The transition, steered by the future chief of staff,
Piotr Serafin
, is working on finalising the list of staff members for the next European Council President, Donald Tusk. "Some names seem a certainty but there are sill vacancies," an EU source told
Europolitics
. "Based on the current cabinet, the team is expected to have around 16 members, not counting assistants."
As things stand, Luxembourg national
André Gillissen
, head of unit, trade, at the Council Secretariat-General, is expected…
Two confidants
Donald Tusk will be bringing two close aides with him to Brussels. His future chief of staff, Piotr Serafin, is well versed in the intricacies of Brussels politics and has a large network in the EU capital. Born in 1974, an economist and lawyer by training, he was named to Poland's European Integration Committee in 1998, where he played an active role in his country's EU membership negotiations. Recognised for his negotiating and calculating skills, he took part in all the major EU negotiations. In 2010, he became deputy chief of staff to Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski, before being named state secretary for European affairs and European affairs adviser to Tusk. Serafin had a hand in Poland's success in the negotiation of the 2014-2020 budget. Pawel Gras has been a close aide to Tusk for a long time. Although his exact job in Brussels has not yet been formally defined, the future Council president states that his duties will include contacts with the European Parliament and other member states and Polish affairs in the European context. After studying law and political science, this former IT entrepreneur focused during his career as MP on questions of defence and reform of his country's intelligence services. Since leaving the government spokesman's job in early 2014, he has served as state secretary without portfolio at the prime minister's office.
