EU
Tusk and von der Leyen emphasize partnership
Donald Tusk is the new Prime Minister of Poland. photo
© Czarek Sokolowski/AP/dpa
Thaw in Brussels: Poland’s new head of government Donald Tusk speaks of a friendship with EU Commission President von der Leyen. She also praises Tusk, but remains more distant in her statements.
Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has demonstratively praised their close partnership. Tusk said in a joint statement in Brussels:
Anyone who knows the reality knows that Poland has not had a partner as loyal as von der Leyen for a long time. “Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Tusk said. Warsaw and Brussels were at loggerheads for a long time under the previous Polish government. Among other things, there were heated arguments about the state of the rule of law in Poland.
There has to be mutual trust and that is the case, said Tusk. “There is even a personal friendship.” He also emphasized that change in Poland was only possible thanks to the commitment of Poles who never gave up defending the rule of law. After the change of government in Poland, many hope that the independence of the judiciary in the eastern EU country will be strengthened.
At the beginning of the joint statement, von der Leyen said that times were difficult. But Tusk’s personal commitment and his European experience are invaluable to the European family. Between 2014 and 2019, Tusk was President of the European Council, where EU heads of state and government meet regularly. He said Poland would seek to become a member of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. This is a signal that questions of the rule of law are taken very seriously.
Von der Leyen also said that the Commission is working to ensure that Poland receives an advance of five billion euros as part of the EU Corona aid before the end of the year. This will help Poland modernize its energy systems and do more to combat climate change, said the Commission President.