By Marek Strzelecki and Lili Bayer (OTC:)
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland announced its presidency of the Council of the European Union on Friday at a diplomatic row with Hungary underscoring a deep sense of political disunity across Europe as it grapples with the world's biggest challenges.
Faced with a sluggish economy, the EU is eyeing the return of Donald Trump to the White House this month on the platform of “America First” and the imposition of US tariffs on European exports.
It also faces the collapse of trade relations with China and Russia's escalating war in Ukraine, all at a time when the EU's two main powers, France and Germany, are distracted by domestic political turmoil.
Poland's government has said Hungary's envoy is not welcome at a ceremony to mark Warsaw's six-month rotating EU presidency, a public outcry that follows months of political back-and-forth between the two countries' leaders.
Hungary angered Poland last month by putting Poland's former deputy justice minister under investigation at home over allegations of misuse of public funds, which he denies. Warsaw called the move a “hostile act” against EU principles and recalled its ambassador to Budapest.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto described Friday's snub as “childish”, news website HVG.hu reported. The Polish movement added to the signs of European disunity.
Slovakia, and Hungary sought to maintain relations with Russia, threatened to retaliate on Thursday against Ukraine after stopping the flow of Russian gas, while on Friday negotiations to form a new government in Austria were affected when the main party withdrew. speeches.
AMAZONO POLICE
Against this bleak situation, Poland wants a leading role in shaping European policy, especially in security.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hopes to “lead coordination in the EU when it comes to building a coalition around support for Ukraine and a meaningful peace that benefits Kyiv, not Moscow”, said Edit Zgut-Przybylska, assistant professor at the Institute of Philosophy. and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Tusk, a former European Council president who previously served as head of the European People's Party, is a well-connected figure at the EU level.
But as European capitals face tough decisions on issues such as how to support and finance defense spending, analysts say Warsaw is unlikely to be able to lead alone.
Piotr Buras, head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that the current challenges facing the EU exceed the power and time to see the six-month presidency.
“This is a key moment for Europe above all because of the arrival of Trump and the situation in Ukraine but also issues related to the wider economy, competition and perhaps a trade war and the simultaneous weakness of leadership and a moment of change within the EU itself,” Buras said.
Poland also has its own domestic disturbances. Despite his big European ambitions, Buras said, Tusk's main goal in the coming months will be to ensure success for his boss, the EU camp in Poland's presidential elections scheduled for May.
“Imagine the debate about sending European troops to Ukraine or about trade relations with Ukraine in May – this shows the limitations of Poland and the sensitivity of the country's agenda in line with the EU's agenda,” said Buras.
Regarding European security and the support of Kyiv, some analysts say that Germany, Europe's largest economy, can take a major role after the national elections of February 23, where the conservatives are expected to win.
“The only hope is that the new German leadership will decide to act more and more,” said Peter Bator, Slovakia's former ambassador to NATO and now a chief analyst at the opposition Progressive Slovakia.