The President of the European Council faced strong backlash from Warsaw after suggesting Poland’s right-wing Government was heading towards a European Union exit.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Tusk said that he had “no doubts” Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party aimed to “unburden itself of EU restrictions”.
But the comments have now sparked the ire of Secretary of State for European Affairs Konrad Szymański, who accused Mr Tusk of throwing fuel to the fire.
He said: “This is an absurd thesis. It looks as if he is praying for this to come true, because then it would better for him to perform a political function in this country.
“We will not create this ease for Donald Tusk nor the Civic Platform (PO).”
Mr Szymański signalled Mr Tusk’s comments were a clear sign of “ill will and false care” towards Poland’s Government.
He added: “If this was said by a politician from the farthest corners of Peru for instance, than I would not be surprised with such an amiss evaluation.”
Mr Tusks’s comments followed months of bickering between Warsaw and Brussels over a controversial overhaul of Poland’s judiciary.
Towards the end of December last year, EU bosses Jean-Claude Juncker and Frans Timmermans ramped up their offensive against Poland and triggered Article 7, threatening to strip Poland of its EU voting rights.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki flew to Brussels on Wednesday to settle the score with Mr Juncker head on, but Mr Tusk appeared to dismiss the attempts for peace.
The former Polish Prime Minister said: “Poland – and this is shocking for Europe and not only for the pro-european Poles – is rebelling against everything that is important to Europe.
“And it is happening with intent, because I do not think, that Poland’s leadership is, lightly speaking, enthusiastic of our presence in the Union.”
Mr Szymański now criticised Mr Tusk for attempting to dishonestly portray the ongoing political discourse between Poland and the European bloc.
The Deputy Foreign Minister said: “These things have been happening for two years now. Chairman Tusk can see this very well from Brussels’ perspective.
“I do not understand why he is presenting such a caricaturized picture. It is almost as if he wants it to be this way.”
The Polish Minister underlined that Warsaw is not looking to escalate the conflict even if the Polish Government disagrees with the EU’s expectations.
He said: “We know what the expectations are and what the European Commission analysis is. In most cases we do not agree with them.
“There were no declarations, because there was no such expectation. These are serious talks.
“They cannot rely on someone approaching the table, presenting their document and saying ‘please fulfil it’. That conversation would not make any sense.”
He added: “We are hoping for concrete dialogue.”