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Written by Eszter Balázs (Legislative Planning and Coordination Unit, Directorate-General for the Presidency).

INTRODUCTION

Poland assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January, and will hold the office until 30 June 2025. This is the second Polish Presidency after the country’s first stint in 2011. Poland is the opening member of a new trio, along with Denmark and Cyprus. Following Poland, Denmark will take over the presidency on 1 July 2025.

State and government

The Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska) is a parliamentary republic, with a president as head of state and a prime minister (formally, the president of the Council of Ministers) as head of government.

The current head of government is the former President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (Koalicja Obywatelska, Civic Coalition). He had a previous spell as prime minister between 2007 and 2014, before his election to head the European Council. The coalition government he leads took office on 13 December 2023. His predecessor as prime minister was Mateusz Morawiecki (Zjednoczona Prawica, United Right, 2017-2023).

After parliamentary elections, the prime minister is nominated by the president and, together with its cabinet and agenda, are approved by the parliament.

The current president is Andrzej Duda, who was an MEP in 2014 and 2015. As president-elect, he resigned his membership of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS, Law and Justice) party but was endorsed by PiS. His second term started in 2020. The next presidential elections are set for May 2025, during the country’s EU presidency. President Duda will stay in office until at least August 2025.

The president’s position in Poland is not as strong as, for instance, in France, but still much stronger than in countries such as Germany. Most importantly for the current governing coalition, the president can veto legislation (which can be overridden only by a three-fifths majority in the lower house of parliament). The president may also refer a law to the Constitutional Tribunal to check its compliance with the Polish Constitution. The president shares power with the government in defence and security, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and represents Poland internationally.

Parliament

The Polish parliament is bicameral, with a lower house (Sejm) and an upper house (Senate). The Sejm has 460 deputies and the Senate 100 senators. On ceremonial occasions and for the removal of the sitting president, the two houses convene as the National Assembly.

Members are elected for four-year terms, by first-past-the post voting for the Senate, and proportional representation for the Sejm. For the latter, a 5 % entry threshold applies to parties, and 8 % to coalitions.

For a bill to become law, it has to be approved by both houses, although the Sejm can override a refusal of the Senate to pass a bill.

The last Senate and Sejm elections took place on 15 October 2023. Amid record-high voter turnout of 74.4 % and almost 22 million votes cast, the United Right alliance of PiS took 35.38 % of the vote, securing 194 seats in the Sejm and coming first for the third consecutive time. However, it was the opposition alliance Koalicja Obywatelska (KO) that formed a government: it obtained 30.7 % of the vote, translating into 157 seats, and teamed up with parts of the Trzecia Droga (Third Way, TD) coalition (14.4 %) and the coalition Lewica (The Left) (8.61 %). The governing coalition currently has 241 seats.

In the Senate the opposition alliance Pakt Senacki 2023 (Senate Pact 2023) won the plurality of votes and a majority of seats.

The election results mean that both the Senate and the Sejm are in the hands of the current government, while the president remains on the other side.

Parties and coalitions in the Sejm:

Government (241)

• KO (EPP in EP) – 156 members
• Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish People’s Party, PSL-TD) (EPP in EP) – 32 members
• Polska 2050 Szymona Hołowni (Szymon Hołownia’s Poland 2050, PL2050) (Renew in EP) – 32 members
• Lewica (S&D in EP) – 21

Government is at times supported by (6)

• Razem (5)
• Independent (1)

Opposition (212)

• Zjednoczona Prawica (ECR in EP) – 190 members
• Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość (Confederation Liberty and Independence, KWiN) (ESN and PfE in EP) – 18 members
• Kukiz’15 (K’15) – 4 members

Parties and coalitions in the Senate:

• KO – 41 seats
• ZP – 34 seats
• TD – 11 seats
• Lewica – 9 seats
• Independent – 5 seats

The next elections for both houses are due to take place in October 2027.

European elections

The 2024 European elections in Poland were held on 9 June. Of the 53 seats for Poland, the governing coalition (EPP) secured 21 (+6 ) seats with 37.1 % of the vote, a coalition of the main opposition party PiS (ECR) obtained 20 seats (-7) with 36.2 %, and the anti-EU right-wing KWiN carried six seats with 12.1 % – three of them sit in ESN, two in PfE and one remains non-affiliated. The Nowa Lewica (New Left) coalition obtained three S&D seats (-1) with 6.3 %, while two members of the TD coalition (13.8%) sit with EPP and one with Renew.

