https://www.scmp.com/rss/522119/feed The latest news and top stories on Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister. He returned to this role in 2023, having previously served from 2007 to 2014, making him Poland’s longest-serving prime minister since the fall of communism. Tusk also held the prominent position of President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019, where he navigated challenges like Russian aggression and Brexit. His current tenure focuses on restoring ties with the European Union, unlocking significant EU funds and... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press A former Polish justice minister sought in his homeland for alleged abuse of power says he has travelled from Hungary to the US, prompting prosecutors in Poland to say on Monday that they are investigating whether he was assisted in evading liability. Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party that ran Poland between 2015 and 2023. That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353176/polands-ex-minister-facing-prosecution-home-travels-hungary-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3353176/polands-ex-minister-facing-prosecution-home-travels-hungary-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 12:45:36 +0000 Sophie Wushuang Yi Sophie Wushuang Yi When US President Donald Trump announced that 5,000 US troops would leave Germany, the immediate reading in Western capitals was political: another round in Trump’s running quarrel with European allies, triggered by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of Washington’s handling of the war with Iran. For Beijing, the more interesting reading is structural. The drawdown coincides with a period in which Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spent much of 2026 cultivating a “partners not rivals”... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3352882/china-shouldnt-view-tired-us-signifying-europe-ready-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3352882/china-shouldnt-view-tired-us-signifying-europe-ready-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Secretary of State Marco Rubio left the Vatican on Thursday after seeing Pope Leo in what was expected to have been a fraught meeting following President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the Catholic leader over the Iran war. Rubio spent 2-1/2 hours at the Vatican before driving away in a convoy under tight security. He met initially Leo before ‌sitting down with senior Vatican officials, including top diplomat Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “The meeting underscored the strong... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352797/rubio-meets-pope-leo-vatican-defuse-tensions-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352797/rubio-meets-pope-leo-vatican-defuse-tensions-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 12:30:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France will expand its atomic arsenal and could deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries for the first time, as he unveiled an unprecedented plan to bolster security on the continent. Speaking from the Ile Longue nuclear submarine base as the clock ticks on his presidency, Macron announced that eight European countries including Germany, Poland, Sweden and Britain had agreed to participate in what he called a “forward” nuclear deterrence... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345189/europe-reacts-macrons-offer-deploy-atomic-weapons-frances-allies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345189/europe-reacts-macrons-offer-deploy-atomic-weapons-frances-allies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 19:40:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters The ⁠US remains Poland’s most ⁠important partner in military ⁠cooperation and Warsaw has been and will remain a loyal ally, but it can’t be a “sucker”, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech to parliament on Thursday. His comments reflect the ‌delicate balancing act that Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU government must perform in maintaining the strong transatlantic bond they see as crucial for national security at a time when US President Donald Trump is upending old... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344759/poland-tells-us-it-wont-be-sucker-trump-reshapes-nato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344759/poland-tells-us-it-wont-be-sucker-trump-reshapes-nato?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:51:36 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Luuk van Middelaar is the director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, a think tank he co-founded in 2022. A political theorist and historian by trade, he has written several books and was in the cabinet of the first European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy. Van Middelaar is widely read and cited across Europe for his analysis of the EU’s political evolution, with his books translated into many languages and awarded major European literary prizes. He writes regularly for leading... https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/world/europe/article/3342456/historian-trumps-new-world-order-ukraine-war-and-europe-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/world/europe/article/3342456/historian-trumps-new-world-order-ukraine-war-and-europe-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:20:36 +0000 Reuters Reuters The White House said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump was discussing options for acquiring ‍Greenland, including potential use of the US military, in a revival of his ambition to control the strategic island despite European objections. Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” the White House said in a statement. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338973/european-powers-rally-behind-greenland-face-renewed-trump-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338973/european-powers-rally-behind-greenland-face-renewed-trump-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:07:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “getting a lot closer, ‌maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the disputed Donbas region remained a key unresolved issue. The two leaders spoke at a joint news ‍conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks: security... