This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/world/europe/donald-tusk-european-council-eu.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Donald Tusk Gets 2nd Term as President of European Council | Donald Tusk Gets 2nd Term as President of European Council |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BRUSSELS — Donald Tusk was appointed on Thursday to a second term as president of the European Council, one of the European Union’s governing bodies, despite objections from the government of his own country, Poland, that had created an unprecedented confrontation in Brussels. | BRUSSELS — Donald Tusk was appointed on Thursday to a second term as president of the European Council, one of the European Union’s governing bodies, despite objections from the government of his own country, Poland, that had created an unprecedented confrontation in Brussels. |
| Poland was overruled by leaders of the 27 other European Union member countries as they gathered for their spring summit meeting. It was the first time such a decision was made without unanimity since the job was created in 2009. | Poland was overruled by leaders of the 27 other European Union member countries as they gathered for their spring summit meeting. It was the first time such a decision was made without unanimity since the job was created in 2009. |
| The council sets the leaders’ agenda, and Mr. Tusk will be expected to forge compromise among its fractious membership during a two-and-a-half-year term, during which the countries will debate, and possibly decide, whether the European Union even survives in its current form. | The council sets the leaders’ agenda, and Mr. Tusk will be expected to forge compromise among its fractious membership during a two-and-a-half-year term, during which the countries will debate, and possibly decide, whether the European Union even survives in its current form. |
| Mr. Tusk acknowledged the “unusual circumstances” created by the opposition of his own nation and offered the government in Warsaw an olive branch by pledging to work with all members “without any exceptions.” | Mr. Tusk acknowledged the “unusual circumstances” created by the opposition of his own nation and offered the government in Warsaw an olive branch by pledging to work with all members “without any exceptions.” |
| But Beata Szydlo, the Polish prime minister, curtly dismissed the council’s decision, saying at a news conference that it risked deepening divisions in the European Union. She also said she would block a joint statement usually issued at the end of European Union summit meetings to make the meeting’s results “nonbinding.” European Union officials said such a move would not alter the decision to reappoint Mr. Tusk. | But Beata Szydlo, the Polish prime minister, curtly dismissed the council’s decision, saying at a news conference that it risked deepening divisions in the European Union. She also said she would block a joint statement usually issued at the end of European Union summit meetings to make the meeting’s results “nonbinding.” European Union officials said such a move would not alter the decision to reappoint Mr. Tusk. |
| The meeting took a sour turn when Charles Michel, the Belgian prime minister, said Ms. Szydlo had taken a childish attitude and François Hollande, the French president, implied that Poland should have taken a different approach since it still received vast amounts of European Union money for regional development. | |
| Mr. Tusk, 59, was a driving force in last year’s deal with Turkey to address the migration crisis, and he has coordinated the European Union’s response to Britain’s plan to withdraw. | Mr. Tusk, 59, was a driving force in last year’s deal with Turkey to address the migration crisis, and he has coordinated the European Union’s response to Britain’s plan to withdraw. |
| “He’s decent, he’s effective, he’s a very good president,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands told reporters on Thursday. | “He’s decent, he’s effective, he’s a very good president,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands told reporters on Thursday. |
| Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said at a news conference that leaders had been obliged to abandon the customary practice of consensus to overcome a “blockade” by Poland and ensure Mr. Tusk’s continued leadership. | Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said at a news conference that leaders had been obliged to abandon the customary practice of consensus to overcome a “blockade” by Poland and ensure Mr. Tusk’s continued leadership. |
| The right-wing government that took power in Poland in 2015 wanted him out of the job, and it had even suggested — without evidence — that he betrayed his country. | The right-wing government that took power in Poland in 2015 wanted him out of the job, and it had even suggested — without evidence — that he betrayed his country. |
| Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania’s president, told reporters on Thursday that European Union leaders should not be “hostages of national politics inside Poland.” | Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania’s president, told reporters on Thursday that European Union leaders should not be “hostages of national politics inside Poland.” |
| There had been speculation that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, also a right-winger, could support Ms. Szydlo, the Polish prime minister. That hope fell away on Thursday when Mr. Orban, arriving at the summit meeting, indicated he would not oppose the choice of Mr. Tusk. | There had been speculation that Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, also a right-winger, could support Ms. Szydlo, the Polish prime minister. That hope fell away on Thursday when Mr. Orban, arriving at the summit meeting, indicated he would not oppose the choice of Mr. Tusk. |
| The leaders seemed keen to get down to discussions to give an impression of continuity and stability ahead of elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands, where anti-European populists have been doing well in the polls. | The leaders seemed keen to get down to discussions to give an impression of continuity and stability ahead of elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands, where anti-European populists have been doing well in the polls. |
| The meeting also was the first time the leaders gathered inside an orblike structure at the heart of their new headquarters, called Europa, which is expected to cost more than 320 million euros, or about $339 million, when the bill is settled. | The meeting also was the first time the leaders gathered inside an orblike structure at the heart of their new headquarters, called Europa, which is expected to cost more than 320 million euros, or about $339 million, when the bill is settled. |
