Parliamentary Assembly

I am very touched by having an opportunity to speak to you. Only a year ago I was sitting here in this hémicycle. I was and I still am a member of this Assembly. I feel as though I am at my own home. But my role has become different now. I represent a country – a country that is going along a long route which has never been travelled by anyone else.

Now we have a democratic country. Our economy has been unshackled from central planning. We live in a country that respects human rights and the rule of law, a country building its present and future on the body of basic values that belong to the political grammar of the west.

But even though only a few years have passed, the mood has changed radically, both in the east and the west. The euphoria, optimism, belief in the triumph of freedom and democracy all seem to have been replaced by prevailing feelings of concern, uncertainty and pessimism.

In both parts of Europe, people are debating the sources, strength and development of national and ethnic separatism and the influence of populism. They are trying to find out why civic solidarity loses in the conflict with aggressive nationalism. Some blame the present difficulties in the west primarily on the recession and unemployment which result in deplorable manifestations: economic threats of trade war between the world’s powers. Others underscore political problems: the evident crisis of state structures affecting many countries and the fragility of governments and traditional political parties. Those problems bring about apathy and the citizens’ withdrawal from public life and retreat into privacy.

Post-communist Europe faces problems which seem to be even more difficult. I do not need to talk about the immense tasks that challenge the Poles, as well as the other people who have just regained their freedom and sovereignty.

The transformations go very deep and entail serious social costs, as well as psychological costs that are difficult to estimate. Without leaving their own country, people feel like immigrants who have to learn a new world, new rules of behaviour or even a new language and like people who have to search for a new place for themselves and their families.

The atmosphere of depression and pessimism in the east and the west is reinforced by the tragic conflicts and savage acts in the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.

Those wars that are fought to capture land and people confront us with the question of the new role of the international community in maintaining and creating conditions for peace, in respecting human rights and rights of minorities and nations.

The triumph of democracy demands a high price to be paid both in internal affairs and international relations. We face huge tasks commensurate to the difficult end of the century. Those tasks are not just a problem of particular countries struggling to find a way to democracy and a development market economy; they concern everyone. The whole of Europe should search for solutions to the difficulties that are so great and severe that they cannot be reduced to problems of any one country.

Poland and other countries of our region are ready to participate in the creation of a new European order. We belong to Europe and we wish to take part in designing its new contours. We are also aware that a successful solution to our problems largely depends on the answer to the question of the shape that the new Europe will take.

The great challenges we face demand courageous thinking, long-term perspective and the ability to see beyond national, regional or group interests and ambitions. They demand strong will and strong European leadership. We must think not only about what others can do for us, but also about what we all can do for a culturally luminous Europe. To paraphrase the famous sentence by John Kennedy “Do not ask what Europe can do for yourself, ask what you can do for Europe.”

Ladies and gentlemen, what is it that we, Poles and central Europeans, can contribute to the work of the creation of a great European community?

A significant contribution we can make to a common Europe is through our commitment, our European passion and our belief in the value and importance of a common Europe.

Our complicated history has always made us turn to Europe. Europe has been the place where the fundamental elements of our common culture and civilisation have been preserved. We have turned to Europe not only for intellectual inspiration, but for models of political organisation and for economic ideas. Poland’s full membership of the Council of Europe was a sign of our return to Europe.

A significant threat posed by the present situation is the destabilisation of our continent. The source of this threat can be found in nationalist movements, ethnic separatism and in regional ambitions.

It should be emphasised that despite the very difficult point of departure, Poland is now a place of peace and stability. That is largely due to the tragic experiences in our history.

The stability and sense of security that the Poles now enjoy originate in large from the state of relations with our neighbours. Thanks to the foreign policy implemented by the successive democratic governments, we have very good relations with all our neighbouring countries.

To show better the significance of this achievement, let me stress the radical character of changes in our external situation over the recent years. A few years ago, Poland bordered on three countries: the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia. Today none of those countries is displayed on the map of the world, and Poland has now not three, but seven neighbours.

A major factor in Poland’s good relations with its neighbours is the fact that all the countries have mutually recognised the existing state borders. There is also no national minority in Poland that uses separatist slogans. The minorities in Poland enjoy all the rights guaranteed by international agreements. In this respect, Poland’s situation is exceptional among the states that have regained independence or, after the fall of the Soviet Empire, have started to lay the groundwork of their own statehood for the first time in their history.

