The new transatlantic agenda – a view from Poland

Author: Dr Jacek Kucharczyk, President, Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, Poland

Publisher: Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, Poland
ul. Szpitalna 5, lok. 22
00-031 Warsaw
Poland
Tel: +48 22 556 4266
Fax: +48 22 845 6863
http://www.isp.org.pl


Analyses & Opinions, No. 6/90, January 2009

Analyses & Opinions is a series of policy briefs highlighting pressing issues and presenting policy recommendations.

The series is prepared with the support of the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe.
The present issue has been written and published as part of the project: “Shifting Euro-Atlantic Commitments? Continuity and Change in Poland’s Foreign Policy”, supported by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

  • Polish foreign policy and public opinion attitudes have become more ‘European’ since the early Bush era, when Poland supported the invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, Poland still differs from its key European partners such as Germany and France in its views on Russia and expects its viewpoint to be reflected in the debate on the new EU-US agenda.
  • Poland’s priorities for the new transatlantic agenda are regional rather than global. They focus on the countering of Russia’s insurgence and anchoring other Eastern European countries more firmly in the Western orbit. The implementation of EU Eastern Partnership project as well as well as keeping NATO expansion on the agenda should be seen as tools to achieve this objective. Both US and the EU should become again more committed to assisting democracy in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world.
  • The war in Georgia and the gas crisis in Ukraine have brought back regional security issues to the top of the transatlantic agenda. There is an urgent need to re-invent NATO as a regional security provider as well as to take practical steps to ensure energy security for both EU and the countries of the Eastern Europe, which are now largely dependent on Russia in this respect.
  • Poland is willing to contribute to solving global challenges such as combating terrorism (Afghanistan), climate change or the Middle East (Iran, Israeli-Palestinian conflict) but would oppose policies which could harm its vital security interest as a ‘trade off’ (e.g. measures combating climate change which would increase energy dependence on Russia etc).

transatlanticagenda_ipajan09.pdf (601.26 kB)