French President Emmanuel Macron is paying his first official visit to Poland. The French leader met President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The Polish-French political dialogue is not easy. President Macron said that Poland and France are closer than one might think but, at the same time, in a statement after talks with President Duda, he expressed concern over changes to the Polish judicial system.
The first official visit of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, to Poland began with a meeting with President Andrzej Duda. Before the press conference of both presidents, the ministers of foreign affairs of Poland and France signed a program of cooperation and strategic partnership, and the ministers of digitisation signed a declaration of intention to strengthen cooperation in the field of cyber security.
President Andrzej Duda emphasized that the declaration they signed regulates cooperation in many areas: military, political, economic. The talks focused, among others, on NATO and the Weimar Triangle. During a joint press conference, the President of Poland noted that the visit takes place on the first business day in the European Union after Brexit.
“The role of France in European Union no doubt increases greatly after Brexit. That is why I am happy to welcome the French president to Poland today. He has taken his first steps to visit us and he has signed this extremely important declaration. By doing this he has given a signal of his deep interest with our part of European Union, its affairs and, by the same token, an interest in how the EU will develop here and what the new shape the EU will take”, said the Polish head of state.
The French president said that he was convinced that under Polish-French cooperation even more could be done in the fields of energy, cyber security, and industrial cooperation. He emphasized that France is the fourth largest foreign investor in Poland. Macron also spoke about the need to respect common European values, expressing concern about the changes in the Polish judicial system…
“During the talks with president Andrzej Duda I have expressed, in the spirit of full openness, which we owe to each other as European partners, concern connected with the continuing changes in the judicial system. I would like to see an increased dialog with the European Commission in the coming weeks. I know that in Poland, as your history shows, the values of freedom and justice are deeply rooted. Poland is a deeply European country, and Poles are one of the most pro European nations on the continent”, stated President Macron.
The French president also met the head of government Mateusz Morawiecki. During the talks, the two politicians raised issues related to the new European Union budget for 2021-2027, climate policy, and enlargement of the European Union.
Tonight, the French president will meet the French community in Warsaw, and tomorrow he will be in Kraków, where he will give a lecture at the Jagiellonian University on Polish-French relations and his vision for the European Union.