Poland plays an important role in many regional projects which aim to bring the peoples of our part of Europe close together, and to ensure their close co-operation in creating conditions for peace and progress.

We have actively supported, and continue to support, the Vishehrad Agreement of four countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. An important stage in the development of co-operation within the “tetragon” area has been the introduction of a free trade zone called CEFTA. We view this co-operation as a step towards full integration with the European Community, as well as a vital factor of stability in the region, and a model of civilised and effective modernisation of countries moving out of communism.

What should be stressed is our effort to create other regional agreements: the central European initiative in the south, and the Baltic agreement in the north, not to mention the system of bilateral links with our neighbouring countries, developed to create conditions for peaceful co-operation to the benefit of all parties involved. With the same goal in mind, we promote transfrontier, local and regional co-operation.

Ladies and gentlemen, integration of Poland and other countries of the Vishehrad Agreement with the European Community and western security structures will not destabilise our continent, but, on the contrary, will be conducive to its favourable development and to a new balance established after the conclusion of the cold war.

Our economic potential, markets, proximity to the large countries of the east can all contribute to a dynamic development of the whole of Europe. Working towards close, political, military and economic ties with Europe, we do not wish to cut off and isolate the countries lying east of Poland.

We are convinced that the ties of Poland – the ties of the Vishehrad countries – with the European Community and Nato will also be beneficial to the countries that no so long ago belonged to the Soviet Union. For we can offer much to them when working together with western countries.

A trip to Moscow, Kiev, Vilnius or Minsk suffices to show how important the example of Poland and other central European countries is for the local way of thinking about reforms and democratic transformations. What is being discussed in those eastern countries is the experiences of our shock therapy, of the opening of our economy to the world, of the liberalisation of prices, the introduction of currency convertibility, of ownership transformations, of the advantages and disadvantages of the adopted party systems, etc. Our distinguished experts are invited to those countries to serve as advisers.

Our government lends its fullest support to ties of that kind. We consider it as our simple duty to share with those whom we are able to help.

We believe that we could do much more for those countries in agreement and co-operation with western countries. Our major assets are the knowledge of central and Balkan Europe, the knowledge of languages and of the problems those countries are facing while making their way out of the rubble of communism. Together we are able to do a lot of good for the countries that seek hope and assistance.

An agreement along the Paris-Bonn-Warsaw axis may bear particular importance in that respect. The idea of close co-operation along this line, which emerged some time ago, and which envisages periodic meetings of foreign ministers of the three countries, still awaits its raison d’être to be found. A large-scale project of assistance of the countries of the former Soviet Union – not only for Russia, which at present attracts the attention of the world – may actually serve this purpose, and the venture should be joined by other interested countries.

Poland knows the price of peace. Poland knows the price of freedom. Our national tradition has many times in history made us join the struggle for independence of other countries in the belief that it would also contribute to our own freedom. It is this belief that in the 19th century bore the slogan “For our freedom and yours”.

That tradition is still very strong in Poland. It finds expression, among other things, in Poles actively taking part in the work of international peacekeeping forces in different parts of the globe. We are ready to intensify our participation in the efforts of the international community aimed at maintaining and – hopefully in the future – at creating conditions for peace.

There are many lessons to be learnt from the tragic experiences of the peoples of former Yugoslavia. One of those lessons concerns the inadequacy of, and delays in, the response of the international community, including Europe. Those experiences should be very well thought through. What is necessary is a collective reflection on the conditions for the creation of effective safeguards of respect for human rights, for the rights of minorities and the rights of nations on our continent and in other parts of the world. We are ready to take part in the search for new answers and new solutions that could prevent the tragic Balkan events from happening again. We are also ready to participate in creating the conditions for permanent peace and justice.

Poland is ready to participate actively and carry relevant costs related to the common security of Europe’s democratic countries. We hope for a fast- moving process of integration with the Western European Union and Nato. We are glad to notice a growing western understanding of our security needs. Our security means greater security for Europe and for our eastern neighbours too.

There are problems which, due to their very nature, cannot be dealt with within the borders of individual states, or within the borders of communities or pacts. Those comprise new security problems which incorporate aspects other than those of a military nature, such as mass migrations, ecological threats, international crime, drug trafficking, radioactive substances and illegal arms trade. Situated in the area affected by those threats, Poland is vitally interested in searching for effective international solutions with regard to all those problems.

