A series of institutional appointments characterised last weekend agenda of the highest Polish state authorities. On the table, preparation works ahead of the EU informal Summit to be held in Bratislava next 16 September. Meetings started on Friday 26th when Polish President Andrzej Duda met with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor in Dubrovnik, Croatia, at the two-day Three Seas Initiative Forum. In their exchange of views, the two discussed the situation in Ukraine and the North Stream gas pipeline projected from Russia to Germany, bypassing Poland.

Talks also included the future of the European Union and the EU’s Eastern policy, more specifically. The two leaders, along with those attending the Forum, agreed on the necessity of defining a common position after Brexit claiming a more balanced weight within the EU institutions for members of the Eastern “block”.

At the same time, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło welcomed prime ministers of the Visegrad Group and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a high-level meeting in Warsaw. In the aftermath, she expressed the “need to draw conclusions from Britain’s decision” and “to think about what reforms of the EU are necessary to allow it to function better, to develop better, so that there is no temptation in other countries to leave. After the UK leaves, there will be changes which we will have to face. Our most important task is to make sure the EU remains a strong entity which guarantees security for its citizens”.

On Saturday 27th, the PM herself participated in a round of talks with Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos during a one-day visit to Romania. “Our goal is to strengthen the EU” Szydło said at a joint press conference, following the talks. The Polish PM added that “the role of EU institutions should be redefined, in particular, that of the European Commission”. As regard a potential revision of the EU treaties, Szydło said that “Poland and Romania wish to play an active role in this debate. We would like to outline our proposals.”

Within the same context, Foreign Ministers of Poland, Germany and France met on Sunday 28th in Ettersburg as representatives of the Weimar Triangle, a group established in 1991 to enhance military cooperation between the three countries. Topics included the future of the EU after Brexit, the immigration crisis, the EU’s Eastern policy and the situation in Ukraine as well as the threat from terrorism. “We want to strengthen the EU and the foundations of European integration, improving it and demonstrating its ability to act,” the ministers jointly declared after the meeting. On Monday 29th, the foreign ministers will jointly open a conference of German ambassadors in Berlin. Whereupon, Poland’s Waszczykowski will travel to Budapest to participate in a conference of Hungarian ambassadors and, together with foreign ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, will attend in a panel about the Visegrad Group.

The Bratislava Summit will be the first without the UK Prime Minister. It represents a great chance to discuss the institutional structure of the EU and the voting power in the Council as well as the shape the European governance and policy will take. The intense diplomatic activity of the Polish government reflects the country’s awareness of playing a leadership role in the region both within the EU and the NATO. Strategic relevance and “specific gravity” are widely recognized by most of its neighbouring and, in the light of this, Poland has a leading responsibility in negotiating and defining a common “block” position upon European issues, defending the interests of Central and Eastern European EU members without compromising close and good relations with the others.

Read more (Official website of president of Poland) >>
Read more (Aboutcroatia) >>
Read more (Radio Poland) >>