Ambassador Przemys³aw Grudziñski At ON THE LINE Show, VOICE OF AMERICA June 5, 2003
Eric Felten: More than a dozen years after securing its freedom from the Soviet Union and paving the way for the freedom of other Eastern European countries, Poland is now assuming a larger role in international affairs. U-S President George W. Bush was in Krakow to thank Poland for its political and military help in fighting the war on terrorism. “In the battles of Afghanistan and Iraq, Polish forces served with skill and honor,” Mr. Bush said. “America will not forget that Poland rose to the moment.” Poland will now be leading a force of peacekeepers in Southern Iraq. Poland is also stepping into a larger role in Europe. This weekend, Poles vote on a referendum to join the European union. Joining us to talk about Poland’s future and its goals is Poland’s ambassador to the U-S, Przemys³aw Grudziñski. Welcome and thanks for joining us today.
Ambassador Grudziñski: Thank you for inviting me.
Eric Felten: When President Bush was in Krakow, he said that Poland is a good citizen of Europe and a close friend of the United States. Is there any contradiction between those two?
Ambassador Grudziñski: No, we don’t see any contradiction. I think it’s a perfect formula and representation of how we see things in Europe and in transatlantic relations. Actually, this could be a model of Polish foreign policy since 1989, since Poland liberated itself. And I think, and it is not simply a theory and Poland is actively trying to influence Europe so that there is no contradiction between those two elements. And now, after entering into the European Union, we also would like to try to keep the transatlantic relationship as strong as possible.
Eric Felten: Why is Poland such a good friend and ally of the United States?
Ambassador Grudziñski: We think that we have a concept of civilization to which we belong. And that was one of the motivations that led us to fight
for our freedom during Communism. So, we want to be a part of the larger whole and we feel a part of this larger whole. Western civilization to which we think we belong, consists of two major pillars, the European and American pillars. They could not be created one without the other. So, yes, we think we belong in a way to this civilization that covers both the European and North American continents. Secondly, we think very strongly that America is a European power. America is a part of our European experience and a part of our past and a part of our present and part of our future. We need America as much as America needs Europe.
Eric Felten: How strained are those relations now from your vantage point between Europe and the United States?
coming into good direction during the past months between America and some European countries. But I think we should look forward. I think that the fundamentals of this relationship have not changed.And in time it will be possible to reconcile the differences, heal some wounds and to move forward. As President Bush said in his Kraków speech, there is a broad agenda, a global agenda that can be tackled only when America and Europe come together. Otherwise, parts of this important agenda cannot be effected. I think we should look to it, look to the past and reexamine what happened during the last few months and talk seriously about problems and about challenges and perhaps in time, try to address those specific problems that in a way are intervening negatively into the relationship. I think at one point we invigorated NATO with an E-U that looks cooperatively, to cooperative relations with America and make perhaps some new mechanisms that will address some of the deficits. Eric Felten: What kind of new mechanisms would those be?
Ambassador Grudziñski: Well, for example, Europe is becoming more of a whole, united than ever in history. And this is, in part, a creation of the United States. Without the United States, Europe will not come to this point in its history. It’s a very positive experiment in history, perhaps one of the most significant successful experiments ever conducted on European soil and perhaps on a global scale. It’s a new mechanism for integration, reconciling historic differences and problems. Europe now is a vast area of peace, affluence and solidarity and cooperation, and I think this magnificent result of this experiment should lead not to less cooperation with the United States, but more cooperation on a higher qualitative level. I don’t think that at the moment the mechanism is created to ensure that the transatlantic new quality as a possibility is reflected on the level of institutional mechanisms. And some of the existing tools, existing instruments are not adequate to the potential of this relationship(…)
Courtesy of Worldnet TV |
Ambassador Grudziñski: Well, I would not deny, even as a diplomat that all things were