As far as migration problems are concerned, we are explicitly against attempts made by individual states to pass the responsibility for creating their own security conditions on to other countries. The only possible result of such an approach is an export to weaker countries of one’s own social and political tensions which partially derive from illegal immigration; the weaker countries are thus being transformed into some kind of refugee camps. In order to avoid that situation, bilateral agreements must be concluded between the countries involved and, first, purposeful action should be taken on a European scale.

If we are not able to solve our common problems together, there is a danger that, consciously or not, we will draw a new border between the east and the west, right along the line of the former border separating the two hostile blocs.

These are the major areas to which we can contribute in the process of constructing a strong, steady and integrated European Community. To allow our full participation in the collective effort, certain conditions must be satisfied by European Community countries. .

We expect a clear commitment by the Community to the idea of a common Europe. We await its unequivocal declaration stating that a common Europe is also a goal it seeks to achieve. We note with satisfaction every sign showing that our submissions are received with growing understanding. It is in this welcoming spirit that we receive, among other things, the suggestions of the European Commission addressed to member countries.

Europe has been our goal and our hope. This hope was, and continues to be, an important mobilising as well as stabilising factor.

That is vital not only for our countries, but also for all of Europe. The Community bears great responsibility not to let that asset be irreversibly lost. Power also means obligations to be met and responsibility to be assumed. The Community should not devote all of its attention to the undoubtedly important, but at the same time narrow problems of the Single Market. If it turns its back on its neighbours, that attitude must eventually backfire and affect unfavourably the Community itself.

A purposeful, open and dynamic policy from the Community towards our countries will be beneficial for the transformation and stimulation of the development of our political systems as well as for consolidation of our democratic institutions.

Opening the Community’s markets to products from central and eastern Europe is not only a requirement of a fundamental principle of justice, but also of economic logic. Despite the declared will of offering our countries assistance by conclusion of asymmetric European agreements, the facts and trade balances show that the main beneficiary of that exchange is the Community itself. The restrictive trade policy we face, a policy that is being implemented under the veil of diverse excuses, is doing tangible harm to our countries and undermines confidence in the Community’s good intentions. The policy gives rise to misgivings that group self-interest and the influential lobbies of various countries are able to impose their will at the expense of Europe’s long-term benefits.

Lack of imagination and wide perspectives in Community policy towards our countries may result in the strengthening of those parties and circles in central and eastern Europe that are against European integration. So far, those groups are still in the minority.

In our relations we need not follow the somewhat classical sequence: first economic integration, followed by political and defence integration. The character of our times forces us to accelerate the process of integration in all those aspects. Only political will and pragmatism should determine the order, pace and character of transformations as regards each of those areas of action. What is extremely important for us is not just changes in economic relations, but a growing sense of security and participation in the political decision-making process in Europe.

It should be stressed at this point that the political and defence integration, being advantageous for the whole continent, will also largely contribute to the consolidation of new and still fragile democratic institutions in our countries.

We can participate in the creation of conditions for stability and security in Europe while Europe can contribute to the consolidation of democracy and better development prospects in our countries.

Poland appreciates very much the assistance offered to us by the Council of Europe. In particular, we recognise the great value of helping us:

• in strengthening protection of human rights;
• in amending our legal system to get a full rule of law;
• in supporting local democracy and transfrontier co-operation;
• and in the whole scope of different training programmes.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are convinced that the primary challenge for the democratic and developed Europe, for both the European Community and EFT A countries, is finding a formula of integration with us, the inhabitants of the other Europe. Together we have to search for ways of building an all European community.

A long-term European policy should originate from the ideals of Jean Monnet and Robert Schumann, for whom the unity of western Europe was only to be a point of departure, a preparatory stage preceding creation of a common Europe.

This moment has now come. The window of opportunity opens before us. Let us not overlook it in an unconscious struggle for a vision of Europe that already belongs to the past. What we need is a political will inspired by those ideals, by the ideal of a broadened Europe, of a Europe that preserves the richness of the different identities of its peoples, but which is at the same time open and generous, of a Europe that is luminous with the value of its economic achievements and cultural creativity, and a sense of obligation towards weaker and poorer societies. It is only such an ideal of Europe that can render a purpose to our efforts and make true the bold vision of the Treaty of Rome.

Thank you for your attention.