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POLAND HAS TAKEN over the European Union presidency from Hungary.
The EU has a six-month rotating presidency and Poland is expected to bring a more conciliatory approach than its predecessor Hungary.
A spokesperson for the Polish presidency said its goal will be to “support dialogue and ensure the smooth conduct of the Council’s work”.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is an experienced politician and was head of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 and also president of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest party in the European Parliament.
Fine Gael is a member of the EPP.
Tusk said the “presidency will be groundbreaking in many ways” and remarked that it “begins during a challenging time marked by conflicts”.
“Our task will be to convince all 27 EU member states that Europe can continue to be the safest, most stable place on Earth,” said Tusk.
“Security will be our top priority during the upcoming six months.”
Tusk added that he will “implement a shared, carefully planned security policy, providing Ukraine with the necessary support”.
“We will do everything to ensure that Europe’s security is a reality, not just an aspiration,” said Tusk.
Under Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, Budapest regularly found itself at loggerheads with Brussels, becoming something of a black sheep.
Its six-month presidency was awaited with dread and later proved to be “quite irritating” to other EU governments, said Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.
Viktor Orban also used the platform to openly pursue his own diplomatic agenda.
He began by travelling to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin as part of an unapproved Ukraine “peace mission” that also saw him visit Kyiv and Beijing.
That sparked fury among fellow EU leaders.
Meanwhile, Poland has been among Ukraine’s loudest backers since the 2022 invasion, while Hungary – as Moscow’s closest EU ally – has resisted support for Kyiv.
“Everyone is looking forward to having a fresh start,” said a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
When a country assumes the EU presidency, it is meant to put their politics aside to take on a seemingly more neutral role.
Although the EU likens the role of the presidency to “hosting a dinner” among the bloc’s members, the job is not without punch.
The country in charge gets to chair meetings of the European Council, which comprises the governments of the 27 EU states, steer the agenda and steward negotiations.
Hungary managed most EU internal matters in conventional fashion. But it stalled the bloc’s action on foreign policy, including loans and military assistance for Ukraine.
Since it joined the EU in 2004, Poland’s economy has almost tripled in size, according to the Danish Institute for International Studies.
It currently accounts for more than 4% of the EU’s total output.
Only Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands contribute more.
Poland currently tops NATO’s spending ranking relative to the size of its economy, with more than 4% of its GDP devoted to defence.
This will be reflected in the goals it pursues over the next semester.
The bloc’s fifth largest country in terms of population has said it wants to use the presidency to “strengthen its position as one of the most important” EU states.
Its representative to the EU, Agnieszka Bartol, said “security” would be its main focus.
While this includes economic, energy and food security, defence is top of the list.
“We cannot ignore the international situation,” Bartol said.
“We are in times of extreme challenges. There is a war just next to us”.
Warsaw says ramping up support for Ukraine, enhancing sanctions against Russia and boosting Europe’s defence industry are among its priorities.
That’s “not going to be an easy task” however, cautioned the diplomatic source.
He noted that the EU’s security and foreign policy decisions require unanimity, and Hungary and Slovakia were not likely to concur.
Others expressed concerns that Poland’s presidential election, scheduled for May, might see domestic politics muddy Warsaw’s neutrality on the EU stage.
“They will always position themselves in light of the presidential election,” said a senior diplomat.
But “that’s part of the game”, said the first diplomatic source.
Apart from security, no major decisions are expected over the next six months.
A new European Commission – which plays a central role in preparing EU legislation – has only just been appointed.
With additional reporting from © AFP 2024
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Great news, let’s hope his no illegals approach is adopted across the EU.
@087 bed: #russiaiscollapsing
@087 bed: A person can’t be illegal, just their actions.
@087 bed: Billy no seats!
@Me Me: Yes they can. They can enter a Country illegally and are therefore illegal criminals.
@Marvin Dollery: They themselves are not “illegal” but we know that literary nuance isn’t your strong point from previous comments.
@Marvin Dollery: The person cannot themselves be illegal (it is not illegal to be a person).
Try to get over your fear of foreigners.
@Marvin Billy no seats: we have open borders! So they can legally cross borders! And all pro immigration parties won in our elections, the no-no parties couldn’t win a seat! BNS
@Diarmuid Hunt: same way Jews couldn’t be illegal but his Neo Movement would disagree and was on the other side in the ‘30s. He’s a broken record with his seats
@FG’s Rental Trap/D Peadar: To quote Big Tom: (illegal migrants) are going out the same way they came in.
”Gardaí will use chartered flights in a plan to increase the deportation of immigrants living illegally in Ireland next year, including entire families.” – Independent.ie 30-12-24.
