In his speech, the head of Polish diplomacy underlined that Central and Eastern Europe perceives the threats and their place of origin differently from some western states. “For Poland and the Baltic states the threat comes from Russia, which has already proved itself capable of using military force to accomplish its goals,” remarked Minister Czaputowicz.

The head of Polish MFA also stressed that Poland cannot share the view of some EU states which apply the same categories to Russia, China and the USA. During the discussion, Minister Czaputowicz pointed out that the US is a mature democracy and the European Union shares its common values even if not all EU countries support all US actions. “In the long run, we cannot build European security without cooperation with the US,” he added.

Minister Czaputowicz also referred to the EU enlargement of the Western Balkans as he drew on the  experience of last year’s Polish presidency of the Berlin Process. He underlined that the candidate countries should be made to feel more empowered in the accession process and should be treated like partners. “We were trying to have a dialogue of equal partners rather than merely point out the requirements for those countries to meet to be able to start the accession negotiations,” he said.

Besides the future and stability of the EU, the panellists also brought up the issues of cooperation within the Common Security and Defence Policy and NATO, European security architecture and neighbourhood policy. Minister Czaputowicz highlighted that in our region the problem is not about the lack of norms and rules to ensure security and order, but their application. In this context, the top Polish diplomat recalled the violations of Georgian borders, military aggression in Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea.

The panel discussion was also attended by the foreign ministers of France and Italy, Jean-Yves le Drian and Luigi Di Maio, respectively, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles, and the UK Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser Mark Philip Sedwill.

On the last day of his visit to the Munich Security Conference, the head of Polish diplomacy also met with the Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif and the UK Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser Mark Sedwill. In his conversation with Minister Zarif, the Polish foreign minister ensured that Poland supports de-escalation in the Gulf region and is ready to play a constructive role in the process. Minister Czaputowicz also expressed his hope that Iran will continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as declared last January.

The Polish foreign minister and the UK Prime Minister’s advisor discussed Polish-British cooperation within NATO and exchanged their views on Great Britain’s cooperation with the European Union after Brexit.

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The Munich Security Conference, organised since 1962, is a unique, prestigious, international forum of discussion on current international security issues among the heads of states and governments, foreign and defence ministers, members of parliament, experts and the representatives of academia.

MFA Press Office

photo: Tymon Markowski / MFA