Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that his country would demand full mobilization of the West to help Ukraine and that Warsaw would restore its leadership role in Europe as an integral part of NATO, Reuters reported.

Poland’s main opposition leader, former Prime Minister Donald Tusk addresses supporters at the party headquarters in Warsaw after the presentation of the first exit poll results from the parliamentary electionsPhoto: YANEK SKARZHYNSKY / AFP / Profimedia

The Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, elected Tusk as prime minister on Monday night after former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki failed to approve his new cabinet in the Warsaw legislature.

Tusk’s election as the country’s prime minister ends eight years of nationalist-conservative rule that has sparked numerous disputes with the European Union on a wide range of topics, from justice reform to immigration and gay rights.

Tusk, a former Polish prime minister from 2007-2014 and then president of the European Council, will be sworn in after the Polish Senate also approves him later on Tuesday, a mere formality given the distribution of mandates.

“We will directly and decisively call for the full mobilization of the free world, the Western world, to help Ukraine in this war,” Tusk said in parliament, presenting his government’s plans.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is scheduled to hold talks in the US on Tuesday with leaders in Washington, where he arrived a day ago on his third official visit since the start of the Russian invasion.

The leader from Kyiv will plead for continued military support for Ukraine at a time when it is increasingly criticized within the Republican Party.

Donald Tusk says he will find a solution to lift the blockade of Polish truckers

Tusk also said on Tuesday that Poland’s eastern border would be guarded and promised to quickly resolve issues related to the protest of Polish truckers on the border with Ukraine.

He assured parliament that he would continue to be a close ally of the United States and promised that Poland would restore its leadership status in the European Union. At the same time, Donald Tusk emphasized that he would oppose any changes to European treaties that would be disadvantageous for Poland.

“Any attempts that are against our interests to change the treaties are out of the question (…) no one will play better than me in the European Union,” he promised, adding that he would return “billions of euros” from Brussels. this week it’s about funds frozen by the EU due to a dispute with previous governments over the rule of law in Poland.

Tusk also announced that after returning from Brussels, he will pay an official visit to Tallinn, where he will meet with his Lithuanian, Estonian and Lithuanian colleagues.

“The topics of discussion are clear: war, border security. We will strengthen cooperation with countries that share our views on these topics,” he explained.

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