New pro-EU Polish PM Donald Tusk fleshes out programme

Mr Tusk wants Poland to have a leading role in the EU

New Polish PM Donald Tusk has laid out his programme for government, promising major change after eight years of nationalist government.

The plans include improving relations with the European Union and pledging to restore the rule of law, the focus of a long-running row with Brussels.

He has promised women better access to legal abortions, despite ideological differences in his coalition.

He also pledged support for Ukraine and to be a strong US and Nato ally.

His speech came as the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Poland was violating the rights of same-sex couples by denying them legal recognition and protection.

Five same-sex Polish couples brought the case after registry offices refused to hold marriage services for them because the country's constitution states that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.

The ruling is subject to appeal.

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The speech came ahead of a vote of confidence in his proposed government, which he later won by 248 votes to 201.

In it, Mr Tusk said an isolated Poland was 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 the strong position of Poland is, respected in the world and in Europe," he said.

"That Poland will regain the position of leader of the European Union."

Mr Tusk, who is a former president of the European Council, said his first foreign trip would be to Brussels, where he would make efforts to unblock more than €35bn (£30.1bn; $37.8bn) in EU recovery funds held up over Brussels' concerns about rule of law.

The European Commission has taken legal action against Poland's previous right-wing Law and Justice (PiS)-led government for introducing reforms that undermined judicial independence.

His second trip will be to Tallinn to meet leaders from the Baltic and Nordic states.

He said there were different opinions within the coalition, which ranges from agrarian conservatives to the left, about how far to liberalise the almost complete ban on abortion.

But he said the government would work so that women have access to legal abortion.

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He said his government would try to mobilise the West to fight war fatigue to continue to help Ukraine. However, help for Ukraine would not come at the cost of Polish entrepreneurs and farmers, he added.

Mr Tusk said uncontrolled migration was a challenge, adding it was possible to construct a policy that would both secure Poland's borders and treat migrants humanely.

The PiS government was accused of sanctioning pushbacks against migrants and dozens of people have died trying to cross into Poland from Belarus, NGOs say.

The new government will be sworn in by President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday.

The day was marred by a stunt by an anti-Semitic MP

But the day was marred by an incident in which far-right MP Grzegorz Braun put out candles recently lit on a menorah in the parliament for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah using a fire extinguisher.

Mr Braun was thrown out of the building and the case has been referred to the Prosecutor's Office. Parliament officials have halved his salary and suspended his MP's allowance for six months.

Mr Tusk described the incident as unacceptable and a disgrace.

Mr Braun is a member of the small Confederation party who is known for his extreme views. Confederation has 18 MPs in parliament and is not part of the incoming coalition government.