Poland as the future EU Net Contributor and a mental hospital for the extreme European federalists – what President Komorowski said to the European students at College of Europe

BARBARA MARCINKOWSKA

On 14th of November a group of Polish students of College of Europe in Bruges had an opportunity to meet President Komorowski, who visited the Bruges campus in frame of his official visit in Belgium. After the meeting, Bronisław Komorowski gave a speech to the West-Flanders officials and the students representing more than fifty countries – mostly the European ones. The main topic of the President’s discourse was “The European Dream – beyond Pessimism and Crisis”. But there was also another point stressed by the President, which was the most commented among the students after the lecture, the Polish role in the united Europe and the Polish vision of the future of the EU. 

History and values

The President talked about the recent history of Poland, pinpointing especially the elements that are connected to the most important values, shared also by other European states. These values are: freedom, solidarity and human rights. Talking about fight against communistic regime by publishing the free, secret press and books, about his imprisonment, about the contribution of Solidarność (the Solidarity Movement). He highlighted that taking into account these difficult experiences of his generation and nation, it is strongly important for the Polish to promote the democratic values.

Moreover, in the context of common values, the recent crisis should not only strengthen the European solidarity but also encourage the European states for a deeper integration. President Komorowski expressed his hope that the current EU crisis can be overcome. He said: ‘Europe has certainly not said the last word, not only in its own history, but also in the history of the world’. He stressed that some steps were already made, such as acceptance of the Fiscal Pact.

Eurozone

Once started talking about the money, he continued with other related issues. The European audience was quite surprised by President’s statement that Poland is in favor of entering the Euro Zone as soon as it will be possible. It seems that Poland is still considered as “Eurosceptical” across Europe. Although, President Komorowski stressed that Poland wants to join the common monetary system in the near future and it is why we actively engage ourselves in the process of the Eurozone recovery (for example by participating in The Fiscal Pact, The Euro Plus Pact, etc.) . Moreover, according to Bronisław Komorowski, the European states should appreciate the effort already made by the community to rescue the Eurozone. Furthermore, he argued that not only is the Eurozone able to overcome the crisis but also it is on the road to further development.

Multi-speed Europe

The crisis showed that some of the Member States are ready to participate in the further integration and some are not. This problem is nothing new. According to the Polish President, already in the very first years of the integration process not all countries wanted the same for the community. The principle, according to Mr. Komorowski, is to look for a compromise and consensus among all member states but it is also possible to accept that some of the states want to go further in some areas. He even claimed that this division in the community consisting of more than 20 states is inevitable.

Budget 2014-2020

As the visit in College of Europe was a part of a two-days program, the Polish media in their comments concentrate on the budgetary question, which was evoked not only during the Wednesday’s speech but also during the meetings with the Belgian Prime Minister and with the President of the European Council.

Bronisław Komorowski called the Member States to restrain themselves from using the veto for the new EU budget (2014-2020). He argued that a veto is “a negotiating nuclear weapon that could threaten the European unity”; therefore, in order to provide a better future to the whole Europe the compromise should be looked for, not the blockage of budgetary process. As he explained to the students at the College, Poland is strongly against the use of veto, also because of our difficult history. He stressed that, baring in mind the tough period of liberum veto in Poland, we should act against an overuse of this instrument because it could destroy the integrity and the unity of the European community.

The EU budget for the years 2014-2020 will be the topic of the next EU summit, which will take place on 22nd and 23rd of November. The new proposal has been prepared by the office of the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and will be the basis for further negotiations during the summit. It sets a limited access to the cohesion funds (in the amount of 2.4 per cent of country’s GDP) and provides more cuts in the CAP. The proposal assumes the maintenance of the British rebate, and provides adjustments for contributions to the EU budget for other major net contributors, such as: Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. It envisages cuts of around 75 billion – compared to last year’s EC proposal; what is more, the cuts are greater than assumed in the last draft budget published on October 29 by the Cyprus Presidency. However, the cuts are now distributed more proportionately among the different policies, as for Poland – the main beneficiary of cohesion funds – may be more favorable than the offer of Cyprus. Therefore, it does not surprise that the Polish President is in favor of it and try to convince other EU states.

Cohesion policy

What is especially important for Poland concerning the new budget proposal? –The answer is simple – a reduction of cohesion funds. Bronisław Komorowski has paid a lot of attention to this topic. He highlighted the benefits of the cohesion policy, also in the context of the Poland’s recent development. We should not forget that Poland is one of the main net’s beneficiaries of the European cohesion policy .

Komorowski stressed that one of the reasons why the Poles are so optimistic about the future of the EU is that our economy is growing and that it is happening not only due to our own achievements but also thanks to the European funds. Thus, we appreciate this help and try to use it in the most efficient way. He said: “Poland is a country that makes a very good use of the European funds issued under the cohesion policy”. However, he emphasized that this policy does not just entail the benefits for the country that gets the support, but also for the economies of the ‘old EU’ due to the improvement of the European economic equilibrium and the decrease of differences between the member states. Then he added that “every euro invested in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, according to the research, brings the countries of the ‘old EU’ 61 cents in the form of additional exports” and that “the cohesion policy plays an irreplaceable and prominent role in European integration.”

Later on, Bronisław Komorowski surprised everybody by telling that Poland is on the right way to become a ‘net contributor’ to the EU budget in the near future. That statement astonished the audience due to the fact that nowadays Poland seems to be very far away from that.

Future of the Union

Asked about the future of the united Europe, President Komorowski recalled the idea of multi-speed Europe and argued that it is well known that some states want a deeper integration with a political and defense union as the goal. He stressed, that considering the Polish history and geopolitical situation, it is highly important for our nation to be secured by cooperation with our European partners and that is why the future development of defense union is desirable and for sure it is not against the Polish national interest.

At the end of President’s lecture, one of the students asked :

Federation or death? Is the European Federal Union a real project ? If so, whether the Union as an organisation and the Member States are ready for that?

His answer was a perfect ending of this one-hour lecture. Komorowski said that a federal union is a beautiful vision, but people have to be careful with a number of visions. He joked that if we exaggerate with them we could end up in a mental hospital. But to be frank,  he said also, and I personally share this opinion, that a federal union is not a question of a near future. It will not be completed within the next few years or decades. Nevertheless, it is important to talk about this vision, to promote it among the European citizens, at least to get them used to this possibility.

College of Europe is one of the oldest and most renowned university institute of postgraduate studies specializing in European affairs. Situated in two cities (Bruges and Natolin) provides a high-level education to more than 400 students each year. The Bruges campus (funded in 1948) has been from the very beginning a place where future European officials have been educated. Therefore, President Komorowski could not choose a better place to share his ideas about Europe and Polish position on the integration. And, what I state with a little pride, his speech was very well received by the students.