In Donald Tusk's speech at the forum European Parliamentofficially inaugurating the Polish Presidency of the EU, there was no shortage big words, palpable emotions and historical references. There was also mobilization, because it was palpable in almost every sentence.
Tusk mobilizes and warns. “The idyll is over”
– European man and woman, hold your heads high. Europa was, is and will be great – Tusk said to MEPs. And he appealed to them not to lose heart, not to give in to stagnation. – Europe means courage and boldness. It's belief in your own strength. The European specialty is dealing with what is new. Adapt to changes – continued the Polish Prime Minister.
Tusk also made extensive reference to Donald Trump's numerous words of criticism against the EU. The new-old American president accuses EU countries of many of them going to… NATO free riders in terms of responsibility for their own safety. He also announces that this must change during his presidency, and he expects NATO members to spend 4-5 percent. GDP for defense.
– Donald Trump challenged us. Should we be offended at him for this? We can, but what good will it do? Should we fawn over him and ask for mercy? This is not the way. He doesn't expect it at all. Or maybe Donald Trump just called a spade a spade? Maybe it's not him, but the modern world that challenges us, and we simply have to take it up – Tusk asked European leaders.
For those for whom the answer to these questions was not clear, the Polish Prime Minister also had a few warnings. – There has been a change in the world. The idyll is over. As Macron called it, the time of predators has come. We have an aggressive war on the border Russiamore and more powerful China and revolutionary change in United States – Tusk listed.
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Therefore, as he emphasized, “Europe must and can be strong.” – The carefree time is over. It's hard to part with it, a bit like childhood, when we move away from our parents and have to take care of our own safety – he continued, while appealing to the EU for strength. – If democracy is to survive, people cannot associate it with helplessness. The EU must become synonymous with strength. Ethics, morality, but also strength. In politics, someone who is powerless is pathetic and contemptible, he said.
The EU is ready to take the place of the United States
Donald Tusk's words could be treated as a sharp and sobering speech, but only a speech. Just an impressive rhetorical device for an important political occasion. The point is what Tusk says – and this is not the first time he says it – fits into a broader context. More similar appeals and assurances from other leading EU and European politicians have recently appeared.
Most of them focus on the issue of the war Ukraine and rolls European Union in ensuring a just end to this conflict. This, however, is closely related to the results of the presidential elections in the United States and the return to… White House Donald Trumpwho openly talked during his campaign that America was spending too much on helping Ukraine and it was time to end it.
The EU is already a global power (…). Europe has a role to play in Ukraine, in our immediate neighborhood, but also in the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere on the globe. We simply need to use our strong position and stop running away from our leadership role
~ Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, in an interview for Interia
After his victory it became clear to the EU that Ukraine's future is very uncertain and will largely depend on the Community, not on the United States. However, the EU does not intend to run away from its enormous geopolitical responsibility.
“I'm really confident that all other members, and hopefully the United States as well, are ready to continue supporting Ukraine,” she admitted in early January Kaja Kallaquoted by the AFP agency. – The European Union is also ready to take over this leadership if the United States does not want it – noted the head of EU diplomacy. Speaking to journalists on the way to a meeting of Ukraine's allies in GermanKim Ramstein, an Estonian politician, also emphasized that “It is not in America's interest for Russia to be the strongest power in the world.”
Interia also asked the head of the European Parliament about this exact issue. “Ukraine remains our top priority,” she replied without a moment's hesitation Roberta Metsolarecalling that the EU has supported Ukraine since the first day of the war. – We will stand by Ukraine as long as necessary. Europe will not let anything weaken our determination – she added.
The President of the European Parliament said one more significant thing in an interview for Interia. When asked whether the EU is able to play on equal terms with the Americans and the Chinese in the global geopolitical game, assured that “the EU is already a global power.” – Europe has a role to play in Ukraine, in our immediate neighborhood, but also in… Middle Eastin Latin America and other places around the world, Metsola explained. – We simply need to use our strong position and stop running away from the leadership role – she emphasized.
“White Paper”, new budget and loans
However, the change taking place within the EU is not just words. Actions and tangible effects are key here. There is also a lot going on here among the 27 EU countries.
Firstly, the above-mentioned Kaja Kallas and the Lithuanian commissioner responsible for defense, Andrius Kubilius, are preparing the so-called European Defense White Paper. This is a document that will be created during the first 100 days of the new year European Commissionthe president promised Ursula von der Leyen. It is intended to be a diagnosis of the current neglect of EU countries in this area, as well as a map of needs and priorities for the future. So that the planned investments do not turn out to be money wasted.