The results mean that in this EP legislative term, there are nine more Polish MEPs in the EPP, five fewer in S&D, and seven fewer in the ECR, while Renew again has a Polish member.

State of play

During the previous PiS-led governments, clashes between the EU and Poland were frequent and resulted in the launch of an Article 7 TEU procedure and a delay in the disbursement of RRF and cohesion policy allocations. With the Tusk-government’s willingness to address rule of law concerns, RFF financing was released and the Article 7 procedure was closed in early 2024.

According to the most recent standard Eurobarometer survey, Poles consider the increased cost of living (42 %) as the main challenge for their country. They broadly support EU action in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including sanctions (86 %), Ukraine’s status as a candidate for EU membership (75 %) and the supply of military equipment to Ukraine (80 %). Some 59 % of the population have a positive image of the EU.

POLITICAL PRIORITIES OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY

‘Security, Europe’ is the motto of the Polish Presidency, motivated by the geopolitical reality of the erosion of the rules-based international order. In its programme presented on 10 December 2024, the presidency covers seven intertwined facets of security: external, internal, information, economic, energy, food and health. The programme is short on climate and environment pledges, apart from their impact on security. The Polish programme leans on parts of the 18-month programme of the Poland-Denmark-Cyprus trio of which it is the first member.

In the external dimension of security, Poland will push to boost the defence readiness of Europe, by raising defence spending and by strengthening cooperation with NATO and like-minded countries. It wishes to engage with the US to increase the resilience of the transatlantic relationship.

Poland is one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, stressing that it is in the EU’s existential interest to stand by the country which is fighting for values that the EU shares. The presidency will work to maximise support to Ukraine militarily, economically and politically, with various Ukraine-linked points raised in several areas. The presidency will push strongly for further sanctions against Russia as well as for the use of profits from the Bank of Russia’s immobilised assets.

The Polish Presidency will pursue the integration of candidate countries. In parallel to that process, it will work on the four strands – values, policies, budget and governance – of future EU reform.

To ensure internal security for Europeans, and looking at migration through this lens, the presidency will work to protect the external borders and find innovative solutions to migration, including by establishing safe spaces in third countries. It aims to find an adequate answer to hybrid threats, such as the instrumentalisation of migration, of which Poland itself has been a victim.

The focus of the presidency on information security will extend to defence of democracy issues, including steps against information manipulation and foreign interference, to reduce the impact of hostile action in cyberspace. The presidency expects to fight against disinformation in areas such as environmental and climate policies.

Under economic security, Poland will look at how to make the EU economy more competitive and resilient. It intends to continue with robust cohesion policies, encourage the creation of innovative industries and cut red tape. For economic security, it considers a clean energy transition and affordable energy prices to be further essential elements. As drivers of climate policies, the presidency prefers incentives instead of penalties and restrictions.

To make Europe’s energy supplies more secure and versatile, the presidency seeks full withdrawal from Russian fossil fuel imports while providing access to sufficient energy, at lower prices, for the sake of competitiveness.

The presidency will focus on food security, through discussions on a common agricultural policy that encourages rather than forces farmers to limit climate change. In the broader focus on agriculture, it intends to protect vulnerable agricultural sectors, increase overall resilience and ensure that non-EU producers comply with EU standards. 

For secure public health policies in the EU, the presidency will concentrate on the digital transformation of healthcare, improving drug security in the EU and the mental health of children and adolescents.

During its tenure, the Polish Presidency will start discussions on the new post-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF), currently in preparation, although formal negotiations are not expected to kick off during its tenure. In February 2025, it will hold a conference on the next MFF, including on a new own-resources system that includes financing for higher defence spending.

Legislative work

Poland takes over the presidency from the trio of Spain, Belgium and Hungary. Its predecessor, Hungary presided over the inaugural period of the 10th legislature as well as the selection of the members of the new Commission, during which work on legislation largely ground to a halt, with only nine files closed with trilogue agreements. The to-do list for the Polish Presidency has thus remained largely unchanged, although several additional files have now arrived at the negotiation phase. The topics to be addressed by the presidency include the following issues.

