The meeting focused on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and on the European Union’s relations with Africa.

While discussing the war in Ukraine, Minister Rau called for a substantial increase in sanctions pressure on Russia and in military and financial assistance to Ukraine in order to not only make it possible for the latter country to prevent further aggression, but also to win. He appealed for the high momentum of the accession process to be maintained, and for helping Ukraine implement the reforms required to carry on with this process. The minister found it incomprehensible to allow EU entry for Russian tourists, or Russian nationals, who predominantly support the criminal policies of their country’s authorities. He called for the full suspension of the EU visa facilitation agreement with Russia and for the suspension of issuing tourist visas to be agreed by all member states—just as Poland has done since the start of Russia’s aggression.

During a meeting with heads of diplomacy of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, Poland’s chief diplomat stressed that the recognition of EU prospects for the three countries had been a decision of strategic importance for Europe’s security and prosperity. He encouraged the partners to implement the priority reforms identified by the European Commission and to ensure full alignment of measures with the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. The European Union, for its part, should support its partners in implementing reforms and ensure that the accession process is swift and reliable. The Polish minister stressed that it is necessary to adapt to the new conditions of the Eastern Partnership, a grouping which gives all the six EU partners an opportunity to foster regional cooperation and ties with the Union. He said that the EaP project, launched by Poland and Sweden more than a decade ago, has been an indisputable success and considerably helped the three countries get prepared to apply for EU membership.

On EU-Africa relations, Minister Rau supported the effective implementation of arrangements made at the European Union–African Union Summit held in Brussels on 17–18 February 2022. “Intensification and strengthening of the Europe-Africa partnership in trade, infrastructure links, and fair energy transition will encourage economic growth and inclusive democratic governance,” he said. The minister underlined that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine made it even more urgent to prevent adverse effects of Russia’s presence in Africa by helping our African partners increase resilience of their state institutions, mitigate food crisis, and counter Russian disinformation. He furthermore emphasised that Warsaw is involved in coordinated diplomatic efforts aimed at providing reliable information to third country partners on the global impact of the Russian aggression.

 

Łukasz Jasina
MFA Press Spokesperson

 

Photo: B. Peterman/MFA