Tusk - 'EU crisis not just in banks but in our hearts'

PM Tusk in European parliament, Wednesday morning: photo - EPA

Tusk told MEPs this morning that the “European Union is at a crossroads: it can be a community or [indulge] in national egoism.”

He added that Europe must remain united in the face of the finance crisis.

Europe requires strong political leadership, not only for the duration of this crisis, but also in the future,” Tusk told MEPs.

Tusk said that Poland's presidency “was the presidency of a people determined that Europe can perform the best it can” and "who are serious about Europe as a community."

Splits in the EU in current weeks shows that "the crisis is not only in our banks but also in our heats,” Tusk said.

The UK’s refusal to take part in anti-finance crisis measures demonstrates, sadly, that "the United Kingdom has became an island once again, and the English Channel has became wider than a few weeks ago."

Last night, the Polish PM had dinner with leaders of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the bloc of christian-democrat MEPs in the European Parliament of which Tusk's Civic Platform is part.

Spokesman for the Polish presidency, Konrad Nikiewicz said before Tusk's speech to MEPs that the head of government will mention several successful breakthroughs which happened under Poland's turn at the helm of the EU presidency.

These include the passing of the so-called 'six-pack of measures to fight the finance crisis and the signing of the agreement for Croatia to join the EU in July 2013.

The 'six-pack', “substantially strengthens the EU's economic management and allows for reforms contained in the fiscal package, agreed to last Friday [in Brussels],” says Nikiewicz.

One agreement which has eluded Poland is the one that it hoped to sign with Ukraine on closer diplomatic and trade ties between the ex-Soviet nation and the 27-nation bloc, which has been delayed after the trial and imprisonment of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Denmark will take over from Poland when it takes up the EU rotating presidency on 1 January next year. (pg)