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Polish FM underlines "effective" foreign policy in 2016

Xinhua, January 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski on Friday outlined the country's foreign policy priorities in 2016.

In a speech delivered in Sejm, the lower house of Polish parliament, Waszczykowski said the priorities include political and economic cooperation with the United States, development of relations with the Middle and Eastern European countries and Britain, friendly and sincere relations with Germany, and pragmatic relations with Russia.

He assured that the government's policy will be "courageous and realistic, but first of all, effective".

Waszczykowski pointed out that Europe was affected by "uncertainty and instability", and that Europe was "weakened by recession, divided between different visions of the European project development and encircled by wars, taking place on its threshold".

He believed Poland must face three crises affecting Europe -- security crisis, neighborhood crisis and the crisis of the European project.

The conflicts and geopolitical destabilization, according to the minister, affect especially eastern and southern neighborhood of the EU.

He underlined that it was in Poland's interest to maintain the EU's unity and cohesion. According to the him, the condition of EU's successful development was due to "respect for equality and subjectivity of member countries".

Regarding the refugee crisis, Waszczykowski said the EU should regain control over the flow of the people coming to Europe by protecting the external borders and cooperation with non-EU countries.

He said Poland was not evading its duties, but the condition under which the country could accept refugees was "full verification" of their identity and their choosing Poland as a target country on voluntary basis.

Waszczykowski also said that the government's policy priority will be ensuring security to the country and its citizens, including military security, borders' stability, and economic security.

He underlined the need to strengthen the NATO's presence on its eastern flank. He also expressed hope for deepening cooperation in the security field between the EU and NATO. He reminded that in 2016, the presence of American forces in Poland will increase, due to the construction of anti-missile defense base in Redzikow, and expressed hope for more US support to strengthen NATO eastern flank security.

As far as Polish-Russian relations are concerned, Waszczykowski emphasized that it is in Poland's interest to "maintain the open communication channels with Moscow", as well as "pragmatic and factual relations" between the two countries. He announced Poland's intention for constructive dialogue. He also underlined Polish support for Ukrainian sovereignty and its territorial integrity.

The Foreign Minister also underlined the importance of an active economic diplomacy, which aims at expanding the export of Polish goods and products, especially to markets as far as Asia, such as China. Enditem.