Poland opens its EU Council presidency
Poland has taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk used the launch event to argue that Europe needs more resilience, more solidarity and more self-confidence. Reporting from Polsat News said the celebration in Warsaw became a stage for a larger pitch about what the bloc should stand for over the next six months.
Tusk told the audience that the Polish presidency should draw on the country's own experience and memory, and he repeatedly returned to the old Polish saying about being wise after suffering a setback. In his telling, that lesson should matter not only to Poland but to all Europeans. He also said the continent was fortunate to have Poland at the helm during a difficult period.
The speech tied the presidency to a set of priorities that reads like a security and competitiveness agenda at the same time. Tusk spoke about safety, innovation, courage and leadership as the sources of Europe's strength, and he said the bloc would not survive if it remained powerless. He also described solidarity as a defining value, linking it to the legacy of the Solidarity movement and to Poland's self-image as one of the most pro-European nations on the continent.
Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, followed with his own warning that the EU must defend the security purpose behind its postwar creation. He said Ukraine must remain a priority and called for stronger partnership with NATO, more defense development and changes to the EU's budgetary architecture. Costa also said European leaders would meet in early February with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss defense.
The source material gives the new presidency a clear political frame: Europe enters the Polish term with war in Ukraine, pressure on defense policy and a debate over how much the union can still rely on old assumptions. The article supports a straightforward conclusion. Poland has not just taken a bureaucratic turn at the wheel; it is trying to define the mood and the agenda of the bloc for the next half-year.
The six-month presidency will therefore be judged less on ceremony than on whether it helps the EU move from slogans to decisions. Tusk's emphasis on solidarity and strength reflects the political reality that Europe is still wrestling with the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine, defense shortages and pressure on competitiveness. Those themes were not accidental filler in his speech; they are likely to be the test cases for the presidency.
Costa's intervention makes that even clearer. A presidency can set tone, but it cannot by itself settle questions about budgets, military coordination or the EU's relationship with NATO. Poland can, however, help shape which of those debates move first and how much urgency they carry. The opening ceremony in Warsaw was therefore more than a transfer of routine authority. It was the start of a contest over whether Europe can act with more confidence than it has shown in recent years.
