Warsaw, 04/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - When it comes to foreign policy, the two priorities of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council will be neighbourhood policy and the process of democratisation, said Radek Sikorski, Poland's Foreign Minister, speaking in Warsaw on Friday 1 July. The eyes of Poland are turned not only towards the east but also to the southern Mediterranean. Belarus, Ukraine and the southern Mediterranean will therefore be key issues.
Speaking on the current situation, the Polish minister said that “Tunisia has the greatest chance of success” for achieving democratisation as quickly as possible. Several aspects point to this, he said, such as the political freedom and equality granted to women there. On the other hand, the Polish minister said he was far more pessimistic about the situation in Egypt. Developing a new approach in EU external relations with the south should also mean that “we can avoid ever again being as surprised as we were with the Arab Spring”. One of the measures recommended by the Polish minister is a more flexible approach to the funding of NGOs in authoritarian states. Aid to these organisations should not depend on their recognition by the local authorities as is the case today, and which is “ridiculous”, the minister said. The new approach could be applied for example in Libya. Poland thus hopes to soon set in place a “training programme for democrats”. Furthermore, the SENSE (Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise) simulation programme has already been developed and allows, in the form of a video game, for the “simulation of state management”. It has been proposed to those opposed to the Gaddafi regime so that they may start preparing the management of the country before entering Tripoli.
The next Eastern Partnership summit end September in Warsaw will be the first test in real time of the Polish Presidency's efficiency in foreign policy. The aim is to increase the EU's political and economic cooperation with six countries of Central Europe and the Southern Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). The invitation for the Belarusian authorities is maintained, the Polish minister said, while ruling out the possibility that President Lukashenko attends in person. Sikorski trusts that, after the summit, the “Commission will present an ambitious action plan”.
Radek Sikorski spoke of his wish to serve as a “deputy” to Catherine Ashton, the head of the European diplomatic corps, with a view to helping her manage an “agenda that is untenable for just one person”. He considers that the “ministerial troika could support the high representative in areas where she considers this necessary” - a solution that is not, however, provided for in the Lisbon Treaty. The Polish minister will chair the Cooperation Council with Kazakhstan, and represent the high representative during visits scheduled in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The risk entailed by this practice is that it will make the post of high representative more fragile. (J.K./transl.jl)