Donald Tusk has been appointed new European Council president. He will take over the post on the 1st of December.
The Polish heritage and experience can become a very significant source of energy that the EU needs and will need in the future more than ever before, PM Donald Tusk said after being appointed new European Council president.
I come to Brussels from a country that strongly believes in the sense of a united Europe. Eighty percent of my countrymen deeply believe in the sense of the European Union and seek no alternative
, he stressed.
Donald Tusk: The ability to build a shared point of view must be the foundation
Every day we need to answer the questions – given the confrontation in Ukraine, but also in the face of the situation in Syria and Libya – Who are we? How can we jointly respond to this challenge?
– the prime minister said.
We shall help Ukraine, we shall help our southern neighbours only when we are able to build a shared and clear point of view. We must be brave and responsible at the same time. Imagination and common sense must go together – particularly in the face of the challenges that are so dramatic in the EU neighbourhood
, PM Tusk stressed.
Donald Tusk: We need to combine fiscal discipline and growth
My experience as the prime minister of the Polish government shows that combining the two challenges – fiscal discipline and growth – is possible. Over the past seven years when I have been the prime minister of the Polish government, we have achieved cumulative growth at close to 20 percent and have maintained fiscal discipline
, PM Tusk. We will effectively seek ways to find synergy between the two objectives
, he added.
I offer good will, a dose of imagination and some interesting Eastern European experience and above all a strong belief that Europe does and will make sense
, he stressed.
Herman Van Rompuy: Donald Tusk a veteran among EU leaders
The new team is ready
– said Herman Van Rompuy about the new EU Council president and EU foreign policy chief. He added that both of them enjoyed full support of the European Council. Donald Tusk is a veteran among EU leaders
, he noted. He stressed that his successor would face great challenges.
The European Council meeting in Brussels also appointed new EU foreign policy chief – Federica Mogherini, the Italian foreign minister.
EU Council president’s tasks
Donald Tusk will also chair euro zone summits. Referring to this, he said that the euro zone had its specific problems, but the objective was to maintain the EU unity.
The EU Council president’s tasks include:
- presiding over the European Council work,
- supporting consensus in the European Council,
- presenting the European Parliament with reports on the European Council meetings,
- representing the EU on the international forum within its scope of competence and at the respective level (without prejudice to the competence of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
source: premier.gov.pl
fot. M. Śmiarowski
