Presidency summary
Prime Minister Donald Tusk referred to the NATO summit concluded on Wednesday, during which associate States undertook to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP. He pointed out that the last days of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council besides had a clear Polish accent in NATO's activities. As the Prime Minister said:
Despite large difficulties and doubts, it was possible to get the approval of all members of the North Atlantic Pact as to the amount of expenditure on the reinforcement of NATO members. It was established, (...) that this level would be Polish, that is, 5%.
Tusk, together with Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa, summed up the Polish Presidency at a Thursday press conference following a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels.
Congratulations Ursuli von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine had fulfilled its commitments, thus giving a signal to act on the side of the European Union. She besides pointed out that despite the difficulties of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, it had achieved crucial results. It pointed to the adoption of 37 legal acts and to reaching an agreement between associate States on another 18, identifying these results as impressive.
According to Tusk, Europe has, in the last six months, begun to take a different approach to migration, with expanding emphasis on securing external borders.
The Prime Minister besides noted that the current level of defence spending in Europe leaves much to be desired. At the same time, he pointed out that he was not annoyed or upset due to the deficiency of full enthusiasm for the commitment to mark 5% of GDP for defence purposes. He stressed that associate States would mobilise each another to accomplish these objectives. His assessment of the request for increased defence efforts increased, especially in the context of the clear position of erstwhile president Donald Trump and the US administration, which made it clear that the era of "military holidays" in Europe had come to an end.
Penalties against the shadow fleet
Donald Tusk welcomed the decision of EU leaders to extend the economical sanctions in force against Russia for the next six months due to its aggression against Ukraine. These sanctions cover all existing restrictions.
He besides pointed out that the European Union is inactive facing a decision on the 18th package of sanctions to cover, among others, the alleged Russian shadow fleet. He pointed out that it poses not only a threat to infrastructure in the Baltic but besides a serious ecological risk. He announced the continuation of work on this package.
Antonio Costa pointed out that the European Union remains committed to the integration of Ukraine into the Community.
