German MEP (CDU) Manfred Weber was elected head of the European People’s Party (EPP) on Tuesday (31 May), replacing current EPP leader Donald Tusk in the post.
„I promise to work hard. Thank you very much for your trust,” Manfred Weber said addressing the participants of the party’s congress. He also thanked Tusk, who he said was „fighting for freedom in Poland.”
„I am not saying goodbye. I will come back here in a new role as soon as I win the elections in Poland,” Donald Tusk announced instead in his farewell speech.
The congress of the European Christian Democrats began on Tuesday (31 May) in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. This meeting was supposed to take place only in November (Tusk’s term ends at the beginning of December), but the date was accelerated, because the former head of the Polish government decided to return to domestic politics. (…)
„I want to win another battle with them (Poles) – for the restoration of the rule of law, freedom of expression, the battle for a European Poland,” he said yesterday. He also stressed that there is no safe Europe without an independent Ukraine and a democratic Poland.
Although parliamentary elections in Poland are not scheduled until November next year, there are still rumors that they may be held earlier. Meanwhile, the former President of the European Council and the former head of the Polish government would like to lead the opposition to unite earlier in order to win the upcoming elections and thus remove from power the Law and Justice party, which is constantly the subject of his criticism. (…)
„It was 900 days that shocked the world,” assessed Tusk summing up his term in office. During that time, Brexit happened, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in China, mass anti-racist protests took place in the U.S., followed by the storming of the Capitol.
In addition, the outgoing president enumerated, Hong Kong’s autonomy ended, revolution broke out in Belarus, Americans capitulated before the Taliban in Afghanistan, and in Germany Angela Merkel’s rule ended. He also acknowledged that while the pandemic, Brexit and the U.S. election revealed a deep division in the world, it was only the Russian aggression against Ukraine that sharpened the political picture by forcefully revealing the nature of that division.
„The world is on the brink, the prospect of a third world war has become ghastly real, and the threat of nuclear conflict is no longer just a topic of theoretical discussions,” the Polish politician warned. (…)
During the congress the head of the PO-PSL fraction in the European Parliament, MEP Andrzej Halicki (PO), was elected Vice-Chairman of the European People’s Party. „I am very proud to be a member of the EPP family. Why? Because the EPP party has always led the European integration and the fight for democracy. These are very important values for us, Poles. We have solidarity and freedom in our hearts and souls. Without solidarity, there is no strong Europe. We know this very well after years of pandemics, which is why we need solidarity in the health service. We also need solidarity in the field of energy because of the crisis we are facing today, following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. We need solidarity in security, we need a stronger Europe and a stronger EPP. I believe that we will achieve our goals, I believe in EPP”. – Halicki said.
The EPP Congress also adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to grant Ukraine EU candidate status and to start accession negotiations immediately.
