Polish plan for Belarus has become EU policy - Polish PM
The plan for a democratic Belarus that Poland championed has become a European policy, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a Friday press conference after the EU summit in Brussels approved his motion for economic support for this country.
The European Council (EC), on the second day of its extraordinary summit, approved a Polish economic aid plan for Belarus that aims to support democratic changes in that country. The EC tasked the European Commission to develop the economic plan for Belarus through concrete projects and programmes, including support for small and medium-sized enterprises, a visa-free regime and a stabilisation fund.
"I'm very pleased to say that yesterday, after a very long debate, the European Council approved the economic plan for a democratic Belarus that we had put forward," Morawiecki said.
"It was a consequence of our actions over the past few weeks. First, we presented the plan to our partners from the Visegrad Group (V4) in Ljubljana, then, a week ago, we presented the plan at the European Commission to President Ursula von der Leyen, and (now - PAP) she was also tasked by the European Commission, which has been put into the (summit - PAP) conclusions, to further develop the plan and present it for execution in the following months," the Polish prime minister said.
The Central European lobby group V4 comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
According to Morawiecki, it is important that after weeks of deadlock, all EU leaders finally agreed to sanction Belarus over a disputed presidential election and police crackdowns on protesters. Some 40 Belarus officials have been targeted with one notable exception — leader Alexander Lukashenko.
During the summit, the Polish PM also appealed for halting the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (which will supply Russian gas directly to Western Europe across the Baltic seabed, bypassing the eastern EU members), especially in the context of the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Morawiecki said he believes that Nord Stream 2 is an element of Russia's consistent, aggressive policy, evidenced by its military aggression against Georgia and Ukraine, the poisoning of its citizens, economic embargos and trade wars, to which a much stronger economic body such as the EU should be able to respond.
Morawiecki pointed to the Friday meeting of the Baltic States to discuss the connection and synchronisation of energy systems in this part of Europe, noting that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia do not yet belong to the common power system, "that Poland and all countries to the west are part of."
"We are helping our Baltic friends in this challenge. And today the European Commission has confirmed a huge contribution, over EUR 700 million, to the implementation of this project, the beneficiary of which will also be Poland," he said, adding that "our effectiveness has been confirmed."
According to Morawiecki, it is important to understand that energy is not only a question of economic issues but also a matter of security, especially in this part of Europe.
The Polish PM said at the Brussels summit that Poland is "in the vanguard of the battle for a real free market," strongly advocates complete freedom of service and is opposed to protectionist measures such as the mobility package, the posted workers directive or attempts to harmonise social systems. He said he believes this reduces the competitiveness of the European Union in the interests of the wealthiest countries.
In Morawiecki's opinion, a services passport (to enable service providers to convey information through a single European workflow, in order to provide services across borders in the European Union - PAP) should be introduced as soon as possible.
The Polish PM reported that the topic of the common market was also raised during the summit, which, he noted, is the most important part of the European Union.
The future position of Europe will be determined by the way the common market will function, he told a press conference following the summit.
In his view, mutual openness, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and the services sector are an indispensable condition for the efficient functioning of the common European market, and thus for Europe's strength and future expansion.
After the summit, the Polish PM also confirmed that the subject of making EU funding dependent on the observance of the rule of law briefly appeared during the talks, however, a longer discussion on this subject was not intended by European Council head Charles Michel. (PAP)
