Polish premier Tusk seriously considering top EU job

WARSAW/BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is seriously considering a proposal that he take the post of president of the European Council, a Warsaw government spokeswoman said on Thursday, linking his decision to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine.
Earlier several sources familiar with the selection process said Tusk, a center-right pro-European, is clear favorite for the top job when European Union leaders meet for a special summit on Saturday.
"European leaders are increasingly strongly persuading Donald Tusk to assume the post of president of the European Council," Polish government spokeswoman Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska told Reuters. "The prime minister is treating this proposal very seriously, analyzing its consequences for Poland, its security, especially in light of the Ukraine crisis."
If confirmed, his appointment to chair and steer policymaking meetings of EU leaders would be a victory for the 10 ex-communist central and eastern European countries that joined the EU a decade ago. They have demanded that one of the top jobs go to a candidate from their region. It would also consecrate Poland's rise as a major player in the 28-nation bloc alongside EU founders France and Germany.
Tusk's government has been among the most hawkish in Europe over Ukraine, pressing for tougher sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea and involvement in an uprising by pro-Moscow separatists in the east of the former Soviet republic.
The Kremlin's retaliatory measures have hurt Polish food exporters but Warsaw has demanded that NATO beef up its military presence in Europe in the face of resistance from other European allies.
Two Brussels sources said current council president Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs and prepares EU summits, is consulting fellow leaders on a package deal in a round of telephone calls on Thursday and Friday.
"Van Rompuy is to call EU leaders today and if no one is opposed to Tusk there is a deal," a person involved in the process said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the consultations.http://ca.reuters. com