Do widzenia - waving goodbye to the Polish presidency

The first Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union is drawing to a close. Meeting the press on 16 December 2011, Secretary of State for European Affairs Mikołaj Dowgielewicz took stock of the main results.

© Fotolia. Tomasz Bidermann

In the area of economic and monetary policy, the Polish presidency saw an agreement on and the entering into force of the "six-pack" - maybe the best-known of the European Union's recent legislative acts. Agreement was also reached on the EU's budget.

On 24 November, the Council adopted conclusions on the external dimension of the EU's energy policy. Reaching an agreement on this issue had been one of the presidency's priorities, and Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak stated that these conclusions were "a major achievement of the Polish presidency". Agreement was also reached on the substantial issues in relation to the European patent, while talks were still ongoing as regards the location of the patent court.

On 9 December, prime minister Donald Tusk was one of the signatories of the accession treaty with Croatia. "The decision of Croatia … shows that the EU has a profound significance", he declared.

More information:
Article on press conference (on presidency website)
Pictures taken at the press conference
Website Polish presidency