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Polish Presidency in a Snapshot
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union comes at a special time marked by the inauguration of the new European Commission, the inauguration of the new US President, and continuing tensions in many parts of the globe. All this poses considerable challenges for “Team Europe”, which is, after all, struggling with internal disputes at the Community and individual country levels.
Introduction: ‘Security, Europe!’
The leading theme of the Polish Presidency is security, framed by its motto ‘Security, Europe!’ and defined in seven security pillars: defence and security, protection of people and borders, resistance to foreign interference and disinformation, ensuring security and freedom of business, energy transition, competitive and resilient agriculture, and health security.
The presidency plans to focus on coordinating regional efforts regarding a potential end to Russia's war with Ukraine. Economic priorities include industrial policy, simplifying EU regulations, enhancing the internal market, particularly in services, and debating the EU's resources to increase spending on competitiveness while maintaining cohesion and agricultural policies. Poland also emphasises the need for EU budget allocations for defence. It aims to finalise reforms in the pharmaceutical market and introduce new genomic techniques to the EU. Poland is sceptical about a trade agreement with Mercosur and does not expect decisions on ETS2 or concrete plans for the EU's financial framework beyond 2027.
Details in selected areas
- Security: the Polish Presidency will raise awareness of emerging threats and develop robust policies to address them, among others through increased military spending of member states and greater support for the European defence industry. This initiative is also seen as a step toward reducing reliance on U.S. support by bolstering Europe’s industrial capacity and military capabilities.
- Climate and Environment: During the Presidency, the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment will lead two key councils: the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (TTE) and the Environment Council (ENVI). The TTE Council will focus on energy security, competitiveness, and support for Ukraine, while the ENVI Council will address climate security, adaptation to climate change, combating climate disinformation, and the Clean Industrial Deal. Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska aims to tackle issues affecting citizens, such as high energy prices and severe weather impacts while strengthening critical infrastructure resilience in member states. This includes addressing grid development and the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. Additionally, the need for tools to combat misinformation that challenges EU energy and climate policies will be emphasized.
Priorities of the Ministry of Climate and Environment during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU - Ministry of Climate and Environment - Gov.pl website - Digitalisation: The digital priorities of the Polish Presidency include cybersecurity, the development of artificial intelligence, and digital diplomacy. Poland's primary objective is to establish a comprehensive, cross-cutting approach to cybersecurity by updating the EU coordination framework for crisis situations in cyberspace (Cyber Blueprint) and strengthening cooperation between the civilian and military sectors.
Digital priorities of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Events
The official inauguration of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union took place on January 3 at the National Opera in Warsaw and on January 14 at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. The ceremonies were attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the President of the European Council, António Costa.
Throughout the Presidency, over 300 official meetings are planned in 24 Polish cities, including 22 informal sectoral council meetings in Warsaw. For a detailed programme of events, visit the official website: Poland25.eu.
https://polish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/
Selected conferences on presidency priorities:
• January 30-31, Kraków, conference: "The Impact of Cohesion Policy on the Achievement of EU Objectives".
• February 20-21, Gdańsk, conference: "The Future of Work in Digital Europe".
• March 5, Warsaw: "Common Agricultural Policy for Food Security".
• April 3-4, Bydgoszcz: Conference on information security.
• April 8-9, Lublin: Conference on the future of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) after 2027.
• **April 23-25, Katowice: **17th the European Economic Congress: “United for a safe future.”
• June 3-4, Gdynia: Conference on the protection of maritime infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.