Warsaw, Jan 1 Poland took over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on Wednesday, marking the start of 2025. This is the second time Poland has held the presidency since 2011.
Under the motto "Security, Europe," Poland will focus on seven dimensions of security during its enure: external, internal, informational, economic, energy, food, and health.
Poland's presidency coincides with the beginning of a new five-year institutional cycle, providing an opportunity to set strategic goals, propose solutions and start processes for the next five years.
"Our presidency will therefore be an opening presidency. We won't focus on how many matters we can finalize, but on how many we can set a new tone for," said Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, deputy minister for EU affairs.
Over the next six months, Poland will host more than 300 administrative and ministerial meetings, including 22 informal councils involving EU ministers, Xinhua news agency reported.
However, an informal summit of EU leaders is scheduled for February 3 in Brussels, rather than Poland.
A ceremonial inauguration of the presidency will take place on January 3 in Warsaw.
Poland, together with the three other EU member countries in the Baltics, has accused Russia of orchestrating hybrid attacks including "intimidation, the instrumentalisation of migrants, sabotage, disinformation, foreign information manipulation, and interference".
Last month, Russia had announced that it will close the Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg starting January 10, 2025.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the move was a response to the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan on November 30 by the Polish authorities.
Moscow had accused Polish authorities of following an "openly hostile policy" towards Russia in recent years, adding that one of the manifestations of this approach was the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan.
On October 22, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski had announced that Warsaw has decided to close the Russian Consulate in Poznan and expel diplomats for alleged sabotage attempts.
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