Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper that upon taking over chairmanship of the European Union in the second half of this year, his country would advocate a faster expansion of the EU towards the east, announcing indirectly Poland's support for Croatia.
In an interview published on Saturday, Tusk said that the growing European preoccupation with the south should not come at the expense of the east. He said that the priorities of the Polish EU presidency would inevitably include the east, given the implications for southern Europe of events in north Africa, but added that the EU could not allow the events in north Africa to block the enlargement of the EU.
"Can someone explain to me why Croatia should suffer because of Gaddafi?," wondered Tusk whose country takes over EU chairmanship from Hungary on July 1.
The Polish PM also supported the integration of Belarus and Ukraine with the EU despite the fact that in Belarus there is "a dictator (Alexander Lukashenko) still in power", and that the "historically undemocratic Viktor Yanukovych" had won elections in Ukraine.
"We should believe in the strength and vitality of the values which constitute the EU and which neighbouring states can believe in and aspire to join," Tusk said.
