groups of our citizens, a fair competitiveness in which Europe truly an opportunity to win with anyone in the world,” said Tusk.
He stressed that Warsaw’s presidency comes at a “difficult” and “critical” moment with geopolitical challenges such as the war in neighboring Ukraine, the upcoming presidential elections in another neighboring country, Belarus, as well as conflicts and tensions in many parts of the world and political crises in some of the largest European countries. Poland also faces elections this spring at an unspecified date to replace right-wing President Andrzej Duda.
He said Poland’s determination to protect its border with Belarus against migrant pressure is gaining support and that the need to protect its borders is becoming Europe’s shared approach.
