The battle for the Polish EU commissioner has been brewing for months.
At the end of the last Sejm term, on the initiative of the president, the parliament adopted a law on competences. Even in Law and Justice there were skeptics about this, but Duda pushed hard for these changes to be introduced into the law. The act gives the president new powers in relations with the European Union and was announced by the Palace as preparation for the Polish presidency of the EU (in the first half of 2025).
The law provides that the President has the right to accept or reject Polish candidates for the most important EU posts, including the position of EU Commissioner.
Tusk and Duda spoke privately. The prime minister ridiculed the act
Ministers in Donald Tusk’s government have repeatedly publicly questioned the constitutionality of the Skills Act. Donald Tusk himself did so in a face-to-face conversation with the president on the occasion of the May government’s reconstruction.
The Prime Minister then reportedly told Andrzej Duda that, in his opinion, this act is not in fact valid and he does not have to comply with it, also by nominating a Polish candidate for EU Commissioner. Duda then responded that this would be breaking the law.
The gentlemen went their separate ways and war for the commissioner hung in the air.
Donald Tusk later did indeed publicly – albeit indirectly – confirm that he had a fight with the president behind closed doors.
– I would like to remind you that the Commissioner is appointed by the head of the European Commission, he is not the delegate of the President or the Prime Minister in Europe, so such provisions in the powers law are not serious. (…) The President refers to the so-called powers law, and I pointed out to him that powers are more important, not the law that was prepared within the framework of PiS and that tries to circumvent the constitution – said the head of government.
The prime minister also stressed that he and the president have “different views on foreign policy” and would like Duda to cooperate and help “if he can”. “I would like the president to finally recognize the obvious constitutional principle that foreign policy is conducted by the government and that the president represents Poland in foreign affairs,” Donald Tusk stressed in May. At the same time, he assured that he does not want conflicts at the top of the power.
Tusk: Piotr Serafin is a candidate for commissioner
Prime Minister Donald Tusk presented the Polish candidate for commissioner at the government meeting on August 13. For months, the favorite in the exchange of names was Piotr Serafin, the strongest “European brain” in the prime minister’s entourage, his long-time collaborator and one of his closest relatives. And it was he who, as Onet first wrote, was nominated by Tusk.
After the cabinet meeting, Tusk announced that the candidacy was accepted “unanimously” and “with enthusiasm” by the entire government.
The government can push for a commissioner candidate while completely ignoring the skills law, recognising that – as the Prime Minister said earlier – the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposes commissioners, and the European Parliament votes on them.
The time has now come when the war for the commissioner can move from words to action. There are many signs that we are in a heated phase, as the mood in the Presidential Palace is combative.
An interlocutor from the president’s entourage: – Questioning the act of competence is all the more dangerous the more important the portfolio is for the Pole. Today, Donald Tusk can ignore the president when selecting a commissioner, and in 2027 the new government may ignore a commissioner chosen bypassing the president. The decisions of such a commissioner will also be questioned.
2027 is the constitutional date for parliamentary elections. The president and the right-wing camp are obviously counting on a change of power and, therefore, the fall of the government of the Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the New Left.
Andrzej Duda: Tell me and that’s it. Fighting atmosphere in the Palace
The Palace is also awaiting the Prime Minister’s decision; not words, but formal decisions: will they comply with the Competences Law or not?
– His ministers can say whatever they want in the media. The Prime Minister can also say it, but what counts is what he does, says our interlocutor from the Palace.
Therefore, there is also anticipation for the meeting between the President and the Prime Minister, which Donald Tusk has mentioned publicly – it would take place this week. The gentlemen will also meet at the Polish Army Day ceremony on August 15 (afterwards there will be a military parade in Warsaw), but they will also have a private conversation.
The president’s expectations are clear. – The president expects compliance with the law on competences, which means presenting him with a candidate for commissioner, so that he can accept or reject him, says one of the head of state’s associates. Another interlocutor exclaims: – The Prime Minister will not choose which laws he wants to comply with and which he does not.
However, the scenario assumed in the Palace is that the Prime Minister will ignore the act. Given this development of events, the institutions of the European Union should be informed by the President that, in the opinion of the Head of State, the law was violated in the process of selecting the Commissioner, and that the Commissioner thus selected is not, in fact, the Commissioner.
Newsweek’s interlocutors at the Palace argue that it is in Donald Tusk’s interests to comply with the requirements of the Powers Act. – Likewise, it is in the interests of whoever would be the commissioner. The commissioner’s term of office will not coincide with the Sejm’s term of office, our interlocutors close to the president agree.
What is this law?
The Act on Competences – formally the Act on Cooperation of Authorities with Respect to the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU – requires the government to submit to the President proposals for candidates for the following positions: Member of the European Commission, Member of the Court of Auditors, Judge of the Court of Justice of the EU, Advocate General of the CJEU, Member of the Economic and Social Committee, Member of the Committee of the Regions and Director of the European Investment Bank. The President may consent or remove them within 14 days.
The law also regulates the president’s participation in European Union summits and the way to develop state positions in European politics.
