Polish president swears in Tusk's new government
Polish President Andrzej Duda had sworn in Poland's new government under Donald Tusk almost two months after the elections, the Polish Press Agency reported on Dec. 13.
The Polish parliament elected Tusk as the prime minister on Dec. 11, ending the eight-year rule of the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS).
Returning to his third term in office, Tusk pledged to restore relations with the EU and to calm ties with Ukraine following several rocky months.
While Warsaw has been a steadfast ally to Ukraine even under the previous PiS government, several issues have put a strain on mutual ties, including grain import disputes and the ongoing border blockade.
Polish carriers have been blocking trucks at several border crossings since November in protest of the EU's liberalization of permits for Ukrainian carriers.
Tusk has pledged to put an end to the blockade and to address the demands of Polish protesters.
Experts also believe that the appointment of Radoslaw Sikorski, the country's former foreign minister, back to the top diplomatic post can help stabilize Warsaw's relations with Kyiv.
At the same time, the Polish People's Party (PSL), which entered the government as part of the Third Way coalition, is close to Polish farmers and signaled a tough stance on the grain import issue.
With the PSL's Czeslaw Siekierski as Poland's new agriculture minister, the party indicated it intends to maintain the ban on Ukrainian grain imports and even expand the list of banned products.
Michael Richter