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337959/trump-putin-do-not-support-european-ukrainian-temporary-ceasefire-idea-kremlin-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337959/trump-putin-do-not-support-european-ukrainian-temporary-ceasefire-idea-kremlin-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 19:03:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters The EU’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that same-sex marriages must be respected throughout the bloc and rebuked Poland for refusing to recognise a marriage between two of its citizens that took place in Germany, on the grounds that Polish law does not allow marriage between people of the same sex. “The spouses in question, as EU citizens, enjoy the freedom to move and reside within the territory of the Member States and the right to lead a normal family life when exercising that freedom and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334114/eu-court-rules-nations-must-recognise-gay-marriage-rights-across-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334114/eu-court-rules-nations-must-recognise-gay-marriage-rights-across-bloc?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:49:16 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham As they look to keep the United States engaged in Ukraine and push for lower trade tariffs, EU ministers lobbied their US counterparts for joint policies on China on Monday – even as new public opinion polling shows a waning appetite for such a partnership. The China carrot was dangled by successive ministers ahead of and after a meeting of the bloc’s trade council in Brussels, which was attended by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. This is despite... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334031/eu-ministers-court-trump-joint-china-policy-even-public-scepticism-grows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334031/eu-ministers-court-trump-joint-china-policy-even-public-scepticism-grows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 06:00:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A Polish court on Friday blocked the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and ordered his release, a ruling that was welcomed by Poland’s prime minister. Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 46, was arrested near Warsaw on September 30 on a German warrant. German prosecutors have described him as a trained diver and allege that he was part of a group that placed explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm three... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329479/polish-court-blocks-extradition-and-frees-ukrainian-suspect-nord-stream-blasts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329479/polish-court-blocks-extradition-and-frees-ukrainian-suspect-nord-stream-blasts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 17:43:49 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service US President Donald Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace and struck a more sympathetic tone on Ukraine’s chances of winning the war. He spoke as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following recent jet incursions that have alarmed allies. “Yes, I do,” Trump said when asked directly by a reporter if Nato allies should take down Russian aircraft during his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 01:52:32 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Poland is drawing on Ukraine’s expertise in battle-tested drone warfare, establishing joint military training programmes and manufacturing projects, officials from Warsaw and Kyiv announced on Thursday, just over a week after Russian drones entered Polish airspace and exposed Nato’s vulnerability to a new generation of uncrewed systems. Drones used for defence and attack have taken a central battlefield role in the more than three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, transforming how wars are... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326032/warsaw-turns-kyiv-drone-warfare-after-russian-drones-enter-polish-airspace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326032/warsaw-turns-kyiv-drone-warfare-after-russian-drones-enter-polish-airspace?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 13:21:12 +0000 Kandy Wong,Ji Siqi,Ralph Jennings Kandy Wong,Ji Siqi,Ralph Jennings The sudden closure of Poland’s border with Belarus has already caused logistical disruptions for users of the China-Europe Railway Express, analysts and industry players said, adding that Warsaw would be risking its position as a major transit hub between Europe and Asia if it allowed a prolonged shutdown. The nearly 400km (250-mile) boundary line has been closed since September 11, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk citing national security concerns over Russia-led military exercises taking... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325864/poland-border-closure-sets-speed-bumps-china-europe-railway-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325864/poland-border-closure-sets-speed-bumps-china-europe-railway-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 14:00:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in a “preventive” operation in Poland’s airspace on Saturday because of a threat of drone strikes in neighbouring areas of Ukraine, and the airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed, authorities said. The alert came after multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting Nato to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns about the expansion of Russia’s more than three-year war in Ukraine. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325452/poland-deploys-planes-airspace-due-russia-drone-threat-ukraine-closes-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325452/poland-deploys-planes-airspace-due-russia-drone-threat-ukraine-closes-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 16:24:30 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nato announced plans to strengthen the defence of Europe’s eastern flank on Friday, two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Warsaw has portrayed the drone incursions as an attempt by Russia to test the capabilities of Poland and Nato to respond. On Friday, Poland rejected Donald Trump’s suggestion that the incursions could have been a mistake, a rare... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325409/nato-boosts-defence-europes-eastern-flank-after-poland-shoots-down-russian-drones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325409/nato-boosts-defence-europes-eastern-flank-after-poland-shoots-down-russian-drones?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 23:16:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia and its key ally Belarus began major joint military drills early Friday, putting Nato on edge two days after Poland accused Moscow of escalating tensions by firing attack drones through its airspace. The “Zapad” exercises also come as Russian forces grind across the sprawling front line in Ukraine and escalate aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities. Nato’s eastern flank members that border Belarus - Poland, Lithuania and Latvia - are on high alert over the drills, which Belarus says will be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325314/nato-high-alert-russia-and-belarus-launch-major-war-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325314/nato-high-alert-russia-and-belarus-launch-major-war-games?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 07:06:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The United Nations Security Council announced it would hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss violations of Poland’s airspace, a day after Warsaw accused Moscow of carrying out a drone raid on its territory. Poland said the incident was not accidental, branding it an “unprecedented” attack on Poland, Nato and the European Union. Moscow denied targeting the country and said there was no evidence the drones were Russian. Stray Russian drones and missiles have entered the airspace of Nato... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325246/un-security-council-convene-over-drone-incursions-poland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325246/un-security-council-convene-over-drone-incursions-poland?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 15:15:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russia launched its largest air attack of the war on Ukraine overnight, setting the main government building on fire in central Kyiv and killing at least four people, including an infant, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone and missile barrage killed four people and caused damage across the north, south and east of the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions. “Such killings now,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324666/ukraine-government-building-ablaze-russias-biggest-air-attack-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324666/ukraine-government-building-ablaze-russias-biggest-air-attack-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 12:37:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump offered Wednesday to send more troops to Poland as he welcomed the country’s new nationalist president Karol Nawrocki to the White House with a military flyover. Trump also hinted at taking stronger action against Russia if it fails to end its war with Ukraine, which has put Nato ally Poland on edge since Moscow’s invasion in 2022. Nawrocki, a conservative historian and fervent Trump supporter, visited the White House during Poland’s election campaign and is now making... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324248/trump-offers-more-us-troops-polands-nationalist-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3324248/trump-offers-more-us-troops-polands-nationalist-president?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 18:44:05 +0000 Agencies Agencies Europe is drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. “President Trump reassured us that there will be [an] American presence as part of the backstop. That was very clear and repeatedly affirmed,” von der Leyen told the newspaper. The deployment is set to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3323839/europe-drawing-precise-plans-send-troops-ukraine-says-von-der-leyen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3323839/europe-drawing-precise-plans-send-troops-ukraine-says-von-der-leyen?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 19:51:37 +0000 Agencies Agencies Poland’s new right-wing President, Karol Nawrocki, took the oath of office on Wednesday and immediately came out with an anti-migration and anti-euro statement. “I will be the voice of the citizens who want sovereignty and security,” Nawrocki said in his inaugural speech. “No to illegal migration, yes to the zloty, no to the euro.” Poland does not currently have the European Union’s common currency, and the conservative nationalist Law and Justice opposition party, which backed Nawrocki, opposes... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320976/new-polish-president-pledges-change-constitution-attacks-euro-after-swearing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320976/new-polish-president-pledges-change-constitution-attacks-euro-after-swearing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:41:34 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain After years of strained relations and embargoes, Turkey is poised to become an “indispensable” defence partner for Europe, as Germany lifts its veto on advanced jet sales and the United States seeks to end a damaging arms dispute. Analysts say the changes reflect a recalibration of Europe’s security architecture – and the West’s strategic priorities – amid rising tensions with Russia. Germany last week dropped its veto on the sale of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Turkey, a fellow Nato member,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319945/how-turkey-re-emerged-wests-indispensable-defence-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319945/how-turkey-re-emerged-wests-indispensable-defence-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:00:16 +0000