Defence and security

In line with the presidency’s singular focus on security, Poland has the ambition to start and conclude negotiations with the Parliament on the European Defence Industry Programme once Parliament is ready with its position.

Economy, finance and budget

The Polish Presidency is expected to steer a number of ongoing negotiations to conclusion, and to open others that are ready for talks, including the bank crisis management and deposit insurance framework.

Parliament has been waiting for the Council to reach a general approach on a series of other economic and financial topics. From among these files, the Polish Presidency wants to make progress in particular on the payment services package, the digital euro files, the Union Customs Code and Customs Authority, and the Late Payment Directive. In the field of taxation, Poland wants to continue work on administrative cooperation and energy taxation.

In the area of the budget, the Presidency is keen on starting talks with the Parliament and closing the legislative process on Moldova’s Reform and Growth Facility, once Parliament is ready.

Migration

The Polish Presidency is ready to start trilogue negotiations on the two files on smuggling of migrants (relating to transport operators and Europol) and on the revision of the Visa Suspension Mechanism when Parliament is ready. The presidency is also keen to start negotiations on the EU Talent Pool once the Parliament establishes its starting position, possibly in the second half of the Presidency’s term. The presidency expects to find agreement with Parliament on the recently proposed temporary derogation from the Entry/Exit System.Expected new versions of the Returns Directive (early 2025) and the instrumentalisation of migration are two priority subjects the Polish Presidency would steer in the Council once the Commission has tabled them.

Justice and home affairs

Both institutions are ready to start trilogue negotiations on combatting child sexual abuse and combatting corruption. They will continue negotiations on protection of victims of crime, compulsory licensing of patents and the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation. The presidency will continue work on rules to prevent unauthorised entries to the EU, judicial cooperation for the protection of adults, harmonising insolvency law and third-country interest representation.

Environment

Trilogue negotiations are currently under way on the Soil Monitoring Law and the Waste Framework Directive. The Polish Presidency intends to start negotiations with Parliament on several other important files for which the Council has already agreed on its position. These include priority substances in groundwater pollution, the Green Claims Directive, the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services, detergents and surfactants and the three files of the ‘one substance one assessment‘ package. The presidency will strive to reach a general approach on the proposed regulation on end-of-life vehicles.

Internal market and trade

On the files on the safety of toys and alternative dispute resolution for consumers, trilogue negotiations can start immediately. The Polish Presidency intends to start interinstitutional talks as soon as Parliament has a position on the screening of foreign investments. It will also continue in-house negotiations to find a full general approach on harmonising insolvency law.

Transport and tourism

Transport is another area where several topics have stayed in the pipeline of trilogue negotiations. The Hungarian Presidency kicked off talks on driving licences, driving disqualification, the single European railway area and on the Maritime Safety Agency. The Polish Presidency wants to make progress inside the Council on maximum weights and dimensions (for vehicles) currently blocked in the Council, the transport of animals, the Combined Transport Directive revision and on the long-stalled topic of air passenger rights. It will be able to start trilogue negotiations on river information services and the Package Travel Directive once Parliament establishes its mandates. Work on a pending revision of the roadworthiness package will start as soon as the Commission tables the proposal, the presidency said.

Employment and social affairs

The Polish Presidency will start negotiations with the Parliament on European Works Councils and restart them on the Coordination of social security systems. In addition, the Polish Presidency takes over the task of finding a general approach on the Traineeships directive and the long-stalled Equal Treatment Directive. The presidency also wants to conclude work on the Eurostat-related file on population and housing statistics.

Agriculture and fishery

The presidency expects to negotiate with the Parliament on the welfare of dogs and cats.

It will also concentrate its efforts to encourage Member States towards general approaches on new genomic techniques for plants, and the marketing of plant and forest reproductive material, files on which Parliament stands ready to start negotiations, and on forest monitoring, on which neither institution has a position yet.

Health security

Poland will continue the previous presidency’s efforts to clinch a deal on a general approach on the two files of the pharmaceuticals package, as comprehensive drug safety is among its priorities.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Priority dossiers under the Polish EU Council Presidency‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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