Poland PM Donald Tusk names security and energy as EU priorities during Warsaw’s presidency

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said security, energy and competitiveness will be the priorities for his nation’s upcoming presidency in the European Union in the first half of 2025.

Tusk said Europe needs to be more “egoistic” and show more internal solidarity in facing outside competition.

He was speaking Thursday following talks with the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and leaders of the parliament’s various political groups about the main points of the presidency, which , he said, he wants to be a “breakthrough” time for the EU.

The priorities of the presidency will be “security in may dimenstions, energy – as one of the main conditions (needed) for the European Union to regain its full competitiveness, protection of various groups of our citizens, honest competitiveness in which Europe really has a chance to win with everyone in the world,” Tusk said.

He stressed that Warsaw’s presidency is coming at a “difficult” and ”critical” moment of geopolitical challenges like the war in neighbouring Ukraine, upcoming presidential elections in another neighboouring country, Belarus, as well as conflicts and tensions in many parts or the world and political crises in some of the biggest European countires. Poland is also facing election at a yet-unspecified date in the spring to replace the right-wing president, Andrzej Duda.

He said Poland’s resolve in protecting its border with Belarus from migrant pressure is gaining wider support and the need for protecting its borders is becoming Europe’s shared approach.