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Speaking of money, it is the second evidence of the rapid change taking place in the EU. Commissioner Kubilius expects that in the new EU budget (for 2028-34) defense funds will amount to EUR 100 billion. This is ten times more than in the current budget perspective. – We must be ready for the possibility of Russian aggression – argued the Lithuanian politician in an interview for “Politico”. He also warned his EU colleagues: – If we fail in Ukraine, of course the likelihood of Russian military aggression against EU member states may increase.
W Brussels However, they are well aware that although EUR 100 billion may be impressive, the perspective of 2028 in the current geopolitical and war situation is unacceptable. The money from the new budget could be spent in 2029 or 2030. High-ranking diplomats from Brussels, with whom Interia recently spoke, say directly: money is needed here and now, because Ukraine is fighting for survival right here and now. The thing is that there are simply no funds in the current budget to strengthen EU defense.
This brings us to the third issue, i.e. obtaining new funds to help Ukraine and strengthen European security. – We look at the situation of the current budget and what there is still room for in it. And this place doesn't exist at all, so this probably best shows the direction of financing – one of the Brussels officials, well versed in the state of EU finances, explained to Interia. This means one thing: loans. The amount in question is significant, because according to our Brussels sources, it is up to EUR 500 billion in the coming years.
There has been a change in the world. The idyll is over. As Macron called it, the time of predators has come. We have a war on the border, an aggressive Russia, an increasingly powerful China and a revolutionary change in the United States
~ Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland
For the EU, borrowing on global financial markets is not a first. The EU has already done this in recent years, trying to protect member states against the consequences of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A great advocate of repeating this maneuver, but in order to invest in EU defense, arms industry and aid to Ukraine, is Poland, which has just taken over the EU presidency.
Building a lasting majority for external defense financing in the coming years will be one of the greatest challenges for the Polish government in the coming six months. Poland's position is shared by the Baltic states, and the Nordic states are also very close to this belief (interestingly, they historically belong to the so-called group of misers, i.e. countries that are very reluctant to increase EU budget expenditure).
Interia sources believe that the problem should not be to convince the EU South, which, at least in theory, could be the least interested in the topic because the Russian threat does not directly affect them. The real challenge will be convincing people to take part in the new initiative Netherlands and Germany. The Dutch belong to the already mentioned “group of misers”, and besides, a Eurosceptic government has been ruling there for several months. In turn, Germany is preparing for early parliamentary elections (to be held on February 23) and no one there wants to hear about EU defense financing.
Trump is playing for epochal success
The last, but definitely not least, piece of this puzzle is the new American administration. This is the element where it is most difficult to make any predictions, because Donald Trump is the epitome of political unpredictability.
Already now, a few days after he took office again, However, there are important and optimistic signals. The end of the war in 24 hours, which was changed by all the events in the campaign, turned out to be – as everyone predicted – impossible. Probably – everyone predicted this too – it was just a catchy campaign spin. The current version, mentioned by Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, is to end the war within the first 100 days of his presidency.

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There are more optimistic signals for Ukraine. Michael Walz, the president's adviser on national security, admitted in one of the television interviews that the new president is ready to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons by the Ukrainian army. This would be a coercive strategy The Kremlin to make their expectations towards peace negotiations more realistic and take a step towards ending the war.
Trump himself, in his entry on the Truth Social website, also tries to put pressure on Russia. He calls Vladimir Putinwhich has already rejected the current proposals of the Trump administration several times, to immediately calm the situation and end the war. He also announces what will happen if the Russian dictator does not take advantage of the “proposal”.
“If we don't make a deal soon, I will have no choice but to impose high taxes, tariffs and sanctions on everything Russia sells to the United States and numerous other countries,” Trump warned. Finally he adds: “We can do it kindly or by force. Kindly is always the better option.”
In Trump's case, public opinion often focuses on what he said about Ukraine during the election campaign. Experts and analysts who have been following his actions, but also the American political scene for years, point out that For Trump, one goal is paramount: to go down in history forever as a president who achieved epoch-making success.
The end of the war in Ukraine is supposed to be such a success. If Putin alienates the eccentric billionaire politician, he may support Ukraine much more than Joe Biden's administration. And this would also be great news for Poland and the European Union.