Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has emerged as clear favourite for the key post of president of the European Council when EU leaders meet for a special summit on Saturday, several sources familiar with the selection process said.
If confirmed, his appointment to chair and steer policymaking meetings of EU leaders, would be a victory for the 10 ex-communist central and eastern European countries that joined the European Union a decade ago which have demanded that one of the top jobs go to a candidate from their region. It would also consecrate Poland’s rise as a major player in the 28-nation bloc alongside EU founders France and Germany.
The pro-European, centre-right Tusk, 57, has not acknowledged in public that he is a contender. He avoided discussing his own future when he announced a giveaway programme of increased benefits for Poles in parliament on Wednesday ahead of a general election next year.
However, two Brussels sources said current council president Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs and prepares EU summits, will put Tusk’s name to fellow leaders as part of a package deal in a round of telephone calls on Thursday and Friday. “Van Rompuy is to call EU leaders today and if no one is opposed to Tusk there is a deal,” a person involved in the process said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the consultations.
A senior source in Tusk’s Civic Platform party told Reuters for the first time on Wednesday there were “different outcomes” possible for the prime minister, “including the option that Tusk takes one of the most important posts in Europe.”
