The Polish presidency concludes

Polish saying of the week: Minęło jak z bicza strzelił.
“It went by like a whipping.”

Meaning: Time flies. Or it did during the Polish presidency of the EU Council – at least for us! Thank you for following along!

JUNE 26, 2025 Highlights What is the track record of the Polish presidency? For the last six months, the authors of this newsletter have been carefully watching the Polish presidency of the EU Council. So, how did Poland do? The landmark achievement of the country’s tenure was the establishment of SAFE, a special off-budget instrument for defense investments of up to €150 billion, which required conducting complex negotiations on a short timeline.The domestic deregulation priorities of PM Donald Tusk’s government fit nicely into the agenda of the European Commission, which has so far submitted five simplification packages (“omnibuses”). However, the presidency was unable to open the first cluster in the accession negotiations with Ukraine, due to Hungary’s veto. All in all, the presidency has been praised by diplomats from other EU countries for its negotiating prowess.

The bigger picture: The slogan of the Polish presidency was “Security, Europe!” and the declared goal was to strengthen European security in all its dimensions: external, internal, informational, economic, energy, food, and health. The aspirations that were the clearest in the presidency’s rhetoric included increasing European defense funding, deregulating EU laws, tightening migration rules, undertaking a paradigm shift in climate policy, and making progress on EU enlargement. Although it is often not easy to single out a presidency’s influence on EU policy, due to the EU’s complex institutional setup, it seems fair to say that the EU has generally moved in the direction set out by this presidency. What is noticeable, though, is that Poland’s political appetite for dynamic change, as outlined by PM Tusk in his February address to the European Parliament, could not be fully realized, especially when it comes to climate policy. The EU is not a superstate and, politically speaking, does not usually take sharp turns – but this stability and predictability also has its merits. For a full record of the Polish presidency, we invite you to look through the archive of this newsletter.

Ignacy Niemczycki hosted GAC in Luxembourg amid unexpected moves in the Polish government. The Polska 2050 (PL2050) politician became deputy European minister in October 2024, shifting from his previous role as deputy minister for development. A highly regarded expert on European affairs, with a background in democracy NGOs and business, he is also a farmer who runs an eco-farm in the Mazury region of northern Poland (disclaimer: he also worked at Polityka Insight in 2013-2015). On June 24, during the GAC, Niemczycki emphasised competitiveness, describing the European Commission’s recent omnibus packages as only “first steps” and argued for “a real simplification revolution – making it part of every stage of EU lawmaking.”

The bigger picture: In the coming weeks, Niemczycki’s government role may expand. Adam Szłapka, the Polish European minister, has just taken a new job – last week, he became the government’s spokesman. It’s not a typical role for a party leader, which Szłapka is as the head of the Nowoczesna party, the liberal wing of the Civic Coalition (KO). Still, the new position isn’t simply a demotion. Donald Tusk’s cabinet has not had a spokesman until now, and the political expectations are high – inadequate communication has routinely been cited as one of the reasons for the government’s declining support. For Niemczycki, this could be a chance to stand out as Poland’s go-to person for Europe.

The EU follows NATO in summit summer. To create some synergy in defence talks, NATO scheduled its summit in the Hague two days prior to the EU Council’s long-planned meeting on June 26. Under pressure from Donald Trump, NATO members agreed at the alliance’s summit to increase their defence spending target from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035. Some creative accounting was involved, as NATO has resorted to EU-style negotiating tactics under the leadership of Secretary General Mark Rutte – who prior to this role, was one of the EU's most active figures for over a decade as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In fact, the 5% target actually comprises 3.5% for defence spending and 1.5% for “defence-related expenditures,” a category new for NATO. For example, the Italians wish to include in this bucket the construction of a bridge between the country’s mainland and Sicily. Still, Europe intends to spend huge additional sums on armaments, and the EU summit will debate the most effective ways of coordinating this spending (apart from already agreed instruments such as the new SAFE regulation), including through joint defence procurement. Also under pressure from Trump, NATO leaders avoided in their joint declaration making any promises about Kyiv's future lies with the alliance. Ukraine's accession to the EU is a more realistic prospect, but Hungary intends to block any related avowals at the EU summit.

The bigger picture: The threat from Russia and Trump's pressure on Europeans to take greater responsibility for their own security has led to growing cooperation between NATO and the EU, something that Poland has long demanded. The former is responsible for the planning side of defense matters, while the latter is looking for ways to co-finance and modernise the industry. However, disputes over Ukraine's future (fuelled by the US within NATO and by Hungary within the EU) highlight the risks to the harmonious strengthening of European security.

