Tusk wins second EU term despite opposition

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Donald Tusk on Thursday won another term as president of the European Council at a summit despite opposition from his home country Poland.

European Council President Donald Tusk addresses a press conference at the end of the first day of the European Council spring summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

European Council President Donald Tusk addresses a press conference at the end of the first day of the European Council spring summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] 



"Grateful for trust and positive assessment #EUCO (European Council). I will do my best to make the EU better," Tusk wrote in a tweet.

"The European Council today reelected Donald Tusk as its president for a second term of two-and-a-half years, from June 1, 2017 to Nov. 30, 2019," the Council later confirmed in a statement, adding that Tusk was also reappointed as president of the Euro Summit for the same period.

The Polish national, whose 30-month mandate is due to end on May 31, was reelected by heads of EU member state who gathered here for a two-day summit.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, representing the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, chaired the election process.

Poland had earlier proposed Polish member of European Parliament (MEP) Jacek Saryusz-Wolski for the position instead.

But it's reported that Hungary later made a sudden turnaround, backing off its support to Saryusz-Wolski.

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo earlier this week wrote a letter to MEPs underling the lack of Poland's support for Tusk.

According to Szydlo, Tusk abused his authority and interfered with Polish internal affairs, therefore showing lack of neutrality. She alleged he overstepped his European powers and used his authority as the head of the European Council to muscle into national disputes.

In contrast, Szydlo heaped praise on Saryusz-Wolski, stressing that he possessed the required qualities and had more than 40 years of experience in European integration.

Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party last week barred the Polish government from backing Tusk's candidacy, after party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski called Tusk a "German candidate."

Meanwhile, Saryusz-Wolski, who is also from Tusk's Civic Platform party, and a member of the European People's Party (EPP), took the unusual step of accepting the nomination of Poland's ruling party to run against Tusk.

But his acceptance of the nomination has caused bitterness in the EPP, the largest political group in the European Parliament currently monopolizing top posts of the three main EU institutions.

Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP, said: "Tusk is the only EPP candidate for president of European Council. He enjoys unanimous support from the entire party."

Earlier in January, Kaczynski said that Tusk "was in favor of solutions that are extremely harmful to Poland," referring to, among others, financial penalties for EU member states that do not accept a quota of refugees.

Kaczynski argued that such a person cannot obtain Poland's support.

Tusk was last elected European Council president unanimously on Aug. 30, 2014, after serving for seven years as prime minister of his homeland. He took office on Dec. 1, 2014.

According to the Treaty on European Union, the European Council shall elect its president by a qualified majority -- at least 72 percent of member states vote in favor, representing at least 65 percent of the EU population -- for a period of two and a half years, renewable once.

The president's role is to chair European Council meetings and drive forward its work, as well as represent the EU externally at his level on issues concerning the bloc's common foreign and security policy.

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