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Sekretariat Ministra
Warszawa, dn. 21 listopada 2011 r.
PROJEKT WYSTĄPIENIA MINISTRA SPRAW ZAGRANICZNYCH RP
PANA RADOSŁAWA SIKORSKIEGO
W KOMISJI SPRAW ZAGRANICZNYCH PARLAMENTU EUROPEJSKIEGO
23 LISTOPADA 2011 R.
Mr. President,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
I had a chance to meet with many of you at the Enlarged Bureau of
AFET in February. Now I am pleased to talk to the entire Committee on
Foreign Affairs.
It’s little over a month before the Polish Presidency in the Council wraps
up.
We are at a tough juncture in the European Union.
Greece is on life support. So is the euro. Rating agencies question the
health of our banking systems. Markets are jittery. The European project
appears sagging.
Amidst gloom and doom, let us not overlook light flickering at the end of
the tunnel.
Nowadays, there’s more newspaper headlines hailing “Europe heading
for economic governance” than those screaming “Europe heading for a
financial meltdown.” 79% of Europeans today endorse EU coordination of
economic policies; 8 percent more than two years ago.
The Chinese have a saying: “Better to light a candle than to curse the
darkness.”
The Polish Presidency realizes that extraordinary junctures call for
extraordinary measures - innovative, far-sighted solutions.
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Europe, or rather more Europe, is key to overcoming the malaise and get
on the road to recovery.
We have sought to rekindle faith in the European integration. For my
country and many others, it has proved a recipe for economic growth and
sound political governance.
The Polish Council Presidency has managed to bring negotiations on the
“6pack” to a successful conclusion.
During the October European Councils and the Eurozone Summit
together we have made great strides towards economic governance. This
includes augmenting the capacity of the European Financial Stability
Facility, delineating the eurozone governance structure and recapitalising
the banking sector.
Our goal is to make the EU more credible, competitive and strong.
Strengthening the Eurozone is one side of the coin.
But enlargement of our community, a more ambitious neighbourhood
policy, including the Eastern Partnership, as well as the European
Endowment for Democracy and the energy community – are another side of
the same coin.
Some have blamed the enlargement for Europe’s economic woes. But,
scapegoating misses out the truth.
The admission of 12 new members to the EU since 2004 has contributed
to an increase of about 0.5% in output in the old Member States. Trade
turnover between the West and East of Europe has increased threefold.
Enlargement has beefed up the EU’s economic weight to 31% of the world’s
GDP.
Enlargement works. That’s “elementary” logic.
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I am glad that the European Parliament has kept the enlargement and
the neighbourhood policy high on the EU agenda
The Polish Presidency has managed to finalize work on the text of the
Accession Treaty with Croatia. I trust very much that European Parliament
will agree to its signing.
Croatia will set an example for other Western Balkan countries provided – and I want to stress that – that they fulfill required conditions.
During the last intergovernmental conference in October we closed two
chapters in negotiations with Iceland. We want to keep up the progress.
We are committed to keeping the negotiations with Turkey on track.
However, Ankara should fulfill the criteria defined by the European
Commission.
For those who cannot yet join the European Union we have the promises
of the European Neighbourhood Policy, including the Eastern Partnership
(EaP).
We are satisfied with the results of the Warsaw Eastern Partnership
Summit. It acknowledged the European aspirations of our Eastern
European neighbours and boosted association agreement negotiations and
efforts to liberalize the visa regime.
In October you told Minister Gryshchenko in no uncertain terms your
views about developments in Ukraine. We hope the sentencing of Yulia
Tymoshenko does not herald a further deterioration of democracy. We
expect cooler heads in Kiev to prevail. The signing of the Association
Agreement may be too precious a carrot to miss.
Ahead of us are negotiations on deep and comprehensive free trade
agreements (DCFTAs) with Georgia and Moldova.
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Ukraine and Moldova, most advanced in implementing Action Plans on
visas, must be rewarded for their efforts.
