Macron visited Gdańsk for talks with Tusk and to attend a Polish-French intergovernmental summit, the first such event since the two countries signed a treaty on enhanced cooperation and friendship in May last year.
Tusk said last week the discussions would focus on strengthening European security, including cooperation involving France’s nuclear capabilities, amid growing geopolitical instability.
"How to build Europe’s strength, how to build the sovereignty of Poland, France and Europe, and how to cooperate on security, including using France's nuclear potential—these will be key issues," Tusk told a news conference on Friday.
He said the talks come at a time of shifting US strategy toward Europe, the Middle East conflict and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tusk stressed the importance of maintaining strong transatlantic ties and expressed hope that the United States and Europe would remain united in supporting Ukraine, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
"Our American friends must understand that the European Union is the best thing that has happened to Europe," he said, warning against efforts to destabilise the bloc.
Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka said ahead of the talks that they would also address the possible eastward expansion of a NATO fuel pipeline network, a move aimed at strengthening both military mobility and energy security across the alliance.
Macron arrived in Poland accompanied by a contingent of government ministers, including those in charge of defence, foreign affairs, culture and energy, media outlets reported.
Tusk and Macron were scheduled to take part in a series of ceremonies in Gdańsk, including laying flowers at a monument to the victims of the 1970 shipyard protests and visiting the European Solidarity Centre.
The summit coincides with the first observance of Polish-French Friendship Day, established under the bilateral treaty signed last year in Nancy, northeastern France.
The agreement includes mutual security guarantees and expanded cooperation in defence, industry, agriculture, science and culture.
Tusk said last month that Poland was in talks with France and a group of European allies on an advanced nuclear deterrence programme.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info, gov.pl