Who is Donald Tusk and what does he do as President of the European Council?
DONALD Tusk is the former prime minister of Poland and outgoing president of the European Council.
But what's his background, what has he done as president, and was is his stance on Brexit?
Who is Donald Tusk?
Tusk was born in Gdansk in northern Poland, the son of a carpenter and a nurse.
His grandfather, a railway official, was imprisoned at the Neuengamme concentration camp before being released and joining the Polish Armed Forces to fight Nazi Germany with the Western Allies.
Tusk has credited his interest in politics to watching a clash between striking workers and riot police when he was a teenager.
He later studied history at the University of Gdansk, graduating in 1980, and was active in the Student Committee of Solidarity, a group that opposed the communist rule of Poland.
In 2001, he co-founded the Civic Platform party, becoming prime minister as leader of the party after the 2007 election.
He won re-election in 2011, but stood down three years later to assume the post of European Council president in December 2014.
He was re-elected to the post on March 9, 2017.
He has two children and is married to Malgorzata Sochacka.
What does he do as President of the European Council?
The European Council is a collective body with the EU made up of the heads of state or government of the union's member states.
The Council defines the EU's overall political direction and priorities, and is presided over by an appointed president.
The president is also the principle representative of the European Union on the world stage.
EU leaders appoint a full-time president for a term of two and a half years, and the president can serve a maximum of two terms.
Tusk will end his second term as president on 30 November 2019 and will be replaced by outgoing Belgian prime minister Charles Michel.
What is Donald Tusk's stance on Brexit?
Tusk has previously supported stronger political and economic integration within the EU, backing the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.
He regretted Britain's decision to leave the EU, saying after Theresa May triggered article 50: "We already miss you."
He was also a strong voice within the EU in favour of allowing Britain to extend article 50 if it asked to do so.
Speaking at the time, he quoted Winston Churchill, saying: "A problem postponed is partially solved".
In May, he said: "Today the chance that Brexit will not happen is, in my opinion, 20-30 per cent. That’s a lot. Nothing is irreversible until people believe it is."
Tusk has been a strong proponent of the Irish backstop, opposed by some Brexiteers, arguing it is a necessary instrument if a hard border on the island of Ireland is to be avoided.
What was his role in the triggering of Article 50?
At 12.30pm on March 29, the UK was set on a course to leave the EU.
Then-PM Theresa May sent an official letter invoking Article 50 to be delivered to Donald Tusk.
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Senior Foreign Office officials couriered the letter under tight security to the office of the UK’s representative to the EU in Brussels, Sir Tim Barrow.
Tusk confirmed he had received the letter in a press conference.