EU ripping itself apart from INSIDE: Tusk attacks OWN nation for running ‘Kremlin’ state
DONALD Tusk sparked a bitter Twitter row with the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo after he accused the government of following a “Kremlin plan” which threatened unity within the European Union.
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In response to the European Council president’s tweet criticising the country, the prime minister accused Mr Tusk of using his position to attack Poland.
The tweet from Mr Tusk said: “Alert! Serious dispute with Ukraine, isolation in the EU, departure from the rule of law and independence of the courts, attack on the NGO sector and free media - PiS strategy or Kremlin plan?
“Too similar to sleep peacefully.”
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European Council President Donald Tusk gestures to members of the media as he leaves 10 Downing street after talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May in central London
Alert! Serious dispute with Ukraine, isolation in the EU, departure from the rule of law and independence of the courts
The tweet refers to the deteriorating relations between Poland and Ukraine after Kiev summoned the Polish ambassador on Saturday, escalating a dispute over a block on the exhumation of Poles killed in the Ukraine during World War Two.
In response, Ms Szydlo said Mr Tusk has “done nothing for Poland” as head of the European Council.
Mr Tusk is a former Polish prime minister and the two leaders have long been rivals.
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The argument could further put pressure on Poland’s relations with the EU, which have worsened since Law and Justice clinched power two years ago.
Ms Szydlo’s Law and Justice Party has a disagreement with the European Commission over a refusal to accept migrants under an EU relocation scheme and ongoing logging in an ancient forest.
Mr Tusk has repeatedly accused the party of jeopardising the EU rule of law.
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The Polish foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has described Mr Tusk’s post as “a desperate scream of frustration”.
Michal Szuldrzynski, a columnist at Rzeczpospolita, the centre-right newspaper, said: “Tusk must realise that he has crossed a Rubicon. As head of the European Council, he is one of the most important officials in the Union.
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“From now on, all his comments about Poland will be able to be treated as the moves of a potential leader of the opposition.
“And it will be easier for PiS politicians to present the Union as an institution which is guided by the interests of opponents of the current government.”
Earlier this year, the government in Warsaw opposed Tusk’s successful bid to secure a second term as president of the European Council.
There are rumours within Poland that Mr Tusk could be planning to return to his home nation and potentially run for president.
In March, Ms Szydlo’s government even put forward Jacek Saryusc-Wolski as a candidate for European president in an attempt to block Mr Tusk’s reappointment.
