President Karol Nawrocki is open to a discussion about ambassador nominations, but its preliminary consent is required to proceed with a given candidacy – said the presidential minister Marcin Przygacz on Thursday. He added that the candidates processed during the presidency of Andrzej Duda must be repeated.
The head of the Presidential International Policy Office Marcin met on Thursday with the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marcin Bosacki and the General Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rafał Wiśniewski. The conversation was devoted to relations on the Law Firm-President-MSZ line.
After the meeting, he assessed that it was needed and it was good that it happened and added that coordination and cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Palace is “indicated and needed”. He reported that “the circulation of relevant documents, but while maintaining constitutional principles” was established. – In this sense, the documents and the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the appropriate the thesis and information will be sent to the Chancellery of the President – he added.
He emphasized that if the government deems appropriate, such documentation may also take the position of the Council of Ministers. – However, this cannot be treated in any way, as it appeared from the mouth of government representatives, as any instruction, simply a position that can be taken into account – said the head of the presidential BPM.
He also reported that representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would accompany the president in his foreign visits, but – as he emphasized – the president decides who is part of his delegation. He noted that there may be such situations in which the participation of a representative of the ministry of diplomacy “will not be necessary from the perspective of the interest of the Polish state”.
Polish diplomacy “In a state of paralysis”
He estimated that President Nawrocki, covering the office a few weeks ago, found Polish diplomacy “in a state of paralysis”, and there is currently no ambassador; Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski responsible for this state of affairs. – They decided to force 54 ambassadors without any substantive justification – said the head of BPM.
He added that there was a departure from the long and good tradition of agreeing the appointment and dismissal of ambassadors by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister and the President.
He assured him that the president is “open to personal dialogue” regarding ambassadors. – But we expect that first of all the constitutional principles will be observed, and secondly – the provisions of the Act, thirdly – a good tradition (we count) that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will withdraw from bad tradition, attempts to dominate and blackmail, and return to constructive dialogue – he said.
He added that “you cannot agree that the candidates without a preliminary signal on the part of the President of the Republic of Poland as to the consent for a given candidacy.” – We believe that all those candidates that were proceeded during the previous president (Andrzej Duda – note PAP) must obviously be repeated due to the fact of sitting in the presidential chair of another person – noted the head of BPM.
– We appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a return to the previous tradition: first to agree the position within three institutions, then a request for Agrément to the host state (Polish diplomat), finally acceptance by the Foreign Affairs Committee. And then the signature of authentication letters and a given candidate can go abroad as an ambassador of the Republic of Poland – said the presidential minister.
At the same time – as he noted, President Nawrocki says directly: “Every person who, without his initial consent, a signal, who should fall from the Presidential Palace first, will take part in this not entirely legal and bypassing the provisions of the procedure (…) will no longer be able to obtain acceptance of the ambassador during the term of office of President Nawrocki.”
He appealed to all diplomats who would like to cover Polish facilities abroad to first obtain the consent of three institutions – the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister and the President. Asked whether the meeting with Bosacki concerned, among others The cast of the embassy in the USA, he emphasized that during the conversation there was no question of any personalities.
Position President's office As for Klich, it is negative
The head of BPM was asked about the position of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland on Bogdan Klich, who manages the Polish diplomatic mission in Washington in the rank of Charge d'Affaires. He replied that the position as to the “head of the facility Bogdan Klich” is negative. – And the sooner the government withdraws from this candidacy, the better for Poland, after withdrawing we can discuss, we are open to indicate a good, good candidate – said the presidential minister.
Asking was asked, among others about whether there will be a meeting between President Karol Nawrocki and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski. – Such a meeting will come if in these basic matters that we discussed today with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there will be some progress, there will also be an answer, a reaction to these applications and the expectations of the president, it is clear that in the future such a meeting may come – the presidential minister replied.
He emphasized that it could not be just a “social or courtesy meeting, but there will be the expectation of a constructive attitude on the side of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is not yet visible.”
A scandal with a letter from Trump
Asking asked if one of his topics was a letter that President Karol Nawrocki received from US President Donald Trump, he replied that it was one of the topics. – We all agreed in this group, including representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the way the matter was processed by the embassy in Washington was far from perfection, speaking the most delicate. I think we can close this topic here – said the head of BPM.
He reminded that the letter went to the president “yesterday in the afternoon, while from the very morning the media had information, about its existence and content. – It seems simply more professional that first the letter goes to the addressee, and then you can comment on the fact of its existence. Mr. Manager (Bogdan) Klich decided that it would be the opposite that the media would discuss first, and then the president would find out – he said. “It shouldn't look like this,” he pointed out.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Paweł Wroński informed PAP that Trump's letter to President Nawrocki was forwarded to the presidential side without any delay and in accordance with the current mode. – I do not understand the attempts to “twist” some scandal here – added the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wroński pointed out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows the content of the letter, but “does not inform about its content and in no way uses politically this situation.” He added that only the presidential side can inform about its content.
Sikorski: I will not allow the government to receive competences or to repeated the diplomatic service again
I will not allow the government to take away his competence or to repeated the Polish diplomatic service again – said Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski on Thursday.
Sikorski in the Thursday post on platform X emphasized that the president has “constitutional right and obligation to appoint or refuse to appoint an ambassador, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the Act has the right to submit for this application.” “I will not allow the government to receive his competence or to repeated the Polish diplomatic service,” said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He reminded that almost all Polish foreign facilities have their managers who “work hard for Polish interests, also on the service of the President's visits.” “The only thing that some of them lack is his signature on the act of submitted conclusions,” added the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On the other hand, Bosacki, referring to the speech, he said that, contrary to what the presidential minister says, “it is not true that Polish diplomacy is in a state of paralysis to any extent.” – Polish diplomacy works professionally, well, and as intensely as probably rarely in the history of independent Republic of Poland – he said.
He admitted that it was “unfortunate” that at dozens of foreign facilities they represent Poland Charges d'Affaires, not ambassadors. As he said, this is due to the lack of signatures under the ambassador nominations from former President Andrzej Duda and the current Karol Nawrocki.
The deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported that he was satisfied with a renewed invitation to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an interview with the president. He also emphasized that Sikorski is ready for a compromise on some ambassador nominations, but for him to happen, a meeting must take place between both politicians.
The dispute over the ambassador nominations between the government and the President of the Republic of Poland has been going on since March 2024. Then Sikorski decided that over 50 ambassadors would end the mission, and several candidates submitted for approval by the previous management of the ministry will be withdrawn. On the other hand, President Andrzej Duda emphasized that “no Polish ambassador can be appointed or dismissed without the president's signature.”
In place of the ambassadors who left the institutions, but were not formally dismissed by the president, diplomats indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who do not have the status of ambassadors, but Charge d'Affaires – this situation is, for example, in the USA, where the former head of the Ministry of National Defense in the PO -PSL government Bogdan Klich replaced Marek Magierowski. Andrzej Duda has repeatedly hinted that he did not consider Klich as an appropriate figure as an ambassador in the USA. (PAP)
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