We have to stay the course in strengthening the rule of law, rooting out
corruption and reforming public administration in the Eastern partners.
The recently established Eastern Partnership Academy of Public
Administration in Warsaw will pitch in.
Now, about the “sick man of Europe” – Belarus. 19th December 2010
proved a watershed. That night a chasm between the rulers and the civil
society got deeper. The voice of the latter will not be gagged for good.
The EU should have an ace up its sleeve to offer Minsk once political
prisoners are let go. This could be a well-calibrated program of reforms and
a package of EU financial and technical assistance designed to entice
Belarusian authorities to democratize, and emboldening the civil society.
The European Parliament has a valuable role to play in crafting such an
offer.
We want to help Russia Europeanize itself and to tie it closer to the
European Union.
We have spelled out this objective in a joint Polish-German letter to High
Representative. It’s our way of supporting Lady Ashton in her task of
steering external relations.
This Polish-German initiative to stimulate EU relations with Russia was
discussed at the last Foreign Affairs Council.
We propose to hold „Sopot meetings” devoted to strategic partnerships.
The first meeting, possibly in early 2012, should focus on Russia.
A partnership with this country, based on a constructive engagement
and responsibility, would be a great opportunity.
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Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization is a positive step.
We are glad that Russia and Georgia have cleared away obstacles.
The cooperation with Kaliningrad Oblast will yield dividends for the EU
and Russia. By enhancing people-to-people contacts, and in full compliance
too with Schengen standards, also stimulating cross-border trade, as well as
addressing the environment, it will be a test-case of our relationship.
That is why Poland is keen to amend regulation 1931/2006 on Local
Border Traffic (LBT). A majority of EU Member States support extending it
to Kaliningrad. We appreciate the Parliament’s support as well.
We hope that the upcoming vote in the European Parliament and then in
the Council will conclude the negotiations on this legal act, possibly even by
the end of the Polish Presidency.
While supporting changes in Eastern Europe, Poland is not oblivious to
fires burning in the Tahrir Square and apprehension in North Africa.
Through Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity and a
reformed European Neighbourhood Policy, the European Union has quickly
stepped up to the plate. As I told our friends in Egypt and Tunis, the
transition is fully in their hands. Europe may only assist it.
We can do so more effectively once the European Endowment for
Democracy gets up and running. This flexible tool would allow us to help
quickly those at the frontlines of peaceful struggle for democratic change.
In a recent letter co-authored with Lady Ashton, we outlined proposed
modus operandi of the Endowment.
We suggested establishing the European Endowment as an International
Fund founded by participating Member States and EU institutions. It would
be brought to life by a founding declaration signed by a pioneering group of
Member States and institutions.
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We hope the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council will endorse it.
I welcome the European Parliament’s input into the discussions on the
setup of the EED.
Last, but not least, Poland has been busy contributing to external
dimension of the EU energy policy.
We appreciate the European Parliament’s strong voice in the discussion
on the Council’s conclusions and the Commission’s Communication.
The Energy Community Treaty should be deepened and extended as a
basis for relations with our neighbours.
The future accession of Turkey and especially Georgia and Azerbaijan to
the Energy Community would boost energy security.
A diversification of gas suppliers, sources and routes into the EU is a
mute point without a viable Southern Energy Corridor.
As I emphasized in conversation with many Honourable Members, we
should also explore the potential of shale gas.
The extraction of shale gas would at once meet the demands for energy,
address climate change, and rebalance Europe’s energy partnerships.
This issue requires sustained impassioned interest by the European
Parliament.
So much for plans of the Polish Presidency.
Bringing them to life will require support and cooperation with the
European Parliament. I count on it very much!
Both the Presidency and the European Parliament care for nothing more
and nothing less than an integrated Europe, thriving economically,
anchored in a stable, democratic neighbourhood.
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Oprac.: R. Domisiewicz na podstawie wkładu DPEUR
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