Theresa May to storm EU summit as the union prepares to re-elect Donald Tusk

UK Prime Minister Theresa May to storm the EU as the union prepares to re-elect Donald Tusk as the Council president, as it is alleged to be Mrs May’s last EU leaders’ summit before she triggers the long waited Article 50 by the end of March.

Report has it that Mrs May will attend the first day of the Brussels summit, where leaders from the 28-country bloc will discuss migration, security and economic growth.

But she will leave after dinner on Thursday night, to pave way for the remaining 27 leaders to discuss the next summit - in Rome on 25 March - which will celebrate the EU's 60th anniversary.

Although Brexit is not officially on the agenda at the EU summit but Mrs May has used these occasions to discuss Brexit-related issues with other leaders, for example the status of EU nationals in the UK.

The summit may be overshadowed, however, by a diplomatic headache regarding Mr Tusk. This is because the Prime Minister of Poland Beata Szydlo wrote to the Mrs May and other leaders of the EU for them to get rid of the current president Donald Tusk. As he is being accused of influencing domestic politics.

The bitter row between former Polish Prime Minister Mr Tusk and Ms Szydlo's Law and Justice Party has led to Warsaw suggesting a challenger for the job - Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski.

The disagreement will come to a head at the commencement of the conference, when leaders of the union will vote on whether Mr Tusk should continue in the role until the end of November 2019.

If not carefully handled, the quarrel could potentially bring about huge implications for Mrs May, as she needs support of EU leaders to get her Brexit negotiations through, once Article 50 is triggered.

Though Mrs May’s spokesman reportedly said that she will not make public her plan for the EU election, but said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that she thinks that he (Mr Tusk) is doing a good job."