In Brief The presidency and MEPs agreed on gas storage. On June 24 the sides reached a deal on extending EU gas storage rules until 2027, confirming a filling target of 90%, but making it more flexible in the event of difficult conditions on the gas market. Plus, member states will have a time window from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1 to reach this goal, rather than by the previous fixed deadline of Nov. 1. The shift is a response to criticism that the previous targets risked artificially inflating prices. Gas storage facilities provide 30% of gas consumed in the EU during the winter months. Poland got its fingers burned on anti-greenwashing rules. Submitted by the European Commission in 2023, a draft of the “green claims directive” would have required companies to back up marketing claims such as “climate neutral” or “contains recycled materials” with evidence verified by independent auditors. The presidency and MEPs had planned to finalise a compromise version on June 23, but three days earlier, the Commission publicly threatened to withdraw the draft. The Commission criticised the presidency for extending the reporting burden to millions of micro-entrepreneurs, which goes against Poland’s calls for simplification, while Poland says it was blindsided by the Commission’s threats. MEPs, in turn, accuse the Commission of watering down the Green Deal. Resolving this chaos will fall to Denmark, Poland’s successor in the presidency of the EU council. Canada decided to move closer to Europe. A defence cooperation agreement signed on June 23 at the EU-Canada summit in Brussels will enable Canadians to participate in arms investments co-financed by EU funds. Both parties committed to boosting their economic cooperation, which could entail the EU buying more Canadian LNG and critical raw materials, reducing the bloc’s reliance on the US and China. In Brussels, the prevailing view is that Ottawa's intensified engagement with the EU is not merely a tactical manoeuvre to bolster its bargaining power in trade negotiations with the US, but also an indication of Canada's earnest commitment to strengthening its ties with Europe. No security without equality. On June 23, the conference Equality, Europe!, organised by the Polish presidency, brought together European politicians and NGOs in Poznań, a strong contender for the title of the most liberal city in Poland. Participants discussed gender equality and equal opportunity policies – the kind of topics that get somewhat neglected amid the resurgence of war, Realpolitik, and the far right. With security as the primary concern for the Polish presidency, equality minister Katarzyna Kotula argued in her remarks at a conference that “a safe Europe is a Europe where everyone has equal rights, opportunities and possibilities”. Brussels’ Polish Day is wrapping up the presidency. This year, the annual Polish event at Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels is playing double duty as the fête celebrating the conclusion of the Polish presidency of the EU Council. It will take place on June 28. A gala concert by the iconic Mazowsze folk ensemble is scheduled for 5 pm, followed by a concert by folk-rock group Golec uOrkiestra at 8 PM. An open-air cinema will show the animated historical drama The Peasants. The event will offer “food inspired by space travel” by Polish gAstroNomic Station. Entry is free. Noted The Polish presidency of the EU Council is a historic success. For the first time in Poland's history, the EU will spend money on armaments. This is the first time we will be able to buy military equipment for Poland with European funds. Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (Polish People’s Party) said in the Polish parliament. I think Spain is terrible, what they've done. They want a little bit of free ride, but I will make them pay it back on trade. President of the United States Donald Trump said at the NATO summit, referring to Spain's reluctance to accept the goal of spending 5% of GDP on defence. The view from Poland Donald Tusk’s cabinet reshuffle is coming in July. Hinted at by the Polish PM as early as February, the move is intended to serve several purposes. Tusk aims to propose a refined cabinet structure to achieve greater political dynamism. He even expressed an ambitious goal of building one of the smallest cabinets in Europe – a tough challenge given that the current headcount is rather large, with every coalition party contributing a number of ministers and countless deputy ministers. The reshuffle will also provide an opportunity to replace underperformers. Last but not least, Tusk is looking to breathe new life into the government, especially after the defeat in the June presidential elections. The ruling coalition will need some fresh energy if it hopes to survive the 2027 parliamentary elections. Read more in Polityka Insight’s analysis. Bonus If you'd like to find out more about Polish political and economic landscape, consider signing up for a free trial of our analytical service.
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What to watch next week June 26 European Council in Brussels.

June 26 EU Eastern Border Regions High Level Conference organised by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy in Białowieża.

June 27 XXIII Accession Conference with Montenegro.

June 27 Coreper II and Coreper I meetings in Brussels.

June 27-28 ECFR Annual Council Meeting 2025 in Warsaw.

June 28 Polish Day 2025 in Parc Cinquantenaire in Brussels.

Today's newsletter was curated by:
Authors: Tomasz Bielecki, Tomasz Sawczuk
Editor: Hanna Kozłowska
Graphic design: Karolina Tomaszewska
Front-end development: Maciej Kurczewski
Project management and supervision: Joanna Bekker, Maciej Michalik, Weronika Rędziniak and Marcin Bąba

Photos: Jakub Porzycki / Forum; The Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland; Freepik; Daniel Torok / White House.

About Polityka Insight:
POLITYKA INSIGHT is a source of knowledge about Polish and European politics and economy for business leaders, political decision-makers, and diplomats.

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