Toespraak EU-president Van Rompuy ter gelegenheid van het Pools voorzitterschap (en)

Remarks by President Van Rompuy following his meeting with President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski

It is an honour to be here in Warsaw to celebrate that Poland is taking over, for the first time, the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This is a momentous occasion.

After thorough preparations, you take on today new responsibilities for an intense period of six months, and beyond.

During the seven years that Poland is member of the European Union, you have experienced how to work with 26 partners, how to contribute to agreements, how to set a common course.

All Europeans are proud that the Polish are a leading member of the European family, after having played a pioneer go in the democratic changes of central and eastern Europe.

The European project continues to attract countries in our neighbourhood. For many, the Union symbolises the peace and prosperity of our continent.

As an example, the European Council paved the way last week for Croatia's accession to the EU.

This will bring new momentum to the European vocation of the countries in the Western Balkans. As mentioned during our discussion, Mr President, important decisions can be expected for some countries during the Polish Presidency, provided that they continue vigorously their reforms.

We also discussed about the importance of regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations. The Eastern Partnership Summit that will be held in Warsaw at the end of September will be an excellent opportunity to confirm the importance of the EU's relations with its eastern neighbours, and to inject momentum for our future cooperation.

We try to create "more Europe" bit by bit and step by step. And we succeeded also last year in the extremely difficult circumstances of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone.

We count on Poland to work with us now on a positive programme of economic growth and of busting employment. We can do more. We can do better.

I wish you Mr President a very successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union.