Polish Prime Minister-designate Tusk commits to a strong EU
Tusk presented his coalition's government program in the Sejm in Warsaw on Tuesday. With his pro-European rhetoric, Tusk clearly differs from the previous Polish government of the right-wing nationalist PiS party under Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, which has been at loggerheads with Brussels for years.
After his speech, Tusk was due to face a vote of confidence on Tuesday afternoon. His cabinet could then be sworn in on Wednesday, allowing him to attend the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday as Poland's new prime minister.
Although the PiS received the most votes in the Polish parliamentary elections in October, it was unable to win partners for a government majority. Tusk's liberal-conservative Civic Coalition and its two coalition partners, on the other hand, have a clear parliamentary majority and have already agreed on a coalition agreement.
In his speech on Tuesday, Tusk also called for a "full mobilization" of the "free world and the West" for Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion. "There is no alternative," said Tusk.
Tusk, who was Polish head of government from 2007 to 2014, also promised a solution to the truck dispute on the Polish-Ukrainian border. His coalition had "found a way to meet the needs of Polish truck drivers as quickly as possible and to open the border immediately", said Tusk.
Polish transport companies have been blocking several important border crossings to Ukraine since the beginning of November. The hauliers are complaining of "unfair competition" from Ukrainian companies after the EU suspended a number of conditions for border transportation due to the Russian attack on Ukraine. The blockade brought freight traffic between the two countries to a temporary standstill.
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Source: www.stern.de
