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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. 1 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 Oprac.: R. Domisiewicz na podstawie wkładu DPEUR 7