I think this going to be great for the Council of the European Union! Let’s hope they make good decisions! Poland launched its presidency of the Council of the European Union on Friday mired in a diplomatic row with Hungary that underscored a deepening sense of political disunity across Europe just as it confronts a raft of major global challenges.

Saddled with a sluggish economy, the EU is bracing for the return of Donald Trump to the White House this month on an “America First” platform and the possible imposition of U.S. tariffs on European exports.

It also faces deteriorating trade relations with China and Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, all at a time when the EU’s two leading powers, France and Germany, are distracted by domestic political upheaval.

Against this gloomy backdrop, Poland is seeking a leading role in shaping European policy, especially on security.

“If Europe is powerless, it will not survive… Let’s do everything so that Europe and Poland do not have to pay the highest price for freedom, for strength, for sovereignty. Let’s do everything to make Europe strong again,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a gala in Warsaw.

He was joined by the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa who stressed the importance of continued support for Kyiv.

“This year we must continue to stand with Ukraine – as much as necessary, for as long as it takes, to win a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” Costa said.

“For that, we must continue to see defense as a strategic priority for the European Union.”

POLISH AMBITIONS

Tusk hopes “to lead a realignment in the EU when it comes to building a coalition around support for Ukraine and meaningful peace that benefits Kyiv, not Moscow,” said Edit Zgut-Przybylska, an assistant professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology in the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Tusk, a former president of the European Council who previously also served as head of the center-right European People’s Party, is a well-connected figure on the EU stage. Read More At Newsmax.com