Donald Tusk News

Russia on Monday ignored Western calls to release three Ukrainian naval ships it fired on and captured near Crimea at the weekend and accused Kiev of plotting with its Western allies to provoke a conflict.Kiev in turn accused Russia of military aggression and put its armed forces on full combat alert, saying it reserved the right to defend itself. Ukrainian lawmakers were due to decide whether to introduce martial law for two months later on Monday, a move President Petro Poroshenko…

The European Union on Monday called on Turkey to avoid threats and "refrain from any actions that might damage good neighbourly" ties after Cyprus, a member of the bloc, accused the Turkish military of obstructing a ship exploring for gas. Cyprus is one of several states, also including Israel and Lebanon, racing to tap gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. Greek Cypriots run Cyprus's internationally recognised government, while Turkish Cypriots have a breakaway state in the north - recognised only by Ankara - and say resources around the island belong to them too. Cyprus said on Sunday the Turkish military had obstructed a vessel contracted by Italian oil company Eni which was approaching an area to explore for natural gas.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Secretary-General Kitack Lim has written to senior European officials expressing his concern that including shipping in the European Union’s Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping on a global basis. In a letter to Martin Schulz (President of the European Parliament), Jean-Claude Juncker (President of the European Commission) and Donald Tusk (President of the European Council), Lim acknowledged that the EU had an ambitious policy for addressing emissions and recognised that Member States might wish to enhance the progress made to date. However, he cautioned against extending the EU-ETS to include ships.

European governments are torn over how to respond to China's defeat in a legal battle over the South China Sea, fearful of alienating their second-largest trading partner and hampered by a maritime dispute among their own members. China angrily vowed to ignore the ruling by a court in The Hague dismissing its claim to much of the South China Sea. Its envoy to Washington said the verdict would "intensify conflict and even confrontation", though he also said Beijing remained committed to negotiations in disputes over the vital trade route. Despite U.S. pressure on the European Union to take a stand on the issue, the bloc has so far been unable to agree a common statement, leaving diplomats to argue over the wording acceptable to all 28 member states.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use a visit to Turkey this weekend to try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe as questions about its effectiveness and long-term viability mount. The pact, which came into force almost three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. More than one million reached Europe last year. The deal initially slowed the numbers of new arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats have been coming again with about 150 people a day, indicating the "hermetic sealing" of the route appears to be over, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Europe's migrant crisis has kicked climate change off the agenda of EU leaders' talks this week, officials said, prompting accusations from green campaigners that the European Union has given up its leadership on environmental issues. Summit talks on Thursday and Friday had been expected to discuss December's Paris Agreement on climate change, which the European Commission hailed as an historic breakthrough. But it has since said it will not review until the next decade its target for cutting greenhouse gases, even though some EU nations and environmental campaigners say the Paris deal cleared the way for more radical action sooner. Another official said European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair the summit talks, "did not want to have a (climate) discussion".

The European Union proposed doubling the size of its Mediterranean search and rescue operations on Monday, as the first bodies were brought ashore of some 900 people feared killed in the deadliest shipwreck while trying to reach Europe. Three other rescue operations were underway on Monday to save hundreds more migrants in peril on overloaded vessels making the journey from the north coast of Africa to Europe. The mass deaths have caused shock in Europe, where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. "The situation in the Mediterranean is dramatic.

The European Union must create an energy union to secure its gas supply because the current dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in an article in the Financial Times. Russia, which provides around one third of the EU's oil and gas, sent shockwaves through the international community with its military intervention and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March. The action prompted the United States and its European allies to begin imposing sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and to threaten to penalise key sectors of Russia's economy if Russia escalates tensions with Ukraine.

DCT Gdansk, the leading Polish container terminal played host to one of the most important politicians in Poland, when on September 7, 2011, DCT was visited by Cezary Grabarczyk, Minister of Infrastructure in Donald Tusk’s government. The Minister of Infrastructure met with DCT Gdansk's CEO and a representative of Macquarie, the largest private infrastructure investor in the world, to discuss infrastructure priorities in Poland and the opportunities presented by the development of a major hub port in Gdansk for the Polish economy.

DCT Gdansk and Maersk Line have made a major step forward for the marine industry in Poland with the first regular E class vessels call to the Baltic Sea. In January 2010, Maersk and DCT started a revolution in the Baltic Sea by establishing a regular connection between the Far East and Gdansk served by 8,000 TEU vessels. With the upgrade to 15,500 TEU vessels - the largest in the world – the Baltic revolution is now in full swing. The maiden call of mv Maersk Elba gave cause for a two-day event during which many VIPs congratulated Maersk and DCT.

The arrival from China of the Rickmers-owned containership Maersk Elba at the DCT Gdansk terminal on 11 May marked a new era in Baltic shipping. At 13,092TEU and carrying containers 17-wide below deck and 19-wide on the hatchcovers, she is the biggest container vessel by far ever handled by a Baltic port. Whilst in the port, Maersk Elba was visited by many dignatories including Donald Tusk, Poland’s current Prime Minister, the iconic Lech Walesa, the former union leader who successfully ran for the newly re-established office of President of Poland in 1990…