“Our help for the Western Balkans confirms the importance that we attach to our relations with the region, a region without which it would be difficult to consider the process of uniting Europe as complete,” Deputy Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said at a ceremony to launch a humanitarian convoy to six Western Balkan states – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia – which took place in Warsaw on 26 May. “’Solidarity’ is the key word to describe the entire development policy underlying the MFA’s humanitarian assistance programmes. For forty years, this word has been a value that Poland is associated with,” Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński said during the meeting. He added: “Poland does not forget about its neighbours and about other states that are in need of help.”

Minister Jacek Czaputowicz talked on the phone with his Spanish counterpart Minister Arancha González Laya. The ministers discussed the current state of the coronavirus pandemic, prospects for opening borders and easing restrictions in both countries, as well as coordination of new measures at European level.

Over the years, the Treaty on Open Skies has remained an important element of the European security architecture, meant to build trust and ensure transparency in relation to military activities. As of late, we have been facing a number of challenges regarding the implementation of the Treaty related to the Russian Federation’s restrictions to access its territory.

At the invitation of Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the chief of Polish diplomacy Jacek Czaputowicz took part in a video conference on the process of opening borders and lifting barriers to the free movement of persons within the EU after the Covid-19 epidemic.

“We are willing to consolidate multidimensional cooperation within the Council of the Baltic Sea States and other regional organisations. It can contribute to overcoming the effects of the pandemic and to the much-needed return to growth,” emphasised Minister Jacek Czaputowicz during talks with foreign ministers of the Baltic Sea states.

“Today, as we are remembering the 100th birthday anniversary of Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyła, we want to share with the whole world the power of hope which he left for us as his heritage, particularly during these hard times,” said Deputy Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk as he initiated the programme to commemorate the achievements of St John Paul II and the Pope himself.

Under the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 16 May 2020 on certain limitations, orders and prohibitions due to the state of epidemic (Journal of Laws, item 878) we hereby inform that exempted from obligatory quarantine are persons who cross Polish internal border for professional, business or gainful purposes in Poland or another EU or EEA country.

“We are in favour of an increased involvement of the EU in the Southern Neighbourhood countries during the COVID-19 pandemic to counteract the economic crisis and political unrest,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz at a videoconference of foreign ministers from EU member states.

- Poland has implemented humanitarian projects in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan to support local communities in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, - said Minister Czaputowicz during a video conference organised on the initiative of Spain. The meeting was also attended by chiefs of diplomacy of Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, and Italy. The ministers discussed support for the EU’s southern neighbours in their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.