EU Welcomes Tusk

"It's a real pleasure to receive my good friend Donald Tusk ... Poland is a very important partner, and the voice of Poland matters," a buoyant EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told journalists in Brussels.

When Tusk arrived in the Commission - the EU's executive - Barroso met him with a beaming smile and an ebullient handshake which would not have been out of place in a Christmas grotto.

And Tusk replied in kind, referring to a new relationship of trust between his government and the Brussels apparatus at least half a dozen times in his opening remarks and joking that he was relieved to have been allowed in after having given a marathon three-hour introductory speech to Poland's parliament 10 days ago.

Even Barroso's spokesman, Johannes Laitenberger, received an ovation when he introduced Tusk in Polish - a linguistic feat met with cheers and whistles by the large contingent of Polish visitors.

A breath of fresh air after Kaczynskis

It was all a far cry from the tempestuous diplomacy of earlier times. Under Tusk's predecessor, the pugnacious Jaroslaw Kaczynski, relations between Brussels and Warsaw strained to breaking point.

In 2007 alone, Kaczynski clashed bitterly with the EU over issues ranging from the vote allocated to Poland under the new EU Reform Treaty to the construction of a bypass road through a nature reserve.

And his abrasive defence of Polish interests won him few friends in Brussels, where he was widely regarded as failing to understand the delicate system of compromises by which the EU functions.

"They seem not to have got the idea of give and take," one senior Brussels diplomat commented, in a reference to Kaczynski and his twin brother Lech, Poland's current president.

Indeed, under the Kaczynskis Poland seemed set to win the title of Europe's "chief troublemaker," as the twins threatened to veto a deal on the Reform Treaty at two successive summits.

Tusk victory welcomed with relief

Tusk's convincing win in parliamentary elections on October 21, and his pledge to restore normality to the relationship with Brussels, was hailed with relief in the EU's capital.

"We discussed the future in a spirit of trust - of 'zaufanie,' to use the Polish word," Barroso joked on Tuesday, winning a cheer of his own from his audience. Tusk has made trust his government's watchword, and used the word some 45 times in his first speech.

And while many issues could still dampen the festive spirit - the bypass dispute, cod fishing quotas, energy security, and US plans to site parts of its missile shield in Poland, to name but four - both men were convinced that they would no longer spoil the party.

"When we speak openly about things that can become a problem, both sides quickly find solutions," Tusk said.

Even the end of the visit raised a cheer as Laitenberger wished his audience "goodbye and good luck" in near-faultless Polish.

Festive goodwill in the capital of Europe

With the new spirit of cordiality shining through the gloom of a Brussels December, both Barroso and Tusk looked delighted with their Christmas message of peace in Europe and goodwill to all men.

Whether that festive spirit will translate into a happy new year for their relationship remains to be seen.