In his inauguration speech, Minister Radosław Sikorski talked about the need to halt Russian imperialism through increasing NATO member states’ spending on armaments.

“Russian imperialism and belligerence have not yet destroyed the world order we have built over recent decades. These are times of trial, not yet of mourning. NATO and the European Union need to adapt to the new circumstances,” said the chief of Polish diplomacy. “Times are changing quickly. Truths that have long been taken for granted no longer necessarily hold. To people willing to defend the existing order I recommend an old saying by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, from The Leopard: If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change,” added Minister Sikorski.

Afterwards, the head of Polish diplomacy and Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová took part in a discussion “Europe in 2024: A Year of Reckoning” on the challenges currently faced by the EU countries. The panel was also attended by: Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Stefano Sannino, Mark Leonard - founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the moderator and head of Financial Times’ Brussels office Henry Foy.

“We must stress that 2024 is not a transitional year [...] it must be clearly demonstrated that we will not wobble, that we will stand up to the permanent threat posed by Putin,” noted Stefano Sannino.

Mark Leonard noted that ending the war, as promised by Donald Trump, will not bring a durable peace in Ukraine: “We need to make sure that we talk about durable peace [...] there will eventually be a settlement but not on Russian terms but oh which Ukraine is able to be a strong party.”

Věra Jourová was asked about Brussel’s accelerated action in offering Ukraine the EU membership. The enlargement process goes surprisingly well, but this “well” refers mainly to the incredible work of Ukrainians [...] it is amazing that under war conditions they are working on reforms which are uneasy even for countries which function in peace [...] it is important that this spring Ukraine delivers a report on how it has proceeded with the reforms,” said Věra Jourová.

After the panel, Minister Sikorski talked with the Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová about Russia’s destabilisation operations targeting the European Union as the result of Western support to Ukraine fending off Russian aggression. The two officials also discussed threats posed by Russia to democratic processes in Europe, particularly in the context of the coming elections to the European Parliament.

Commissioner Jourová stressed the importance of cooperation of the EU member states and the EU institutions on countering disinformation. Minister Sikorski assured the Commissioner of Poland’s cooperation with the EU in this area, agreed on the need to strengthen instruments to tackle disinformation, and highlighted the role of the free media in providing the public with reliable information.

 

Photo: Sebastian Indra/MFA