Some headaches should ease in Brussels. This January 1, 2025, Hungary cedes the presidency of the Council of the European Union to Poland, after six months during which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban elevated geopolitical overhang to the rank of art with almost -all other members of the European Union.
A priori, this new Polish presidency should spare the Commission and European capitals the tensions of recent months. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has promised to use his mandate to promote European security. And firstly on the Ukrainian issue, with an understanding of this conflict which should contrast with that of his Hungarian counterpart. Since 2022, the latter has increased its delaying tactics to extort concessions in exchange for its consent to aid to Ukraine.
A crucial moment for the future of Europe
Barely inaugurated as president in July 2024, Viktor Orban traveled to Moscow to shake the hand of Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the pretext of a “peace mission” in which he had undertaken, arousing the consternation of its European partners. More recently, on October 28, the leader of illiberalism in Europe went to Tbilisi to welcome the contested victory of the Georgian Dream party, methodical saboteur of the process of Georgia's accession to the European Union, in end of an electoral process rife with fraud and irregularities.
The Polish presidency, which will last until July 1, 2025, comes at a key moment. US President Donald Trump, who is due to be sworn into office on January 20, has promised to broker peace in Ukraine within 24 hours. Warsaw will have a lot to do to help coordinate and assert the position of the European Union, in order to prevent Europe and Ukraine from bearing the brunt of a possible “deal” between Moscow and Washington.
To do this, Poland intends to count on its growing role in European affairs, favored by its voluntarism in terms of military investments, and by the eclipse of Germany and France, both entangled in internal political crises. . She should also benefit from the European networks of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who returned to power at the end of 2023 after successively occupying the seats of President of the European Council and President of the European People's Party – to which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also belongs.
European security “in all its dimensions”
Carrying the voice of Central and Eastern European countries which consider NATO more than ever as a vital component of their security, Poland intends to make the development of the transatlantic link a priority of its mandate. But the Warsaw government also intends to advance the subject of European security “ in all its dimensions:external, internal, informational, economic, energy, food and health ».
Poland also wants to invest in the fight against irregular immigration, a now dominant subject in European politics. Before the March summit in Brussels, he is awaiting the Commission's proposal to facilitate expulsions. “It will be on the agenda very quickly”declared Ambassador Agnieszka Bartol, Polish permanent representative to the European Union, who considers the Asylum and Migration Pact adopted in May 2024 insufficient.
