It is understandable that the announcement of the Polish government's programme for its future presidency of the Council of the EU has not given rise to much comment or reaction because 2011 is still a long way off! Poland will chair the EU in the second half of 2011, after the Swedish Presidency, the Spanish Presidency, the Belgian Presidency and the Hungarian Presidency. So why is Poland publishing its plans so far in advance? Some observers say the reason is to make it clear that the Polish priority will be the development of an EU defence policy. This would be a U-turn on traditional Polish views. I still see before me images from a debate a few years ago when a leading Polish figurehead set out areas where Poland had great expectations from Europe, but he ruled out military issues - Poland's security depended on the United States and only the United States. He said that the EU was all hot air in this domain and in the face of any threat from Russia, the only solution for Poland was joining NATO and being protected by the United States.
Ambitious aims. Has the subsequent change been gradual? Possibly, taking the example of the restrictions in the US guarantees to Georgia. But the key turning point is very recent - coinciding with the United States' dropping of the planned anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. This decision by the US, Russia's welcoming of it and Poland and the Czech Republic's disappointment have quashed the myth that the shield would have protected the West against threats of atomic bombs from Iran. In reality, it was aimed at Russia as was already known, and the reactions to its dropping did not even attempt to hide the fact. The information currently available suggests that the defence Europe promoted by Poland would: a) have a fleet of military transport planes; b) greatly boost the EU arms agency; and c) have a deputy EU foreign minister with responsibility for security in addition to the high representative/vice-president of the European Commission/chair of the External Relations Council. There would also be new procedures for the purchase of military supplies and possibly “EU preference”.
The future Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU would also have other priorities, like the common energy policy, new financial perspective, improving competition policy (particularly on state aid), and extending the EU's partnership with its neighbours to the East. It is clear that such a programme would mean Poland finally putting an end to its reluctance and mistrust of the European project and nailing any leftover misunderstandings and past bitterness on the head. The new class of politicians in Poland should be congratulated for this - along with Berlin's positive attitude (never reacting to the provocations of various Polish figureheads). Bronislaw Geremek's Poland has taken over from the Poland of the Brothers Kaczynski.
Start by finishing ratification process. Poland has always understood the point and the aims of the European construction process, but some fringes of public opinion have taken longer to understand. Several factors have contributed to this (decisive support for farming, university work around the College of Europe in Bruges, funding for the reconstruction of religious monuments, and the like), especially the gradual awareness that Europeans share the same strategic interests and that EU solidarity is essential for reassuring Poland with regard to its age-old fear of the Russian superpower, which these days takes the form of fears of energy supply disruption rather than military aggression. Even the controversies about aspects of EU legislation have ended up playing a positive role at the end of the day, whether the issue of the Polish plumber or the success in Europe of various FIAT cars manufactured in Poland.
The full significance of the plan Poland has announced will be seen when the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty has been completed. The development of an EU defence policy is vital for underpinning the future common EU foreign policy and will be just as important as the euro in terms of sealing European unity. Announcing that defence Europe will be the priority of the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2011 will help clarify some of the areas where the Lisbon Treaty is rather vague, like the role of the European Parliament.
(F.R./transl.fl)