| A key goal for European leaders this week and later this month is quelling speculation that Britain’s expected departure may be the start of a great unraveling of the European Union amid an upsurge of populism in countries like France and the Netherlands that have been at the bloc’s core since its founding. | A key goal for European leaders this week and later this month is quelling speculation that Britain’s expected departure may be the start of a great unraveling of the European Union amid an upsurge of populism in countries like France and the Netherlands that have been at the bloc’s core since its founding. |
| Yet leaders remain in a waiting game with Britain, since Prime Minister Theresa May still must send formal notice of her country’s decision to start a two-year timetable to leave. In a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, Mrs. May acknowledged that she was facing pressure from the other leaders to get those talks underway. | Yet leaders remain in a waiting game with Britain, since Prime Minister Theresa May still must send formal notice of her country’s decision to start a two-year timetable to leave. In a news conference in Brussels on Thursday, Mrs. May acknowledged that she was facing pressure from the other leaders to get those talks underway. |
| “Our European partners have made clear to me that they want to get on with negotiations, and so do I,” said Mrs. May, who reiterated that she would start the timetable by the end of this month. | “Our European partners have made clear to me that they want to get on with negotiations, and so do I,” said Mrs. May, who reiterated that she would start the timetable by the end of this month. |
| On Thursday, leaders were expected to also discuss the latest influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya and other North African countries to Italy. | On Thursday, leaders were expected to also discuss the latest influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya and other North African countries to Italy. |
| Leaders agreed last month to train more Libyan Coast Guard officers to stop the boats and to return migrants to Libya’s shores, but there are growing concerns that not enough is being done to curb departures now that calmer weather will make sea crossings easier. | Leaders agreed last month to train more Libyan Coast Guard officers to stop the boats and to return migrants to Libya’s shores, but there are growing concerns that not enough is being done to curb departures now that calmer weather will make sea crossings easier. |
| Ms. Merkel said Thursday that Europe had not yet reached “a situation of stability” with regard to migration. | Ms. Merkel said Thursday that Europe had not yet reached “a situation of stability” with regard to migration. |
| The leaders also face ferocious criticism from human rights groups who say that returning migrants to Libya is inhumane, since the country still is barely functioning and refugees are often held in miserable, prisonlike conditions. | The leaders also face ferocious criticism from human rights groups who say that returning migrants to Libya is inhumane, since the country still is barely functioning and refugees are often held in miserable, prisonlike conditions. |
| Separate plans to detain more migrants, including children, who reach the European Union could “constitute inhuman or degrading treatment,” according to the Council of Europe, a body that helps promote human rights in 47 countries. | Separate plans to detain more migrants, including children, who reach the European Union could “constitute inhuman or degrading treatment,” according to the Council of Europe, a body that helps promote human rights in 47 countries. |
| During dinner on Thursday, the leaders were also expected to discuss the fragile situation in the Western Balkans, where there is widespread concern about an upsurge in tensions and Russian interference. | During dinner on Thursday, the leaders were also expected to discuss the fragile situation in the Western Balkans, where there is widespread concern about an upsurge in tensions and Russian interference. |
| The region has not been discussed at the leaders’ level since 2014, and it is back on the agenda, as leaders seek to avoid a return to the conflicts of the 1990s, which the rest of Europe was unable to pacify without intervention from the United States. | The region has not been discussed at the leaders’ level since 2014, and it is back on the agenda, as leaders seek to avoid a return to the conflicts of the 1990s, which the rest of Europe was unable to pacify without intervention from the United States. |
| On Friday, the leaders will meet for a second day of talks — but without Mrs. May of Britain — to discuss their future before a ceremony in Rome on March 25 to mark six decades since the bloc’s foundations were laid. | On Friday, the leaders will meet for a second day of talks — but without Mrs. May of Britain — to discuss their future before a ceremony in Rome on March 25 to mark six decades since the bloc’s foundations were laid. |
| Older member states like France and Germany in the West are pressing for a European Union that allows countries to integrate at different speeds. But newer member states like Hungary and Poland in the East fear they will be dictated to by Brussels or lose access to generous subsidies if they are given second-class status. | Older member states like France and Germany in the West are pressing for a European Union that allows countries to integrate at different speeds. But newer member states like Hungary and Poland in the East fear they will be dictated to by Brussels or lose access to generous subsidies if they are given second-class status. |
| Mr. Hollande warned this week in interviews with six European newspapers that the bloc runs the risk of an explosion if some states are not allowed to progress more quickly in areas like defense and monetary policy. | |
| The plan, even if never carried out, represents a way for France and Germany to warn newer member states like Hungary and Slovakia to stop balking at sharing the burden of taking care of migrants and to show more solidarity in the future, according to European diplomats. | The plan, even if never carried out, represents a way for France and Germany to warn newer member states like Hungary and Slovakia to stop balking at sharing the burden of taking care of migrants and to show more solidarity in the future, according to European diplomats. |