In the context of the May elections to the European Parliament, which started a new EU institutional cycle, Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz presented a vision of a strong, democratic and efficient EU that Poland wants to co-develop. According to the minister, the EU should provide economic well-being to its citizens and effectively counteract threats inside and outside the EU. The chief of Polish diplomacy drew attention to the fundamental questions that the EU needs to answer: how best to serve Member States and their citizens in strengthening their security and prosperity; how to level out differences in the standard of living of the citizens of all Member States and how to build its international role. “The EU’s role in the world will be determined by its ability to actually solve problems, its dynamism, its innovative economy and the attractiveness of the European model of democracy,” argued Minister Czaputowicz. 

 

In his lecture, the MFA head also called for greater democratic legitimization of the European Union, pointing to the role of national parliaments whose greater role in the EU decision-making process will help to rebuilt citizens’ trust in European institutions. “Attempts to force one integration model result in a perception of the ‘European project’ as a ‘project for the elites’ alienate many social groups and fuel Eurosceptic sentiments,” he explained. The minister also said that Poland advocates defending the values that underpin European integration such as equality, justice, democracy, respect for sovereignty and non-interference into the internal affairs of other countries. “Poland’s vision of the European Union’s future reflects a wider position of Central European countries that joined the EU 15 years ago, which was recently expressed in the Warsaw Declaration of 1 May this year,” observed the head of the Polish MFA.

 

Minister Czaputowicz thinks that a strong European Union is a Union that is engaged in a more active policy with its neighbourhood. “We are advocating an open European Union,” said the chief of Polish diplomacy referring to Poland’s presidency of the Berlin Process this year and celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. “Closer relations with our Eastern neighbours are regarded by us as an investment in a stable future for the entire united Europe,” underscored Minister Czaputowicz.

 

The chief of Polish diplomacy also referred to Polish-German relations in the context of the future of the European project, stressing the role of mutual contacts, not only at the government level, but also between societies. “In building on the things that bring us closer together and unite us, we should develop cooperation that is beneficial for both sides and for the European project,” said Minister Czaputowicz. 

Minister Czaputowicz’s address at the Humboldt University in Berlin was delivered as part of the lecture series, ‘Humboldt-Reden zu Europa’. These speeches are invariably popular among outstanding European politicians and they attract a wide audience. The lecture cycle was started in 2000 by the then German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. In 2006, the late President Lech Kaczyński delivered his speech there.

 

While in Berlin, the chief of Polish diplomacy also met with members of the Polish community in Germany. During a debate, Minister Czaputowicz underscored that the affairs of the Polish diaspora in Germany are of priority importance for the Polish authorities. He also reaffirmed the Polish government’s commitment to talks with the German side concerning the implementation of very important postulates of the Polish community in Germany, including demands for teaching the Polish language.  

 

On the sidelines of his visit to the German capital, Minister Czaputowicz held talks with CDU Secretary General Paul Ziemiak. They discussed cooperation between the two countries, elections to the European Parliament and this year’s commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Tymon Markowski/MFA