Who is Tusk and what does he mean for the EU?

Opinion is divided on how he [Tusk] got the post. For some, such as Charles Grant, the director of the London-based think tank, the Centre for European Reform (CER), the EU appointed a Pole as “a signal to Russia” it will not tolerate war-mongering in the east.

...The CER’s Grant said the fact that Tusk, whose country has not yet adopted the euro, is to chair summits of eurozone states, will cause “institutional tension”.

“France wants to build up the eurozone summit as a separate institution and Tusk’s appointment might give it the argument he needs. We might see pressure from Hollande to create a separate chairman for eurozone summits”, Grant warned.

...Poland had nominated its foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, to be EU foreign policy chief (and commissioner). Polish diplomats say he might still take the energy portfolio if he can, noting that Belgians held both the EU Council post and the (decent) trade portfolio in the EU commission.

But with Sikorski known for his big personality, CER’s Grant said “there would be too many big Poles doing big jobs” for other countries to swallow.