Foresight
Politics
Poland’s 2025 Presidential Race: Tusk’s Patriotic Gamble
21 April 2025
Mark Rutte has said that NATO must prepare for war. Donald Trump has said he will ‘definitely’ impose tariffs on the EU. In response, European meetings will focus on war readiness.
EU27 leaders gather today for an informal meeting in Belgium, designed to foster ‘bold, innovative decisions’ on defence investment. Trade and competitiveness ministers will also meet in Warsaw to talk economic security. Then on Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen travels to Gdańsk with her commissioners.
This will provide a symbolic background for talks on security, given Gdańsk’s connection to Polish democratic hero Lech Wałęsa, its Second World War museum, and memories of how Europe failed in Westerplatte – and so what it must do now to succeed.
GLOBAL/REGIONAL