Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski lauded the Bene Merito awardee Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka for her outstanding commitment to Poland’s integration with the European Union and nearly 20 years of running a school that has evolved into a prestigious educational institution.

The award ceremony gathered representatives of the diplomatic corps and students from the Warsaw campus of the College of Europe. Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski addressed them about the role of diplomacy in responding to the geopolitical challenges of today.

Long-standing institutions are tottering. Traditional alliances are being questioned. Trade relations are weaponised, and not just against opponents, but sometimes also against partners

- Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said.

Poland’s chief diplomat added that the challenges ahead of us can seriously affect our political systems, our economy, and our society. In 2024 alone, warfare spending drew nearly USD 20 trillion from the global economy. Market-wide mistrust and instability push up the costs borne by entrepreneurs. More and more people are also being forced to leave their homes. According to data from June 2025, around 117 million people have been affected by forced displacement.

Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski pointed out a dangerous paradox: despite the fact that authoritarian governments are often responsible for instability, some people are increasingly perceiving authoritarianism as an answer. The head of Polish diplomacy emphasised that this is not the right solution.

If centralised, strongman governments were effective, Vladimir Putin’s Russia would be a model of success. Instead, we see the world’s largest country with power concentrated in the hands of one person, where decisions are made not with long-term national interest in mind but based on personal ambitions and megalomaniac delusions

- Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said, adding that change is necessary but a return to 19th‑century authoritarianism is not a reform.

In his address, the foreign minister also appealed to students to defend European values—cooperation, responsibility, and the rule of law. He stressed that they will soon become the most credible ambassadors of the norms on which our society is built.