Polish ex-Prime Minister Donald Tusk has taken over as EC President today. Naturally, Ukraine featured prominently in the first comments he made in the new job (from RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels):
Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was inaugurated as President of the European Council on December 1, marking the first time a politician from a former Soviet bloc country has occupied such a high-ranking European Union post.
Tusk succeeds Herman Van Rompuy, a Belgian who served two consecutive terms at the position since its creation in 2009.
Tusk's agenda includes working for the recovery of the EU economy and negotiating with Russia on multiple issues.
Tusk has accused Russia of "expansionism" and has criticized the seizure of Crimea and military intervention in eastern Ukraine.
He has backed EU sanctions against Russia, despite the cost to the EU economy, saying failure to react to Russia's actions in Ukraine would have "catastrophic" consequences.
Ahead of his inauguration, Tusk said he "comes to Brussels from a country that deeply believes in the significance of a united Europe."
(With reporting by Reuters)