Drawn up by the Polish Economic Institute, the document was presented during the debate “EU Reforms: Inputs from Poland”, which was hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. Introduced by Piotr Arak, the Institute’s director, the report sets out a vision of the EU’s institutional reforms, and suggests pragmatic changes aimed at enhancing Brussel’s democratic mandate.

“The tension that arose between the East and the West over migration policy is not dangerous to the Union’s future,” said Poland’s deputy foreign policy chief. As he pointed out, Central Europe has been involved in all EU migration, political, and financial initiatives, regarding this issue as a common problem. Deputy Minister Szymański went on to add that the dispute over fiscal responsibility between the North and the South represents a much more serious area of tensions when seen against the background of protectionism and the currency union. “What we need to do together is to make the European process more legitimate. The European nations must feel that they are in control of democratic processes,” emphasized the MFA deputy chief, adding that a strong European Union can only be based on strong nations.

The debate was also attended by Manuel Sarrazin, a Green Party representative on the Bundestag Committees on Foreign Affairs and on the Affairs of the European Union, and Chair of the Polish-German Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag, and DGAP representatives Daniela Schwarzer and Milan Nič.

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo: Dirk Enters / DGAP