I vote Independent, btw
@Dave Callaghan/john McDermott: of course they’re carrying out deportation orders because they always have done that and we always had border controls lol. We’ve been trying to tell all you Billy no seats this. Have you been to an airport?
@F1rYnpWc: Fg traitors sitting this government out, Mary Lou will be in a walker by the time they get a look in, meanwhile support for independents and nationalists increase. You can scoff for now though.
All the usual NGO supporters and Journal stooges chiming in, The failed mass immigration policy of the WEF/Davos clan has and will continue to fail spectrally, and it wont be not soon enough in my opinion. Éirinn go Brách.
@FG’s Rental Trap/D Peadar: ‘We have open borders’…..’we have border controls’ LOL…you seem confused – you wouldn’t be a they/them by any chance, would you?
@Dave Callaghan: now you know the narrative of your Billy No Seats who say we have open borders but also say we have illegal immigrants. Both contradictory.
@Freda Peeple: support for your “nationalists” increased? Even the 100% Redress party got 1 seat while all your nativist Bigot Parties got no seats and stomped on by the electorate! Annihilated!!!
@087 bed: keep melting Billy No Seats, neofascists were ENTIRELY rejected by the Irish people election after election after election.
@087 bed:
Defund the NGOs and let them go get a job.
@Marvin Dollery: once they claim asylum they are NOT illegal
Liam Boyne? The latest splinter personality from our over-familiar multi-account troll? Who is the dominant personality in this ‘split personality’?
@Numinous20111: OK, Brenny
@Numinous20111: A wet rag has more ‘personality’ than the site troll, which is why he can’t bring himself to behave like a normal person. Insecure and inadequate.
@Brendan O’Brien: is Troll Hunter about to make an appearance soon? Lol
@Liam Boyne: That’s all you’ve got: false accusations that others are doing what you do?
@Brendan O’Brien: At this point wouldn’t be surprised if “Troll Hunter” is one of their (unsure of troll’s pronouns) own accounts created to try and legitimise the others.
There is no freeloaders in Poland
@N D K: they never had an Islamic terror attack either…..funny that
@N D K: Nothing for you there then.
@Staker Wallace: It is true that CSIS’ map does not show any terror attacks in Poland. However, it only shows attacks recorded in the Global Terrorism Database over a four-year period, from 2012 through 2015. The database has records of attacks from 1970 through 2020. During that time, Poland has seen 42 terror attacks, including six that occurred after 2015.
@Staker Wallace: same in Romania or Baltics. Romania is constantly deporting illegal nonEU people.
@Chris: why does Romania and Moldova allow free movement of Roma thieves to the rest of Europe – they should be prevented.
Thankfully that little girl is OK after her life altering experience with an Islamic madman
@Liam Boyne: This from someone who referred to a sick child as a ‘little jihadi’.
You don’t care about anyone or anything except your hate-filled agenda.
@Brendan O’Brien: when is your Michael Collins account coming out to play?
@Liam Boyne: When will you stop making stuff up?
@Brendan O’Brien: when are you bringing out your dermot blaine Jimmy Wallace itwaslikethat, Michael Collins, Kevin kerr, accounts out, it’s so hard to keep up
@Liam Boyne: She is not okay. Her life is probably changed forever. And the media at the time were crying more about a luas or whatever that was set on fire. Imagine that. Disgusting.
@FlipBip: it’s darker than that, many Irish politicians the too big for his boots O.riordan springs to mind since he got the European seat narrowly, record the events as only consisting of a riot. They have attempted to whitewash the terror attack from peoples memory.
Tusk will be a key player in the destruction of the EU
@Liam Boyne: not the sharpest tool in the box are ya liam ?
@Liam Boyne: loving your doomsday meltdowns on every article
@Karl Finlay: the sharpest tool in my box, is a Stanley Knife, do you put butter on your bread, like a little Nancy boy?
@F1rYnpWc: another account Brenny
@Liam Boyne: the perpetual malcontent brigade have been yabbering on about the destruction of the EU for a very very very long time..
@Liam Boyne: Are you deliberately pitching this latest profile as a ‘village [insert "toxic" word]‘?
If so, you’re making a great job of it.
@Brendan O’Brien: the question mark is inside, gobdaw
@Liam Boyne: Thanks for confirming.
@Brendan O’Brien: no need to thank me, I always knew
@Terry Brophy: Brexit, next Hungary
@Liam Boyne: Another one?
@Liam Boyne: pathetic. Try harder child !
@Liam Boyne: feckwit
When you join a club you undertake to abide by the rules. So,why have Hungary and Slovacia not been expelled?
@Helena Camella Cummins: Because they cannot be expelled. The only way they can leave the EU is if either country activities Article 52 like the UK did.
