On 3 November 2021, Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz was on a working visit to The Hague. As part of consultations concerning Eastern and security policy, he met with Director-General for Political Affairs Thijs van der Plas of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Director-General Fernando Arias of the OPCW, and representatives of leading Dutch organisations which deal with Eastern partnership matters, namely, the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies and the Clingendael Institute.

“The crisis at the EU’s eastern border is a well staged and orchestrated hybrid operation against Europe. The Belarusian state institutions have been conducting it from the onset,” said Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz, providing an update on the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border. The Dutch side presented a similar view on the international aspect of the problem and the accountability of the Belarusian authorities.

Also discussed was the implementation of the European Council conclusions of 24-25 June 2021 with regard to EU-Russia relations. Both parties agreed that the conclusions must be rigidly executed in order to open the door for an effective policy towards Russia that pursues the interests of the EU and its member states. The focus of the talks was also on the Eastern Partnership and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

Deputy Minister Marcin Przydacz argued that energy security of all EU member states requires observance of EU law. He also found it unacceptable to use energy matters to exert political pressure.

The deputy foreign minister presented Poland’s priorities for its upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE.

The meeting with the OPCW’s Director-General focused on the UN General Assembly resolution introduced by Poland and concerning the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as well as the challenges of putting it into effect (such as the attempt at poisoning A. Navalny, the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and the issue of chemical weapons drowned in the Baltic Sea).

 

MFA Press Office