Polish president says goal is stronger Poland inside EU
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki said his task was to strengthen his country’s role inside the European Union, not challenge its membership, and that Warsaw aspired to lead both within the bloc and in its ties with the United States.
Nawrocki also addressed ties with China, saying he had held a “very good, constructive” meeting with the Chinese foreign minister in September and had received an invitation to visit President Xi Jinping.Photo: PAP/Przemysław Piątkowski
Nawrocki, speaking to the Polish conservative-liberal weekly Do Rzeczy, said he saw his role as building “a stronger Poland in the European Union” together with countries in the region that had warned of the bloc’s biggest crises.
“The European Union has changed, moving away from a certain foundation on which it was built,” he said, adding that his job was not to question EU membership but to lead in a way that reflects regional sensitivities and emotions.
“I understand my role as president of Poland not as someone who questions our presence in the European Union, but as a leader who, based on the countries of our region, our sensitivity and emotions, will build a stronger Poland in the European Union, also listening to those countries which warned about the Union’s biggest crises,” Nawrocki said.
He argued that many of those crises could have been avoided if Western European leaders had heeded warnings from Central and Eastern European states and allowed open debate.
“Perhaps there would not even be a war in Ukraine, because there would have been no Nord Stream 2 and no pumping of billions of euros into the Russian Federation. But no one wanted to listen,” he said.
Nawrocki said Poland aimed to push for change from within. “Poland has aspirations to become a leader in the European Union, and also a leader of transatlantic relations between the European Union and the United States,” he said.
“I see my role as leading the European Union out of the bend it is currently on and waking up those who have made so many mistakes. All this so that the Union is stronger also thanks to our commitment and our experience,” he added.
Turning to relations with Kyiv, Nawrocki said ties with Ukraine must be balanced and mutually respectful, while remaining a long-term strategic priority for Poland.
“My approach to relations with Ukraine is the same as to our other partners. I count on symmetry in our relations and we should return to that symmetry,” he said.
“Poland has supported and supports Ukraine financially, militarily and logistically. That is our long-term, strategic interest. However, these relations cannot have a negative impact on Poles,” he said, adding that this was the only thing he expected from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy – “that he looks at our relations in a symmetrical way”.
Nawrocki repeated that he had invited Zelenskiy to visit Poland. “I hope he will be my guest in Warsaw,” he said, calling on the Ukrainian leader to meet Ukrainians living in Poland, thank Poles for their support and bring “good news” on stalled exhumations in Volhynia, “which we are waiting for”.
The president also addressed ties with China, saying he had held a “very good, constructive” meeting with the Chinese foreign minister in September and had received an invitation to visit President Xi Jinping.
“As far as China is concerned, I did indeed have a very good, constructive meeting with the foreign minister of China. I then received an invitation to (the president of the People’s Republic of China) Xi Jinping and I believe such a visit will take place,” Nawrocki said.
“Poland has official diplomatic relations with China, and these relations, which are binding for the head of state, will be pursued on the international stage,” he added.
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Source: PAP
