Surprise, an Anniversary Gift or a Real Challenge? Quick View on the Election of Donald Tusk for the President of the European Council

Abstract

Ten years after Poland’s accession to the European Union it seems right to ask the question: is our country a subject or an object in the political game in Brussels? Is our position strong enough to effectively influence the decision-making mechanisms in the European Union? Or maybe what some say about Poland’s position in the EU is true and our country is indeed “playing out of its league? In an attempt to contribute to answering these questions, in this text the author tries to identify the factors which may have had an impact on the election of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the President of the European Council. The aim of the conducted cognitive process is also to perform an initial analysis of the visible results of this move, both for the institutional system of the European Union and for the way in which public decisions are shaped within the organization.

The author also tries to identify the most significant challenges the Union has to face, as seen from the perspective of the President of the European Council. One might hope that this will be a good starting point for learning about the mechanism of forming political decisions in the EU, which will also find their place in the hereby publication as part of an extended analysis.