@Ger Whelan: article 50 even.
@Ger Whelan: @Helena Camella Cummins: Although such member cannot (yet) be suspended or expelled, the Union does have other tools at its disposal.
It has been withholding EU funds due to Hungary’s breaches of rules such as those pertaining to democracy, corruption, law and free speech.
As of today, another €1.09 billion is put on hold, bringing the total to €19 billion.
SO 6 months of nothing happening under Orban will now become 6 months of nothing happening under Tusk. All the bluster and fear for nothing.
@Ger Whelan: Nothing happened under Orban? Pretty sure his shoulder rubbing with Putin did cause “some” damage internationally to the EU – as planned.
@Wolfgang Bonow: His “shoulder rubbing” with Putin caused no damage. Just like Fico meeting with Putin caused no damage. And when the war is over and many other EU leaders have meetings with Putin they won’t damage anything.
@Ger Whelan: Putin was delighted, and used it to great effect in propaganda.
So yes, it did great damage, particularly in sowing division in Europe, continuing to create false narratives particularly in the Global South, and in propaganda in Russia itself.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: is your mother alive?
You have chosen to Mute itwaslikethatwhenigothere. You have issues. You know I muted you long ago but you still decide to reply to comments on my comments. Keep wasting your time lad anything you write I can’t see.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I was so far left I would make Che Guevara look like Ronald Reagan. But then I saw a picture of Fico with Putin. What a defining moment for me. Now I am so far right I make Ronald Reagan look like Che Guevara…………oh the power of propaganda….
@Ger Whelan: Hungary is correct on immigration in the EU and just have to look at countless towns at this stage in England, to be reminded why they voted to leave. It really is beyond naivity at this stage to not see what is right before your eyes
I can’t say I’m a fan of Tusk. He’s well out of the mainstream values that represent Poland. He’s been very lax on the immigration laws which PIS set up to crack down on illegal immigration from North Africa through Czechia. He also is a strong advocate of the radical Green New Deal which punishes farmers and is trying to bring in unnecessary progressivism like abortion on demand and same-sex marriage, even though Poland remains a religious country of which 70% of people oppose such moves. Tusk’s centre-left Civil Platform and the left-wing Left Party only won 38% of the vote in the most recent election. The right-wing parties PIS, Confederation and PSL won 54% of the vote. Tusk only holds power because PSL have leadership disagreements with PIS so are doing confidence and supply with him.
@Frank O’Hara: Half of the Polish population support legal abortion, with 87% supporting abortion to protect the life of the woman.
So it would seem there are only 13% religion wingnuts remaining in Poland.
With regard to same sex relationships, half now support same sex marriage and 66% same sex marriage.
The evil control of the Church wanes even in Poland.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: OK Dermot, everyone knows you hate the Church. How about telling it to people?
@David: Which part of what I wrote is wrong?
And The Church is evil.
There can be no dispute about that.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Pulling false numbers out of your backside doesn’t make them any more true. You’re full of nonsense just like you were when you simultaneously informed me that you were both Jewish and “Palestinian” at the same time in a comment before while spewing your usual antisemitic bile. Trolls like you deserve to be mocked and nothing else.
@Frank O’Hara: very bleak, nasty and regressive man aren’t you. You’re figures are out of step over half of Polish support SSM and well over 65% ON average support partnership. Why don’t you emigrate to somewhere where there rights are denied you’re so focused on gays – you won’t be missed
Albania and Georgia now in Schengen. Great.
@Pork Hunt: No they are not. Neither nation are members of the EU ergo they cannot be in Schengen.
@Ger Whelan: I thought that too, but Norway and Switzerland are in it and there not in EU
@Dave Callaghan: Both have an EU trade deal. Also Ireland isn’t in the Shegenen. The Shegenen also doesn’t allow No EU nationals to live permanently in the EU. It allows No EU nationals travel visa to travel freely among the countries in the Shegenen with having to do custom checks at each border. Either way neither Georgia or Albania are in it.
@Ger Whelan: we shouldn’t even be talking about th Schengen agreement. It shouldn’t exist following the Paris massacre in 2015 and of course free movement allowed many other deadly attacks in the meantime across the pond, just for one thing.
With the news that unfortunately new years celebrations were AGAIN married by visitors and their new European offspring throwing fireworks towards police in Germany, expect to see more nationalist Eu members such as Hungary, Slovenia or Poland continue to remind us their countries do not have the kind of violence and urban disorder there is widespread in Western Europe
Hungary achieved ? Oh yes nothing
It’s a toss up as to who is the more incompetent politician, Barnier or Tusk.Too close to call!
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