“Any person who, contrary to the president’s initial consent, takes part in a not entirely legal procedure bypassing the president will no longer be able, during the term of Karol Nawrocki, to obtain approval of their request to become an ambassador,” said Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential Bureau of International Policy.
A meeting concerning Polish diplomacy was held at the presidential palace. Marcin Przydacz received the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marcin Bosacki. Earlier announcements indicated that the discussion was to focus on personnel matters and the staffing of diplomatic posts.
“We agreed on many issues, and it is good that this meeting took place in a time of challenges related to security,” said Przydacz. “As you know, the constitution divides competences between the president and the government. The Constitutional Tribunal ruling of 2009 obliged the president to cooperate with the government, and the government to cooperate with the president. Cooperation is needed, and I am convinced that this cooperation will take place in the coming months.”
President Nawrocki began his term in August, six weeks ago. He found the foreign service in a state of paralysis, which is the result of government decisions. More than 55 percent of missions have no ambassador. There is no ambassador in key posts. This is the result of decisions made by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski,” said Minister Przydacz.
Nothing without the president’s consent
Donald Tusk and Radosław Sikorski – according to Minister Przydacz, these individuals bear sole responsibility for the lack of ambassadors. The good tradition of agreeing with the President of Poland on the procedure of dismissing and appointing ambassadors has also been abandoned.
“The president is open to personal dialogue. We expect that the provisions of the constitution, the provisions of the law, and good tradition will be respected,” declared Przydacz. “It cannot be accepted that candidacies are processed without the prior consent of the President of the Republic of Poland,” he added.
“There can be no consent for a candidacy to be processed in the Polish Sejm without the president’s approval. We have appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to return to good tradition. First, an agreement on the position, then a request to the host state, the opinion of the foreign affairs committee, and finally the signature,” indicated the minister.
As Przydacz emphasized, all candidacies processed under the previous president must be repeated, because the current president of Poland is Karol Nawrocki. He noted that individuals taking part in procedures without the consent of the President of Poland will not receive his approval.