President Karol Nawrocki said on Monday that unfortunately the European Union is no longer the “navel of the world”, which is why it must go through the reform process. However, he emphasized that he became president so that Poland would not become just a voivodeship in a unified European country.
On Monday, during the 11th European Congress of Local Governments in Mikołajki, the President was asked whether the current situation in the Middle East poses a challenge to the transatlantic alliance. Nawrocki emphasized that Poland is an EU member state and is not in the process of leaving it, but “the democratic rules of discussion and debate allow for the possibility of reform of the European Union on the one hand, and criticism on the other.” – Recently, during his expose, the Deputy Prime Minister (Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Radosław Sikorski, designed a fifteen-minute speech about Poland leaving the EU. Only no one is leaving (the EU). Today we can solve the problems that we create for ourselves and discuss them, but today there is no such situation – noted Nawrocki.
In his opinion, the situation in Iran shows “where there is a certain decision-making and operational nature of the United States, and where there is the European Union.”
– This can be seen in many topics, not only in the field of military security, of course, but also in the context of climate change – said the president.
He assessed that the European Union is “repairing the world” without being aware that limiting gas emissions in Europe will not result in the “salvation” of climate policy on a global scale, because “only 7% of global CO2 emissions come from the European Union.” – I am giving this example to say that I unfortunately agree with this opinion – also after what we are observing – that the European Union, unfortunately, and we should probably fix this, is no longer the “navel of the world” – emphasized Nawrocki.
He later added that regardless of whether the EU is described as a “car with a broken chassis” or a “shooting star”, it is “at a certain crossroads”. – The belief of the European Union that it is the “navel of the world” is very distant in regions of the world that are beginning to have strategic, economic and economic importance – not only in the United States, but also in Asia and Africa – noted the president. He also expressed his belief that in its current condition the EU is not a “world player”.
He stressed, however, that “everything should be done to reform the European Union” and that it should be led by leaders who do not make “so many mistakes in the field of security policy, climate policy, migration policy.”
– If the European Union finally understands that after such a wave of mistakes and after giving voice only to representatives of Western Europe, we have matured enough to make the sensitivity of our region of Europe more visible, I think we have a chance for the European Union not to fall into unnecessary turbulence and reform in the right direction – he said.
Answering a question about the SAFE program, Nawrocki emphasized that he became president of Poland so that “the European Union would not become one country with a voivodeship called Poland.” – All these centralization tendencies at the legal and legislative level will affect the Presidential Palace – that is obvious. I have made such a commitment, but I also feel such an internal, social and political need – he said.
He also expressed the belief that although the European Union is an important entity for the implementation of, among others, economic needs of the state, it is not a “Union of identities and values”, because in fact it consists – as he said – of different identities and sensitivities.
On Saturday morning, Israel and the US launched airstrikes against targets in Iran. Tehran responded by attacking American bases in several countries in the region, as well as Israel. The American-Israeli airstrikes killed, among others, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a group of other leading figures of the Iranian regime.
This year's European Congress of Local Governments is held under the slogan “Local government in times of uncertainty – local responses to global challenges”. The two-day program includes over 250 events: plenary sessions, discussion panels, debates, workshops, presentations and meetings with authors.
The guest of this year's congress is President Karol Nawrocki. Many politicians and parliamentarians also announced their participation, including the mayor of Warsaw, KO deputy chairman Rafał Trzaskowski, deputy speaker of the Sejm Krzysztof Bosak, PiS MP and vice-president Mateusz Morawiecki, as well as former prime ministers Jerzy Buzek and Leszek Miller. (PAP)
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