* Radosław Sikorski was Poland’s foreign minister in 2007-2014; deputy chair of the Civil Platform and candidate of the PO-PSL coalition for the

position of the Marshal of the Sejm

We are on the right track

Radosław Sikorski*

Poland’s international standing is improving. We have become a country which creates solutions rather than

problems. We are still facing many challenges. Some of them are new and seemed inconceivable until recently.

A few days ago, the European Parliament and Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada ratified the Association Agreement

between Ukraine and the EU. It would not have been possible without the EU’s Eastern Partnership, initiated by

Poland. I am proud that I can consider myself as the godfather of this idea, which has allowed for a rapprochement

of at least three post-Soviet countries with the EU. Although the success of their reforms and integration with

Europe is yet uncertain, it would not be possible at all without laying the groundwork. The recent NATO Summit in

Newport has strengthened the Alliance’s eastern flank, which is essential to Poland given the new security

challenges. On 30 August, the European Council decided that a Pole will lead the work of EU heads of state and

government from 1 December 2014.

I am particularly proud of these three events, and I am happy to be leaving the office of foreign minister after they

happened. We have made the grade and I am glad to have played a part in it. I would like

to thank everyone who has contributed to this success, including our partners. Without their understanding of our

needs and expectations, these achievements would not have been possible.

After seven years at the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the moment has come when I have to sum up my

work. Let me start with mundane matters. I am happy that the MFA and many of our diplomatic posts have a new

appearance. I am particularly proud of the new consulates in Cologne, Manchester, and London. Citizens see

diplomacy mainly through the work of consuls who have direct contact with people. Our consulates, as public

offices, give people an idea of how Poland looks like. More and more Polish consulates not only comply with world

standards but even exceed them.

Seven years ago, Polish diplomats could only dream about e-mail

in mobile phones, tablets and smartphones. Today, these tools

have become everyday devices, just like other secure and high

speed communication solutions.

At the beginning of my work as minister, social media, such as

Twitter, were underestimated. Today, they have allowed us to

become one of the best connected ministries in the world. We use

electronic media not only to promote our work but also to defend

our country’s good name via the @GermanNaziCamps Twitter

account, to warn Polish tourists against dangers via the

@PolakZagranica account, and to promote the history of Polish

diplomacy via the @HistDyplomacji account, which is becoming

increasingly popular.

We have examined the network of our diplomatic posts to see

whether our resources abroad are used rationally. We are present

wherever we find it beneficial, wherever our citizens are present,

and wherever we see good economic and political prospects. On

the other hand, I was not afraid of closing diplomatic posts where

the Polish presence was costly and the Polish interests were

marginal. I invested proceeds from the sale of real estate and staff

cuts where needs were higher. I focused on economic diplomacy

and the economisation of the foreign service. Under my

ministership, diplomacy was aimed at increasing prospects for Polish exports, supporting Polish companies abroad,

helping them develop new contacts and tap into new markets. I would like this trend to consolidate, following the

example of the world’s best developed and most experienced diplomacies.

I regard it as my personal success that the MFA has been charged with the allocation of funds for supporting the

Polish diaspora. It is another instrument of Polish diplomacy. Who else but the MFA, with its network of diplomatic

posts and consuls delegated to cooperate with the Polish diaspora, has a deeper insight into the current situation

and needs of Poles scattered all over the world?

We have significantly changed our approach to Polish development aid. Not only do we have a new law that

regulates this area, but we also try to adjust development aid to the goals of Polish foreign policy. We focus on

democratisation and sharing Polish transformation achievements, because we are really good at that and have fresh,

positive experiences that are noticed by our partners. Apart from Solidarity Fund PL, a Polish democratisation

agency, we have created the European Endowment for Democracy, based in Brussels and headed by a Polish

executive director. The initiative is aimed at flexibly promoting European values in the EU’s eastern and southern

neighbourhood. The Lech Wałęsa Solidarity Prize, awarded for the first time this year, has a chance of becoming the

Polish Nobel Prize for democratisation. Its first laureate, Mustafa Dzhemilev, the spiritual leader of the Crimean

Tatars, has gained universal respect.

I don’t want to change the balance of my seven years in the MFA into a check list. When I assumed office at the end

of 2007, Poland’s relations with Russia and Germany were appalling. The EU regarded Poland as a source of

problems not solutions. Today we are thought of as a reliable member of the European Community, modestly

speaking, a serious candidate to become one of its leaders. Our relations with our Western neighbour have never

been better; we talk candidly about our differences and try to find the best possible ways to solve them. We have

invested a lot into our relations with our big partner in the East and that effort did yield results up to a certain

moment in time. I regret the fact that Moscow’s aggressive behaviour towards Ukraine has spoiled much of that

effort, but if our partner ever decides to re-enter the path of observance of international law and renounces violence

in its relations with partners, then our co-operation is very much possible and needed.

We have made a big investment when we supported the pro-European orientation of Ukraine’s development, but

contrary to what some people might think, the keys to this lock are held by Kyiv not abroad. We have been closely

following the behaviour of other post-Soviet countries after the annexation of Crimea and we are encouraged by

what we see. I am also glad that Polish-US relations have been infused with a new dynamism. The re-emergence of

threats in our region has made us look for effective solutions jointly. I hope that this tendency will last, at least until

the security situation in this part of the world visibly improves.

At times I have been criticised for lack of results in Poland’s foreign policy. This was because the European Union did

not always do what Warsaw wanted it to do. At the same time my adversaries have not been able to come up with

an alternative plan. I suggest foregoing daydreaming and wishful thinking. In our current situation there is no more

effective way to implement Polish international goals than by strengthening our position through the European

Union and NATO. At times this means working out a compromise, but the results are guaranteed. For the last seven

years this strategy has never failed us. What it more it has allowed us to reap tangible political, economic and

security benefits.

The other day as I was clearing my desk of documents, I discovered that I was the longest serving chief of diplomacy

after 1989, close to breaking the record held by the pre-war Foreign Minister Józef Beck. Pre-war times cannot be

compared to our times, although it appears that many demons of the past have come back to haunt us. Yet, I am

confident that Poland now is much better prepared for hard times than it was several dozen years ago. I wish my

successor equally seminal, satisfying and stable possibility of fulfilling his mission.