Brussels, 28/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - One month before assuming the Presidency of the European Council, Nicolas Sarkozy was in Warsaw on 28 May to sign a “strategic partnership” with Poland which should establish the country as one of his allies on the European stage. In a speech to the Polish parliament, Nicolas Sarkozy stressed “France's will to associate more with Central Europe (and) to recognise Poland among the major actors of Europe". "The countries of the former Eastern bloc have long been considered second class citizens of the EU and have wanted greater dialogue with France", a French diplomat quoted by AFP said, adding: "Through this partnership we are demonstrating that we are not indifferent to them ". The Franco-Polish strategic partnership, like those concluded with Romania and, more recently, Hungary and Latvia, will cover the full range of cooperation and political and scientific areas such as defence and nuclear energy. On the latter subject, Paris has not hidden the fact that it is "very interested" in the Polish project with its three Baltic neighbours to construct a nuclear power station designed to replace the old reactor on the Lithuanian Ignalina site which was used by the Soviets in the 1980, the only Chernobyl-type reactor in the EU. (O.J.)