Poland has detailed the political direction of the rotating presidency her country will hold from January to June 2025.
Polish Undersecretary of State, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka says the central theme of the presidency is ‘security’, structured around seven key pillars: external, energy, economic, food, climate, health and information.
This comprehensive approach, said the Minister, aims to address Europe’s most pressing challenges during the six-month Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Speaking at the extraordinary EESC bureau meeting held in Warsaw, she made it clear that the presidency would try to adopt an approach that combined climate goals and economic competitiveness, which could not afford to be at odds with each other.
She said, “Security is our motto, and this will be the focus of our presidency; however, this catalogue of pillars is not closed,’ she said. ‘We will be very much open to dialogue, and security will also relate to civil society and to increasing citizens’ resilience. For this reason, we will set up two committees within the Prime Minister’s office to constantly listen to NGOs and entrepreneurs.”
More specifically, the Polish EU Presidency is expected to work on:
· External and Military Security – Addressing the ongoing war in Ukraine, financing the ‘East Shield’, and fostering a robust European defence industry.
· Energy Security – Reducing reliance on external energy sources, accelerating the energy transition with European-led technologies, and lowering energy costs.
· Economic Security – Reforming the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, increasing the availability of European funds for beneficiaries, and strengthening cohesion policy under the slogan ‘more power to regions, less power to Brussels’.
· Food and Climate Security – Bridging the gap between agriculture and climate activism, with a commitment to competitiveness and a practical climate framework.
· Health Security – Strengthening EU independence in medicine production and addressing mental health challenges, especially among children and youth.
· Information Security – Combating disinformation, improving cybersecurity, and managing the impact of virtual reality on mental health, particularly for younger generations.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the Polish Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, stressed the importance of being prepared for technological change, without being dramatic, fatalistic, or fearful. This objective can be achieve, said the minister, by reskilling those workers who will be impacted and by adopting regulations and global standards at European level, said the Minister.
More comment comes from Aleksandra Przegalińska-Skierkowska, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at the Koźmiński University in Warsaw, who said that it was good to focus on collaborative artificial intelligence, which sought to help people rather than replace them, and quoted research concluding that workers using artificially intelligence were generally happier at work, but also raised the question as to who would be leading artificial intelligence developments in the future.
Meanwhile, Members of the European Parliament have given the green light to the von der Leyen 2.0 European Commission.
On Wednesday, MEPs voted to approve the new team of commissioners presented by commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
This follows EU elections earlier this year and the conclusion of the commission’s five year term.
The majority of MEPs, some 370, voted in favour but several delegations voted against or abstained including Hungary’s Viktor Orbán’s Patriots for Europe group.
The Spanish candidate for the new commission, Teresa Ribera, who is lined up for the post of “executive vice-president for a clean, just and competitive transition”, proved to be the one nominee who sparked most controversy.
Some MEPs had accused her of avoiding to address demands about her commitment to resign if the Spanish Justice department accuses her of wrongdoing during the management of the recent devastating floods in two Spanish regions which killed scores of people.
Some MEPs from the Greens group, which had voiced opposition to Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi and Italy’s Raffaele Fitto as members of the new EU executive,also voted against the von der Leyen team.
To be confirmed, the College of Commissioners, the EU jargon for the new Commission, needed a majority of the votes cast, which, as expected, it easily achieved.
This will be the second von der Leyen Commission. It was approved by 370 votes for, 282 against and 36 abstentions. The new Commission is now expected to finally take office on 1 December, some six months after the EU elections.
