Poland Takes Charge of EU Council Presidency Emphasizing Security
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Warsaw, Jan 1 (NationPress) Poland has officially begun its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, ushering in 2025. This marks the second occasion Poland has held this presidency since 2011.
With the guiding principle of "Security, Europe," Poland aims to address seven critical areas of security during its term: external, internal, informational, economic, energy, food, and health.
This presidency comes at the onset of a new five-year institutional cycle, offering a unique chance to establish strategic objectives, propose actionable solutions, and initiate processes for the upcoming years.
Deputy Minister for EU Affairs, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, stated, "Our presidency will be an opening presidency. We won't focus on how many matters we can finalize, but on how many we can set a new tone for."
Throughout the next six months, Poland is set to host over 300 administrative and ministerial meetings, which include 22 informal councils with EU ministers, according to the Xinhua news agency.
However, an informal summit of EU leaders is planned for February 3 in Brussels instead of Poland.
A formal inauguration ceremony for the presidency is scheduled to take place on January 3 in Warsaw.
Poland, along with three other Baltic EU member nations, has accused Russia of executing hybrid assaults involving "intimidation, instrumentalisation of migrants, sabotage, disinformation, foreign information manipulation, and interference."
Recently, Russia announced it would close its Consulate General in St. Petersburg effective January 10, 2025.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that this action was a response to the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan on November 30 by Polish authorities.
Moscow has criticized Poland for pursuing an "openly hostile policy" towards Russia in recent years, highlighting the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan as a key example of this stance.
On October 22, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced Warsaw's decision to close the Russian Consulate in Poznan and expel diplomats due to alleged sabotage activities.
