Lithuanian president to support Tusk for European Council presidency

The attack on Tusk, made in a letter to governments of the 28-member bloc, came a day ahead of a Brussels summit where leaders were expected to rubberstamp a new two-year mandate for the former Polish premier.

Even Hungary, which allies itself with Poland on many policy matters, didn’t support its fellow Visegrad member in the vote. Tusk, a center-right former prime minister, is a longstanding and bitter rival of the current governing party.

Szydlo singled out outgoing French President Francois Hollande for criticism, accusing him of trying to “blackmail” Poland at the summit.

“The rule that high-ranking officials should have the backing of their country was broken”, he told reporters.

But people in the room said prime minister Beata Szydlo took pains to be polite and cooperative after Thursday’s sharp exchanges with the likes of French President Francois Hollande, who had effectively accused her of ingratitude for European Union grants to Poland.

Mr Tusk was the only candidate except for Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, whose name was thrown into the mix by the Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party at the last minute. Tusk has been exonerated of any responsibility.

“We will inform our (EU) partners that today’s summit will be threatened if they push their vote today”, without elaborating further on Warsaw’s position.

The breakdown in talks comes at a particularly sensitive time. More worrying to some European Union capitals is whether the episode signals a point of no return in Warsaw’s gradual alienation from the institutions of the EU.

But that event on March 25, the 60th anniversary of the signing of the bloc’s founding treaty in the Italian capital, has been overshadowed by May preparing to launch the two-year Brexit process in the coming days and by a furious row on Thursday with Warsaw, the major eastern power in the EU.

But Szydło, who will still attend the meeting, torpedoed that image with a blistering press conference. Party spokeswoman Beata Mazurek said that “this will influence the way that the union will function in the future”. “The migration crisis, the financial crisis and Brexit did not happen without reason”.

“We don’t want to become hostages of domestic politics in Poland”, said Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian president, as she likened the situation to a scene from Game of Thrones.

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Poland would “do everything” to prevent a vote on the matter.

Some EU member states, including France, Germany, Spain and Italy are calling for a multi-speed Europe, in which some could deepen their integration faster than others.

“I will work with all of you without any exemption, because I’m truly devoted to a united Europe”.