EU - Tusk and von der Leyen emphasize partnership
Poland's new head of government Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have demonstratively praised their close partnership. Tusk said in a joint statement in Brussels:
Anyone who knows the reality knows that Poland has not had a partner as loyal as von der Leyen for a long time. "Thank you for everything you have done," said Tusk. Warsaw and Brussels were at loggerheads for a long time under the previous Polish government. Among other things, there were fierce disputes about the state of the rule of law in Poland.
There had to be mutual trust and that was also the case, said Tusk. "There is even a personal friendship." He also emphasized that the change in Poland had only been possible thanks to the commitment of Poles, who had never given up defending the rule of law. Following the change of government in Poland, many hope that the independence of the judiciary in the eastern EU country will be strengthened, for example.
At the beginning of the joint statement, von der Leyen said that times were difficult. But Tusk's personal commitment and his European experience are invaluable to the European family. Tusk was President of the European Council, where EU heads of state and government meet regularly, between 2014 and 2019. He said that Poland would try to become a member of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. This is a signal that issues relating to the rule of law are taken very seriously.
Von der Leyen also said that the Commission was working on Poland receiving an advance of five billion euros as part of EU corona aid before the end of the year. This will help Poland to modernize its energy systems and do more to combat climate change, said the Commission President.
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Source: www.stern.de
