Von der Leyen Will Skip Press Conference with Navrotsky Amid Conflict with Tusk
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided not to participate in a joint press conference with Polish President Karol Nawrocki. According to Bloomberg, she is taking this step to support Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk amid an escalating political and constitutional conflict in the country. At the same time, the European Commission attributed her absence to scheduling conflicts.
Ursula von der Leyen was scheduled to speak at a press conference on Thursday, November 5. The event was planned to take place after a meeting of the presidents of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The leaders of these countries gathered in the Slovak city of Trenčín, in the western part of the country. All four states are members of the so-called Visegrád Group. Initially, the European Commission President considered the possibility of not attending the summit at all. However, she later changed her mind. According to sources who spoke with Bloomberg, her team feared that canceling the visit entirely would draw undue attention and provoke a negative reaction.
Ultimately, von der Leyen decided to attend the meeting but skip the press conference afterward. The publication’s sources claim that in this way she wanted to demonstrate her support for Donald Tusk and avoid giving the impression that the European Union supports Karol Nawrocki’s position.
This decision was made against the backdrop of an escalating standoff between the Polish president and prime minister. Nawrocki and Tusk represent different political camps, and their conflict is already affecting the functioning of state institutions. In particular, the disputes concern issues related to the judicial system and the powers of the government, which have become part of the constitutional crisis in Poland.
At the same time, the European Commission denied that von der Leyen’s decision was politically motivated. Commission spokesperson Paula Pigno stated that her absence from the press conference was not related to recent events in Poland. According to her, the reason was a long-standing scheduling issue for the European Commission president. Thus, the theory that this was a political gesture in favor of Tusk is currently based solely on information from Bloomberg sources. Officially, the European Commission attributes the change in plans specifically to scheduling issues. Bloomberg reports this, citing its own sources.
