In Brussels, the belief that Prime Minister Tusk, not the president will still be a partner in Brussels

The partner for talks for the head of the EC Ursula von der Leyen and the chairman of the European Council Antonio Costa will remain Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the government will be the key in cooperation with EU's policy in Poland – this belief prevails in Brussels before changing the position of president.

After sworn in on Wednesday, the office of the president will cover Karol Nawrocki.

People who perform the highest functions in the EU with von der Leyen and Costa officially shun the commenting on elections in the Member States. Such comments could be perceived as an interference in a democratic process, and critics on their part could make cooperation difficult in the future.

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Their reactions after the election are therefore diplomatic and contain declarations of willingness to cooperate.

This was also the case with Nawrocki's victory in the presidential election in Poland. Von der Leyen congratulated him on June 2 and expressed the belief that he would continue “very good cooperation with Poland.” “I hope that it will continue to play a strong, active and decisive role in shaping a safer and better prosperous Union,” wrote Costa on one of the internet platforms.

The new president can also expect similar reactions after taking office on Wednesday.

The presidential election in Poland did not go unnoticed. A surprise for many was the win of the candidate supported by PiS, without experience in the EU and with little experience in politics. In turn, PO candidate Rafał Trzaskowski, who lost in the second round with Nawrocki, is a recognizable politician in Brussels, who also performed in EU forums several times during the election campaign.

One of the people holding a high office in the EU in an interview with PAP expressed the belief that Nawrocki would remain a supporting figure in EU policy of Poland.

– The prime minister arrives at the top, the government is conducted by the EU policy. For the Polish president, there is probably not too much room for maneuver – she emphasized.

Cohabitation also does not really worry the interlocutor of PAP – the outgoing President Andrzej Duda during cohabitation with the Tusk government was absent from the EU forum. From a distance, he was only noted his opposition to statutory changes in the judiciary forced by the ruling coalition, which were relevant due to the end of the dispute over the rule of law.

The division of roles in EU policy results from the parliamentary and gabinet system in Poland and the current practice, in which Polish prime ministers of various political options participated in the EU peaks.

This was confirmed by the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 2009, which decided the so -called The dispute about the chairs between the then President Lech Kaczyński and also the prime minister's office at the time in favor of the latter. The Constitutional Tribunal decided that the president could participate in any European Union peak, but the prime minister presents a Polish official position there.

It is completely different in France, which the president represents at the EU summits, because he is the one who in the political system of this country is primarily responsible for foreign policy and international relations.

In most EU countries, there is a parliamentary and Gabinet system (e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain) and it works as in Poland: at the EU summits, the states are represented by the heads of government.

Considering that EU policy is a government domain in Poland, from an EU perspective The results of the election in Poland and France in 2027 will be crucial, because they will de facto have an impact on the EU policy of Warsaw and Paris. In 2027, the elections – parliamentary – will also take place in Italy and Spain.

Unlike the EU, where Poland is represented by the prime minister, in NATO – whose headquarters is in Brussels – the main face of Poland is the president. This is due to his constitutional role of the president as the head of the armed forces and the role of the person responsible for security.

Karol Nawrocki as the president will therefore represent Poland at the annual summit of the Alliance as the highest representative of the state. Delegations to the tops are also often accompanied by ministers of national defense and foreign affairs, but not as the main representatives of the country.

The Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte has already congratulated Nawrocki to win in the election, ensuring that he would cooperate with him, so that the North Atlantic Alliance was “even stronger”.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński and Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

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