Macron, Tusk set to define support for Ukraine ahead of Poland's EU presidency

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Poland this Thursday to discuss European support for Ukraine following his meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on Saturday. 

According to the Elysée Palace, Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will discuss the issue of European support for Ukraine "in a new transatlantic context, as well as with a view to the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2025".

Macron's visit to Warsaw comes as Tusk announced that the French President would "inform him of the results of the discussions" on Saturday at the Elysée Palace with Trump and Zelensky, a meeting he described as "brief but important". 

Donald Trump – who will take office at the White House on 20 January – has called for an immediate ceasefire and for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, the day after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian President expressed his "deep gratitude" to the Republican billionaire for his "strong determination" to put an end to the war with Russia.

Winter peace talks?

Tusk has also maintained that peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine could begin this winter.

The Polish prime minister – who is a staunch backer of neighbouring Ukraine and will take over the rotating EU presidency from Hungary next month – also announced a series of upcoming talks with foreign officials.

"Our [EU] presidency will notably be co-responsible for what the political landscape will look like, perhaps how the situation will look during [peace] negotiations, which could begin – though there are still question marks – in the winter of this year," Tusk told reporters on Tuesday.

Poland has been a strong Ukraine supporter since Russia invaded nearly three years ago and serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.

Opposition to Mercosur deal

Meanwhile, Macron and Tusk will also discuss the forthcoming European summit on 19 December, and "reaffirm their desire to give new impetus to the bilateral relationship between France and Poland".

In the name of defending European agricultural interests, both France and Poland are opposed to the free trade agreement concluded last Friday between the European Commission and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries.

The agreement – which aims to create a vast market of more than 700 million consumers – still needs the approval of at least 15 Member States representing 65 percent of the EU's population, and then a majority in the European Parliament.

During his visit, the French President will also hold talks with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.