New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk presented government program

(Patria) - New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk presented his government program, promising major changes after eight years of nationalist government, reports the BBC.

Plans include improving relations with the European Union and a promise to restore
the rule of law, which has been the focus of a long-standing dispute with Brussels. He promised women better access to legal abortions, despite ideological differences within his coalition. He also promised support for Ukraine and to be a strong ally of the US and NATO.

His speech followed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Poland violates the rights of same-sex couples by denying them legal recognition and protection. Five Polish same-sex couples filed a lawsuit after registry offices refused to register their marriages because the country's constitution states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. The decision is subject to appeal.

The speech preceded a vote of confidence in his government, which he won with 248 votes in favor and 201 against. Tusk said that an isolated Poland is the greatest danger to the country's security.

“I don't think I need to convince anyone how important the durability of our alliances is, how important Poland's strong position, respected in the world and Europe, is,” he said.

“Poland will regain its position as a leader in the European Union,” he added.

Tusk, who is the former President of the European Council, said his first trip abroad would be to Brussels, where he would strive to unblock more than 35 billion euros in EU recovery funds that have been held up in Brussels.

The European Commission had taken legal action against the previous Polish right-wing government led by Law and Justice (PiS) over reforms that undermined judicial independence.

His second trip will be to Tallinn to meet with leaders of the Baltic and Nordic states. He said that within the coalition, which ranges from agrarian conservatives to the left, there are differing opinions on how far to liberalize the near-total abortion ban. But he said the government would work to ensure women have access to legal abortion.

He said his government would try to mobilize the West to fight war fatigue in order to continue helping Ukraine. However, aid to Ukraine will not come at the expense of Polish entrepreneurs and farmers, he added.

Tusk said that uncontrolled migration is a challenge, adding that it is possible to build a policy that will both secure Poland's borders and treat migrants humanely. The PiS government was accused of sanctioning the rejection of migrants, and dozens of people have died trying to cross into Poland from Belarus, according to NGOs.

The new government will be sworn in before President Andrzej Duda today.