Poland's EU revival Will divisions with Berlin and mood at home hem in Tusk?

Will divisions with Berlin and mood at home hem in Tusk?

- Jennifer Rankin

Germany's chancellor appears to be heading for defeat; France's president is mired in crisis. But while Europe's traditional power duo is in the doldrums, there is a strong, stable and pro-EU leader east of Paris and Berlin – Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk.

Poland takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January. Last year, Tusk, a former European Council president, ended Warsaw's long-festering dispute with Brussels after leading a broad coalition to victory over the rightwing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). His pledge to restore constitutional norms unlocked billions in frozen EU funds.

Presidency of the Council of the EU is a technical business: chairing hundreds of meetings, setting agendas. Tusk has no formal role, but symbolism matters.

The presidency logo, a Polish flag entwined with the letters "EU", is intended to project Poland's return to the European mainstream.

Tusk's government, which has pledged to prioritise security during its six-month stint, is an especially welcome contrast after the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's rogue diplomacy during Hungary's presidency.

"We are just after the presidency of Hungary, which is the biggest violator of all of the fundamentals of the European Union. So it is a good time slot for my country to prove that we are one of the leaders of the European Union," said Michał Wawrykiewicz, a centre-right MEP affiliated to Tusk's governing Civic Coalition.