Poland threatened on Thursday to derail an EU summit on the bloc’s post-Brexit future if leaders re-elect Donald Tusk as president despite Warsaw’s opposition. German Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly hit back at efforts to block Polish ex-premier Tusk, saying that giving him a second term would be a “sign of stability”. “We will inform our (EU) partners that the entire summit is at risk if they force the vote (on Tusk) today,” Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski told local television. Poland could either insist on unanimity among the 28 EU national leaders for a second Tusk term, a vote Tusk must leave the room for, or veto the conclusions of the summit, thus torpedoing his re-election for now, he said. The Tusk issue nevertheless highlights a growing split between the older, western EU nations led by Germany and France and the poorer, newer countries in the east freed from the Soviet yoke.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 09, 2017 10:41 UTC