Tusk announced his decision before a Cabinet meeting.
"I will propose Agnieszka Bartol, our sherpa, ambassador and Poland's representative to the European Union, a longtime employee of the European Council, to take over," Tusk said.
He described Bartol as a "leading expert on European affairs," including EU funds, "not only in Poland, but across Europe."
The announcement came after Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz resigned as Tusk's minister for EU funds and regional policy last week.
Tusk said he had discussed Bartol's appointment with deputy lower-house Speaker Szymon Hołownia, the founder of the Poland 2050 group, which was allocated the EU funds and regional policy portfolio in 2023 as a junior partner in Poland's ruling coalition.
He said he also consulted Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), another junior coalition partner, and parliamentary Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, leader of the New Left, which is also part of the ruling coalition.
Tusk said the ministry needed to work smoothly to ensure Poland "does not lose a single euro" of the large sums of EU funding his government has managed to unlock since coming to power in 2023.
Meanwhile, President Karol Nawrocki's spokesman said on Tuesday that Nawrocki would swear in Tusk's nominee to replace Pełczyńska-Nałęcz and Finance Minister Andrzej Domański as a deputy prime minister at the same ceremony.
Spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz said the appointments would take place after Tusk submits a request to the president for the latest changes to the government.
Asked when the ceremony could take place, Leśkiewicz told broadcaster Polsat News that "it will definitely not take long," adding that the next move was up to Tusk.
Tusk said last Tuesday that he would ask Nawrocki to appoint Domański as a deputy prime minister. Pełczyńska-Nałęcz announced on Thursday that she was leaving the government and stepping down as leader of Poland 2050.
Leśkiewicz said there had "never been any doubts at the presidential palace about the procedure" for appointing Domański to the new post.
He accused the governing coalition of trying to convince the public that Nawrocki would fail to meet the constitutional requirements for the appointment.
At the same time, Leśkiewicz sharply criticized Domański's performance as finance minister.
"The presidential palace assesses Minister Andrzej Domański very poorly," he said, calling him "the worst finance minister in the history of post-communist Poland."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (right) and Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański (left). Photo: PAP/Albert Zawada
He added that the prime minister bears overall responsibility for the government's policies.
Leśkiewicz said the presidential palace had not planned to delay changes to the government, but that Pełczyńska-Nałęcz's departure created an opportunity to make both appointments at a single ceremony.
Tusk, announcing his request to appoint Domański as a deputy prime minister, said he was "very proud of the work of the finance minister" and called Domański "a truly outstanding minister."
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Source: IAR/PAP, TVP Info